Federal grants offer flood relief

Federal officials have approved more than $7.1 million in grants and loans to victims of this month's flooding across northern and central Indiana.\nThe total is expected to rise as more applications are reviewed and approved. As of Friday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency had approved 2,224 of the 3,645 applications it had received from owners of Indiana homes and businesses affected by flooding during a weeklong string of storms that began July 4.\nOn Friday, FEMA had approved $6,956,496 in grants to individuals and businesses in Indiana and nine low-interest Small Business Administration loans totaling $175,800.\nMeanwhile, a FEMA/State Disaster Recovery Center that opened July 17 in Lafayette was closed Saturday. About 60 people sought assistance from the center during the first nine days of operations.\n"It's based on need, and there just haven't been that many folks visiting this center," FEMA spokesman Mark Harper said.\nFlood victims can still get help by calling (800) 621-3362, or TTY (800) 462-7585.\nCenters in Bluffton, Fort Wayne and Kokomo will remain open, as will the FEMA/State Disaster Field Office in Kokomo, Harper said.\nAn additional center in Terre Haute opened Thursday and another in Decatur opened Friday. A center in Anderson closed Saturday.\nLocal units of government remain on their own in shouldering disaster-related costs.\nState Sen. Brandt Hershman, R-Wheatfield, said he is concerned about the strain disaster response and recovery has placed on budgets at the local government level.\nHershman contacted Gov. Frank O'Bannon last week to request a proclamation sending immediate support to communities and local governments affected by the recent disaster.\nA proclamation issued earlier this month focused on individuals in flood-ravaged areas of central and northern Indiana, but didn't provide specific support for governments needing assistance to restore infrastructure and ensure the well-being of communities, Hershman said.\nFEMA is still in the process of determining whether to make federal assistance available to local governments through the Public Assistance program.\nIn Rensselaer, the city's flood-related costs are at least $248,000 already. The city also could lose about $90,000 a month in capacity payments from the Indiana Municipal Power Agency while equipment at the city-owned power plant remains flood-damaged, clerk-treasurer Frieda Bretzinger said.\nLafayette has suffered at least $500,000 to its parks, Hershman said.\nMeanwhile, the city of Delphi has already spent $500,000 in pumping costs and general cleanup, and the town of Monon recently estimated repair and cleanup costs were approaching $40,000.