A Kingfisher official said Thursday he is discouraged with the Federal Emergency Management Agency's response to massive flooding in the area.
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City Manager Richard Reynolds said FEMA inspectors have repeatedly rejected public infrastructure problems as qualifying for federal aid because of "evidence of prior damage caused by water."
"It's pretty discouraging," Reynolds told the House Transportation Subcommittee. He said he did not have a meeting with FEMA officials until this week. Floodwaters swamped the Kingfisher area on Aug. 19.
He said he understood FEMA did send people to the area to take photographs soon after the flood. Reynolds said it was the third flood in Kingfisher this year.
He said FEMA ruled out federal help for such things as sink holes in the road and cracks in public buildings. "FEMA is not our salvation," he said.
President Bush has issued a major disaster declaration for Kingfisher, Blaine and Caddo counties, making residents eligible to apply for federal assistance for housing repairs, temporary housing, disaster unemployment assistance and grants for serious needs.
Gov. Brad Henry has said he will also seek public assistance to help cities, towns and counties make infrastructure repairs.
"It's true that FEMA will not cover pre-existing damages to infrastructure, but I don't know what is being referred to here," FEMA spokesman Charlie Henderson said of Reynolds' comments. He said a preliminary survey of public damage is continuing to see if the county qualifies for public assistance.
Reynolds said about 50 percent of residents in low-lying areas inundated with floodwaters may not have insurance to cover their losses.
He said local officials would meet with members of Congress and pursue a plan to resolve flood issues in the area.
"We're going to pursue this and stay with it this time," Reynolds said. He said a previous plan to build reservoirs to solve the problem was derailed by opposition from some landowners.
Committee members also heard Oklahoma Department of Transportation Director Gary Ridley warn that it will take years before damage to highways from the flooding will fully manifest itself.
Ridley said the state is making headway in repairing and replacing faulty bridges and highways, but needs increased funding to do fully do the job.
The flooding, he said, "has taken a toll on an infrastructure that wasn't very good to start with."
Kyran D. Mish, director of the Donald. G. Fears Structural Engineering Laboratory at the University of Oklahoma, said the cost of not fixing the state's infrastructure is great.
Mish said a survey indicates Oklahomans are being hit with almost $1 billion a year in vehicle repairs because of roads that are in poor condition.
He said policy makers should look at infrastructure improvements as an investment and not an expense.
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Maybe if the road repair contracts in this state weren't allotted by the good ole' boy system, we'd get the jobs done more quickly and with less money. I've had numerous out-of-staters who move here and are stunned by the glacial pace our road crews build/repair roads. Here's a thought - stop letting the trucking industry use and abuse our roads by increasing tolls on the big rigs. The "temporary" toll I take to use Kilpatrick has - big shock - turned into a income prop for poor budget planning by road officials. I'm being hosed twice - once through my taxes, and once by paying a toll on a road being destroyed by big rigs.
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