April 15, 2018

VAN BUREN, Mo. -- Flood recovery dollars topping $3.5 million have been approved to repair the historic Carter County Courthouse and replace its jail and sheriff's department, officials announced Friday. Presiding commissioner Donald Black expects work on the projects to begin by early June, after the county starts receiving state and federal money...

VAN BUREN, Mo. -- Flood recovery dollars topping $3.5 million have been approved to repair the historic Carter County Courthouse and replace its jail and sheriff's department, officials announced Friday.

Presiding commissioner Donald Black expects work on the projects to begin by early June, after the county starts receiving state and federal money.

An open house and fish fry are planned for April 28 at the courthouse. The event will start at 11 a.m., with the fish fry beginning at noon, Black said.

The amount now approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency is approximately 80 percent higher than what the county was first offered in 2017, after historic flooding destroyed the jail and sheriff's office, and heavily damaged the ground floor and basement of the courthouse.

"A lot of people were afraid we weren't going to fix the courthouse," Black said Friday. "We want people to understand, it is our house and we are going to fix it."

The county continued to fight the original FEMA assessment to prevent any additional burden from being placed on the citizens, he said.

FEMA initially penalized the county for failure to carry flood insurance on its properties. The county argued it had never been required to carry the insurance.

New figures from FEMA still carry a penalty for the lack of insurance, Black said, but the county will have enough to complete its projects.

"We're really proud the county is going to be able to do this from FEMA and SEMA (State Emergency Management Agency) money and not request it from Carter County," he said.

FEMA will cover 75 percent of projects, with 10 percent from the state and a remaining 15 percent expected to come from state Community Block Development Grant money.

FEMA issued the following new damage estimates, according to the county: sheriff's office, $562,456.10; jail, $1,159,725.60; courthouse, $2,647,128.42.

It has deducted the following amounts as a penalty for no flood insurance: sheriff's office, $139,364.20; jail, $255,149.15; courthouse, $406,251.06.

During the past year, signs reading, "It's our house, fix it," had been placed around town, Black said. County officials had also faced hard questions during public meetings from residents, who feared they would walk away from the badly damaged courthouse.

"We want to build it back right and it be something that is going to last us for generations," Black said.

FEMA originally offered approximately $715,800 for the three projects.

The county would have received the following amounts for damage recovery under that proposal, officials said: sheriff's office, $97,384; jail, $198,405; and courthouse, $420,000.

The goal was always to repair the courthouse, said county clerk Leona Stephens.

"We just wanted to make sure that it wasn't going to break the county and do it right," she said.

The county has been approved for a 12-bed jail, and will purchase property for this and the sheriff's office, Black said. A location has not been selected.

The change in FEMA figures came after multiple trips to Jefferson City and Washington D.C., along with the aid of many different people, Black said. This includes state Sen. Doug Libla, Speaker of the House Todd Richardson, representatives of the offices of U.S. Rep. Jason Smith and U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, he said.

"Everybody has pitched in and really helped, us," Black said.

The county was also offered private donations to assist with repairs, Black said. He asked that individuals use these funds to help home and business owners impacted by the flooding.

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