Months after flooding, some Iowans still wait for aid

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By Charlotte Eby | Saturday, November 15, 2008 6:50 PM CST | () comments

Barb and Ronnie "Dean" Holman of rural LaPorte City, Iowa, stand in front of the FEMA trailer they've been living in since August after their home was damaged by floodwaters this spring. They're still waiting for flood aid that can repair their home enough so they can live in it. (Rick Tibbott/Waterloo Courier) Buy this Photo

DES MOINES — Months after floodwaters ruined Barb Holman’s rural LaPorte City, Iowa, home this spring, Holman is still waiting for a flood aid check that will allow her to fix up her home.

She and her husband, both on disability, lost all of the home’s contents and had no flood insurance.

They have been living in a trailer issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency since August and say assistance hasn’t come fast enough to make repairs to their home.

The trailer they’re staying in is chilly as winter approaches, but Holman’s not complaining.

“It’s a roof over our heads, and you know, at least it’s not under a bridge,” Holman said. “That’s how I’m feeling about the situation. I feel fortunate.”

Demand for housing assistance through the state’s Jumpstart Iowa program has been greater than the money available in parts of the state hit hard by flooding and storms.

The money can be used to make up to $60,000 worth of repairs to damaged homes, provide down payment assistance to those whose homes were damaged beyond repair and help individuals whose damaged homes are slated for a possible buyout make their mortgage payments.

State officials are hoping a new infusion of federal cash will fulfill the need.

So far, the Holmans have gotten $28,000 in FEMA assistance. But Holman said that won’t come close to fixing the damage to their two-bedroom home, which needed a new furnace and septic system.

“It’s like building a new house all over again,” she said.

They’ve spent all of the FEMA money and most of their savings, but the home is still not habitable. Holman’s contractor estimates it will take another $49,000 to get them back in the house.

Holman said she turned in her application for assistance through the state’s Jumpstart Iowa program within a week of it being announced, but she’s still waiting to hear whether she’ll get the money.

Gov. Chet Culver instituted the state program in September to help businesses and homeowners and bridge the gap before more federal aid dollars become available.

But the $20 million funneled to different regions of the state for housing help appears to be far less than the need.

The East Central Intergovernmental Association, which includes Scott County and 10 other counties in the region, has seen 177 applications for housing assistance totaling $5.2 million. The state money given to the association was $2.1 million. Other counties in the association are Cedar, Clinton, Delaware, Des Moines, Dubuque, Henry, Jackson, Lee, Louisa and Muscatine.

Joe Myhre, executive director of the North Iowa Area Council of Governments, said they have received 331 applications requesting a total of more than $6 million for housing repairs, home down payment assistance and interim mortgage assistance.

That’s far more than the $1.7 million that the region, which includes Mason City and Cerro Gordo County, received from the state.

It’s the same situation with the Iowa Northland Regional Council of Governments, which includes Waterloo and Black Hawk County. The region, which represents the northeast part of the state, received $2.1 million in state funding but has had

375 applications requesting a total of $8.5 million.

Tina Potthoff, communications director for the Rebuild Iowa Office overseeing flood and rebuilding efforts across the state, stressed that more federal dollars are available to the regional councils.

“I think the main thing is that checks have been going out on a regular basis and money is still being distributed,” Potthoff said.

But those people who end up getting federal aid dollars instead of state dollars will face more cumbersome requirements, including income limits.

That income limit, established by county, would be $39,400 for a single person or $56,300 for a family of four in Cerro Gordo County, for example.

Sen. Bill Dotzler, D-Waterloo, who was a victim of this year’s floods, still sees a lot of need in the state.

“It gets tremendously frustrating for somebody who in June had a disaster, and here we’re close to December and they’re still waiting for some kind of financial help,” Dotzler said.

He’s hoping more aid checks can get out the door soon.

“When you’ve got their whole lives overturned, and they’re sitting there and every day they can’t move forward because they don’t have the resources, and they know that money’s been promised, it’s tough,” Dotzler said.

Charlotte Eby can be contacted at (515) 243-0138 or chareby@aol.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.