RIO Press Release
| For Immediate Release | Media Contact : |
| October 13, 2009 | Tina Potthoff |
REBUILD IOWA COORDINATING COUNCIL DISCUSSES ADDITIONAL ACTION ITEMS FOR 2008 DISASTER RECOVERY
Council Addresses State’s Long-Term Recovery Effort, Federal Challenges
(DES MOINES) – Today, the Rebuild Iowa Coordinating Council held its third meeting since its creation to discuss additional action that would be taken or needed to be taken to help Iowa recover from its largest natural disaster.
The mission of the Coordinating Council is to encourage cooperation and partnership among state and local government agencies regarding Iowa’s long-term disaster recovery plans from the 2008 storms and floods that impacted 85 of Iowa’s 99 counties. Today, members continued their discussion from the Council’s last meeting in July about successes and bottlenecks in the recovery process. The Coordinating Council also suggested actions the state can take to address topics such as Individual Assistance, Public Assistance and Infrastructure, and Long-Term Community Recovery for the 2008 disasters.
Discussed action items surrounding Individual Assistance included institutionalizing the State’s case management system, expediting the buyout process, continuing to assist those living in FEMA mobile homes, providing additional support to Long-Term Recovery Committees and disaster assistance programs, protecting impacted homeowners from foreclosure, assisting displaced renters and continuing mental health response team training.
Action needed for Public Assistance and Infrastructure-related concerns included moving facilities out of flood plains whenever possible, completing new flood plain maps and modeling, considering new land use rules, continuing to educate community leaders and citizens about mitigation efforts and creating more comprehensive guidelines for locating government property.
And, discussed action items for Long-Term Community Recovery efforts included supporting community planning, implementing Smart Growth statewide planning principles during the rebuilding process, creating more incentives for arts and cultural projects, and planning for protection and recovery of personal, city/county and historical documents.
The RIO’s legislative proposals for the 2010 Legislative Session were also discussed and included many of the proposed action items for the issues listed above.
The Coordinating Council reiterated the state’s successes in the disaster recovery effort. These include securing funding from various sources for infrastructure improvements and assistance, providing and establishing a case management system for individuals, working on pilot projects to integrate “green strategies,” and identifying assistance to move and rehabilitate historically significant properties. However, some of the continued roadblocks include a need for flexibility with federal disaster funds, the lack of a centralized database and a shared information system for disaster tracking, challenges with the duplication of benefits process, the lack of restrictions on development in flood plains, and the lack of resources for comprehensive planning for long-term recovery.
More information about the best practices, challenges and action items discussed at today’s meeting can be found in the RIO’s October Quarterly Report at: www.rio.iowa.gov/resources/reports.html.
The Coordinating Council was created in HF64, the same legislation that formalized the Rebuild Iowa Office. The Council was created to facilitate communication among state agencies, local governments and the Rebuild Iowa Office. The Coordinating Council consists of representatives from 18 state agencies, the Iowa League of Cities, the Iowa State Association of Counties, Council of Governments and four Iowa legislators.
The next Coordinating Council meeting will be in December.
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