FEMA appeal

moves forward

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Brown County commissioners moved the FEMA appeal forward Tuesday with little discussion.

The county will now join other Minnesota local governments affected by FEMA's recent decision in a joint appeal to the federal agency's regional headquarters in Chicago asking it to reconsider a decision to reverse what seemed like a done deal.

Brown County has 35 projects that are eligible for FEMA funding of approximately $180,000. It shares some judicial ditches with Redwood, Watonwan and Cottonwood counties. FEMA money represents a 75 percent reimbursement for disaster repair with state, county and city money picking up the rest of the tab.

FEMA notified Brown County of its decision in a Dec. 13 letter, saying it reversed its decision after finding a Minnesota state statute that requires governments to spend their own money on disaster relief before applying for federal funds. The county is currently in the initial 60-day appeal period. If it decides to make a second appeal to the FEMA commissioner in Washington, D.C., another 60-day appeal period will go into effect.

Although some uncertainty remained, commissioners voted unanimously to pass both a resolution supporting the joint effort and also agreed to pay St. Cloud attorney Kurt A. Dieter to represent Brown County along with the other governments making the appeal.

Commissioner Charles Guggisberg was absent from the meeting.

Dieter's services will cost Brown County $2,500, for which Auditor-Treasurer Marlin Helget said Dieter will bill the county after the appeals process is over. Helget said the cost could be taken care of by the people who receive repairs using the FEMA money.

Commissioners had some questions about Dieter's reputation.

County Attorney James Olson said he knows Dieter has an excellent reputation for working on such appeals. Commissioner Richard Seeboth agreed, saying he thought Dieter will "pull out all the stops because this could hurt his credibility if it fails."

Olson advised the board to contact the other counties that share judicial ditches with Brown County.

Both parts of the resolution passed with unanimous role call votes.

In other action, the board approved Highway Engineer Wayne Stevens' request to serve temporarily as Watonwan County's highway engineer. Stevens explained that the agreement simply allows him to sign documents that keep a Watonwan County construction project going. Commissioner Andrew Lochner voiced concerns about whether or not Stevens could handle the job because he's only been in Brown County for one month.

Stevens replied that the the Watonwan County construction project is "well-set up and pretty much ready to go."

Lochner and Chairman James Berg agreed that "it's good to help a neighbor out," and moved Stevens' request.

The board also unanimously approved two certificates of support for Parents-In-Partnership's quest for federal assistance for a new day care facility in New Ulm.

Family Services Director Tom Henderson said the building would be at Brown County Road 27 and Highland Avenue in New Ulm.

In other action, the board also approved a $15,404 reserve fund payment that covers the unbudgeted portion of the bill for the dike removal work on the dredge deposit site on Lake Hanska. The money comes from the county park reserve fund.