FEMA Approves Federal Money for Flood Recovery in Public Buildings

FEMA has approved the use of federal money to pay for some of the damage to public property during this month’s flood.FEMA will pay up to 75% of the recovery costs from damage done to Louisville Metro Government buildings, the University of Louisville and Sts. Mary andElizabeth Hospital.Mayor’s office spokesperson Chris Poynter says the federal government will pick up flood damage costs that aren’t covered by insurance.“Most of our buildings were insured," says Poynter, "the library has good insurance, other buildings that we had flooding in had insurance, but there are always going to be uninsured losses, and this will now cover that.”He adds the money was also extended to overtime hours for some city workers.“We can now apply for public assistance for debris pickup,' says Poynter. "As you know, we’ve been doing targeted debris pickup. This is the now the third time we’ve been through it. That means a lot of overtime for our city workers who will now be able to be reimbursed from the federal government.”The Kentucky state government could end up covering another 15-percent of the flood costs, though that hasn’t been determined yet.