Letter to the Editor

Your View: Efforts appreciated

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Over the past six months, it has been my pleasure to have worked with Scott County, Missouri as FEMA Project Specialist for Federal Disaster 1748 and 1749. The level of cooperation and hospitality in the communities of Scott County are unrivaled by other communities nationwide with whom I have worked. In all, I completed project worksheets totaling $ 138,868.31 for Scott County related to the February ice storms and $ 647,416.81 for the spring flooding. I would commend the work of County Developer/Emergency Management Director Joel Evans for his assistance in this process. His help improved the efficiency of the process in each project.

In addition to serving as the applicant contact for the county, he served as a liaison between FEMA personnel such as myself and the local officials of each of the county's communities. His understanding of the process combined with the obvious trust of the local communities significantly enhanced our progress. Expenses that may have been overlooked or unclaimed were discussed, documented, and in most cases, approved for funding. In one such case, his narrative description and documentation of use provided justification for a claim that had been previously rejected. Open dialog between FEMA the local applicants provided for efficient sight visits, discussion of the damages, and collection of documentation.

This level of cooperation was made possible through Mr. Evans' established relationship with the communities and obvious desire to help these communities. It quickly became obvious that Mr. Evans had read and researched FEMA's Disaster Management Guide and Public Assistance Guide as he presented and defended each project. It is my opinion that without his work, the applicants of Scott County would have submitted substantially lower requests for federal public assistance and fewer of these would have meet the requirements for approval. Not only did his efforts profit the residents of Scott County , but also saved countless Federal dollars through his help to speed the process along. While Projects specialists in other Southeast Missouri counties were completing 1 to two project worksheets per week, I was able to average 6 once that stage began. Please express to Joel, and appreciation for his aid and my thanks to the people of the county for their hospitality.

I will be leaving Missouri on Friday, September 12 to begin working with communities affected by Hurricane Gustav in Louisiana. Should you have any additional questions or concerns, please direct them to the FEMA Public Assistance Coordinator, Theresa Weldon. Thank you again for your hospitality. It was a pleasure to have worked in Scott County.

Hector Rivera

DHS/FEMA-1749-MO

Infrastructure / Public Assistance

Project Specialist