FEMA Aid is Big News for Small Wisconsin Town
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LAKESIDE - Off of Highway 13 about 15 miles east of Superior, Lakeside, often goes unnoticed.
However, June's flooding put the town of less than 700 on the radar for damages in need of federal help.
"For the entire area, it was pretty catastrophic," Lakeside Chair Thomas Johnson said.
Most of the damage came from culverts that crumbled into pieces and washed out roads.
At one point, it cut off access for some homeowners and those trying to get to Camp Amnicon.
"No one was prepared for any of this event," Johnson said. "Hopefully we'll never see anything like it again, but we learned a lot from it and we just gotta plug along."
The flood left nine major culverts in disrepair.
"We've found stuff even after we talked to FEMA that we gotta take care of," Johnson said.
At last count, the town estimated about $160,000 in public damage.
But, a sigh of relief came Thursday.
"It was one of the calls you like to get," Johnson said.
With aid from FEMA approved, it means the town no longer has to come up with about $40,000 for damage to public infrastructure, but rather, about half of that.
"The assistance is just imperative, we have to get it," Douglas County Director of Emergency Management Keith Keseler said.
Emergency management officials worked with towns like Lakeside to get the aid approved; knowing it would difficult for them to pick up the tab.
"Their budgets are so small that when they experience damage that's of high numbers, they have nowhere to fund it from," Kesler said.
But with federal aid coming to the rescue, flood damaged areas can take on new life without towns taking out new loans.
"It's gonna be an inconvenience even on the short term and long term, but it'll work out a lot better with the funding from FEMA," Johnson said. "It's much appreciated."
