DisastersFEMA will pay to replace University of Iowa buildings damaged in flood
The University of Iowa will receive nearly $84 million to replace an auditorium, as well as arts and music facilities, which were damaged by a flood; the decision comes after the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of DHS said that FEMA had improperly applied a rule requiring facilities to be repaired unless the damage exceeds 50 percent of the cost of building a replacement
The University of Iowa will receive nearly $84 million to replace an auditorium, as well as arts and music facilities, which were damaged by a flood.
The money represents a win after months of lobbying and pressure from Governor Terry Branstad, congressional delegation, and others.
The Times-Union reports that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said in January 2009 that it would replace Iowa’s Hancher Auditorium as well as a studio arts building and the school of music building after the Iowa River flooded in June 2008, forcing the evacuation and closure of twenty buildings.
Originally, the plan was to build replacements on higher ground away from the river which runs through the campus, but in June the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of DHS said that FEMA had mistakenly applied a rule requiring facilities to be repaired unless the damage exceeds 50 percent of the cost of building a replacement.
OIG said that FEMA based its decision on inaccurate data on the cost of a replacement building and flawed calculations by employees after the disaster.
The IG said the government should put the $84 million, which is the difference between rebuilding the existing buildings and construction of replacements, “to better use.”
Rafeal Borras, DHS’s undersecretary for management, said that FEMA should go forward with the funding of the buildings.
Sally Mason, the president of the university, said the final decision on funding clears the way for construction. “Our students and campus can now move forward with certainty that they will have the facilities they need,” she said in a statement earlier this week.
The Times-Union notes that Mark Schouten, the administrator of the Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division, said the university has spent almost $30 million on land acquisition, architectural design, and engineering work for the replacement facilities.
Borras said the money the university spent factored into his decision. “Iowa has incurred approximately $100 million additional damages to both buildings collectively due to mold, mildew, and lack of maintenance.”
Schouten told the Times Union that replacing the buildings outside the flood plain is in the best interest of taxpayers and that it eliminates expensive costs of repairing buildings that have been empty since the flood.
