| Residents ask why FEMA flood repairs aren't yet finished on county roads |
By: Darrell Todd Maurina
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Posted: Thursday, February 26, 2009 10:29 pm
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Colby Schnetzler and his wife Kimberly ask for help with their flood-damaged road during Thursday's county commission meeting.
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PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (Feb. 26, 2009) — It’s been about a year since Pulaski County was struck by major flood damage, and several rural residents aren’t happy that their roads still haven’t been fixed.
Colby and Kimberly Schnetzler came to the county commission Thursday morning and asked why their road east of St. Robert hasn’t been fixed.
“I live right down on the bottom and ever since the floods that road has basically been destroyed,” Colby Schnetzler said. “There are huge potholes in it … Right now it’s just like the old river bottom, and there are huge rocks.”
His wife concurred.
“We lost two vehicles in that flood and we had to go out and get a new vehicle. The vehicle front is all scratched up now. Is that something the county will take care of because it didn’t get fixed?” Emily Schnetzler said.
Commissioner Bill Farnham said repairing private cars is not something Pulaski County does, and said his own road crews are suffering from the damage as well. Farnham said one of his road graders almost went into the river due to road damage that still hasn’t been fixed.
“Why hasn’t it been done yet?” Emily Schnetzler said. “It’s been a year now.”
“Probably because I’ve got about 300 miles of roads and only 10 guys to take care of it,” Farnham replied. “I do have a guy working on the big hill there because it got really bad and there’s red clay.”
Colby Schnetzler wanted more details on how the county has spent money received from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for road repair work after the floods.
“Can I ask how much FEMA gave to help you fix this road?” he asked.
Farnham said he didn’t have the specific details of how much has been spent on the Schnetzlers’ road repair work, but Presiding Commissioner Bill Ransdall said about $198,000 of FEMA funds remain unspent. Ransdall assured the couple that work is ongoing in the Eastern District.
“He’s been spending it. I’ve been signing his bills, and there was a stack of bills an inch thick of work,” Ransdall said.
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