Money covers City’s 10% match already spent
Lyons asks why can’t city pay out of pocket
Public works director: ‘silly’ not to accept
MANDEVILLE — Candidate for mayor Jeff Lyons asked the City Council Thursday not to accept a pending FEMA reimbursement for Hurricane Ida damages and debris removal that the City of Mandeville funded out of pocket during the aftermath of the storm in 2021.
Resolution 24-08 authorizes Mayor Clay Madden to execute the documents necessary to receive $335,474.84 in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-RD) Infrastructure funds through the Public Assistance Cost Share for Hurricane Ida 4611 – CAT A – Debris Removal program.
The money would offset the City of Mandeville’s 10-percent matching funds it spent on damages and debris removal in the aftermath of the storm in 2021.
Public Works Director Keith LaGrange said it would be “silly” for the City not to accept the funds, but Lyons, who has been critical of Madden, particularly when it comes to his budgets, addressed the council before the resolution was unanimously adopted, suggesting the city should not be seeking reimbursement for the Ida expenses.
(Watch comments by candidate for mayor Jeff Lyons here…)
Lyons, who is running against Madden, asked, “What existing conditions pose a serious and immediate threat to our community health and welfare? … What’s the urgency? It’s debris removal. … Why can’t we finance this on our own?”
However, the program in question reimburses municipalities for expenses incurred in the aftermath of the storm for damages and debris removal, not for debris that still needs to be cleaned up.
Councilman at Large Rick Danielson asked LaGrange, “Are there any requirements on the backend of this to the federal government, or is this strictly just a straight-up reimbursement from Ida?”
LaGrange replied, “Reimbursement for existing money you’ve already spent.”
According to LaGrange, the State of Louisiana is giving this money to all municipalities who seek it, not just Mandeville.
“So it’d be silly for us not to accept it,” he added.
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Mandeville Daily 