Disaster assistance is complicated

The Royal City Council has wondered for more than two months why Clay County was not included in the governor's disaster proclamation after the July 5 derecho. Now they have their answer.

Clay County Emergency Management Coordinator Eric Tigges said during this month's council meeting that three types of disaster assistance are available. A presidential declaration is the most common but eligibility for federal assistance is tied to the amount of public sector and state uninsurable damage.

A second category of disaster aid is individual assistance, which is difficult to obtain.

"I've applied four times and have never been successful," Tigges said. "That shows how tough it is for Iowa."

Iowa has an individual assistance program that allocates state resources to qualifying low-income families. There is no state-level disaster funding for municipalities and counties, which is why Clay County did not pursue it.

"Since it was a wind event, it never occurred to me to apply for assistance," Tigges noted.

He added that some events are insured losses while individual assistance from the state covers uninsured situations.

In other business, Gary Toft offered to donate 11 white oak trees to the city. According to Mayor Josh Toft, the donor requested that seven trees be planted in the northeast corner of Memorial Park while the other four can be planted on any other city property.

The Royal Visioning Board was scheduled to meet later in the week and they would be consulted regarding where the donated trees should be planted.

Michels Corporation is making progress on underground utility installations for Alliant Energy. Sherman Nielsen, Royal's maintenance superintendent, said the company hopes to have their portion of the project completed by the first week in November.

"I'm hoping for Thanksgiving," he added. "They have a lot of work to do."

Nielsen and Council Member Matt Goyette plan to survey the town and enter water shutoff locations into a GPS system. Bids were being obtained for replacing the Triangle Park shelter house roof. Nielsen recommends that a steel roofing system be used.

The council also talked about the farm-to-market road situation which was discussed last month with Clay County Supervisor Barry Anderson. Further research will be done into the location of the farm-to-market road into Royal.