Neosho eligible for disaster recovery grants following 2017 flood

March 24-- Mar. 24--NEOSHO, Mo. -- Nearly two years after some of the worst flooding in its history, Neosho is hoping to qualify for millions of dollars in disaster recovery grants.

The city is eligible for a share of $58.5 million in Community Development Block Grant funding made available by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The money can be used to help rebuild or rehabilitate homes, businesses or infrastructure damaged by the flooding in the spring of 2017. That flooding cost Newton County nearly $3 million in verified public and private losses. The Neosho City Council heard a presentation last week about the grant program from the Harry S. Truman Coordinating Council and others.

"Neosho's zip code was one of five communities along the southern part of Missouri that was chosen for basically a once-in-a-lifetime funding opportunity to deal with unmet needs, particularly at this point in time, housing," said Jill Cornett, executive director of the coordinating council, a regional planning commission.

Record crest

Rivers swollen by 6 to 10 inches of rain in late April 2017 caused widespread damage throughout Newton County. Many rivers in the state, including Shoal Creek, set new flood crests.

According to FEMA data acquired from the Newton County Emergency Management Office, Newton County recorded at least 284 homeowners and 85 renters who experienced property damage. Some homes were destroyed; others had various levels of damage. Three Newton County businesses were destroyed, nine businesses had major damage and 20 had minor damage.

Newton County Commissioner Alan Cook said two or three county roads had to be temporarily closed for repairs after the flood. Several other roads were heavily washed out and several bridges also were damaged.

Then Gov. Eric Greitens requested a major disaster declaration for affected areas around the state, including Newton County, making federal assistance available. Catholic Charities, the Red Cross, Team Rubicon and other groups aided victims.

However, many residents were financially unprepared for the disaster.

A Globe survey after the flooding found that nearly everyone lacked flood insurance. Only one resident of Riverside Drive in Neosho, a neighborhood of about 35 homes that sits near Hickory Creek, had flood insurance. A portion of the neighborhood is mapped inside a high-risk flood zone, but residents said nearly every house had some damage.

The Globe survey also found that in Missouri, where flooding has been getting worse, the number of active flood insurance policies had dropped by 19 percent since 2012, even as premiums declined.

Community meeting

HUD's investment of $58.5 million to support disaster recovery follows its approval of Missouri's disaster action plan. HUD will designate 80 percent of those funds to the five hardest hit zip codes in the state, said Marcy Oerly, manager of Missouri's Community Development Block Grant program. The other four communities in Missouri to get the lion's share of the funding are Branson, West Plains, Doniphan and Van Buren.

Oerly said that Neosho should begin to identify areas and structures that are in the most need of funding as soon as possible, as the grant application requires the city to plan the projects it wants to complete.

"These are competitive," Oerly said of the grants. "Just because you are one of the five zip codes does not automatically mean that you get a certain amount of money, so you have to apply for that funding."

Cornett said that the Harry S. Truman Coordinating Council will act as the city's grant administrator, helping city officials ensure that the application process is done correctly.

"But we are a planning council, we can't make decisions for your community," she said. "So we're going to need input, we're going to need some cooperation and coordination."

To help start the process, Cornett said that the city and the coordinating council should plan a community meeting so residents can help pinpoint areas in the city that were the most damaged by the flooding.

"I want to make sure that those voices are heard before anybody starts planning anything," she added.

Neosho City Councilman Tom Workman said he wants such a meeting scheduled as soon as possible to hear thoughts and concerns from community members.

Cornett said that a community meeting could most likely be scheduled for next month, though a specific date has not been set.

"What we need to do is gauge how the community feels and the direction they want to take," she added.

Long-term strategy

Jill Cornett, executive director of the Harry S. Truman Coordinating Council, said that the regional planning group would like to begin working with Neosho officials to develop a strategy for addressing the possibility of repeated flooding of low-lying areas in the city caused by changing weather patterns.

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