Downriver Community Conference's FEMA Application Approved

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The Downriver Community Conference has been approved for federal flood assistance to help pay for cleanup of its Southgate headquarters, which was heavily damaged in August 2014 flooding.

The DCC incurred $106,750, of which $25,000 was covered by insurance.

The application for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency had been stalled, said Hannah Smith, a spokeswoman for Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, who nudged authorities to approve the request.

“This funding is great news for the DCC and Downriver communities,” Dingell said in a statement. “The August 2014 flood placed significant undue hardship on our communities, and I witnessed firsthand the damage done to this important institution by the four feet of standing water in their boiler room.”

Dingell said FEMA support will help DCC help alleviate the hardship on residents and contribute to the ongoing recovery of the district.

The DCC will work with Chris Kelenske, deputy state director of Emergency Management and Homeland Security at the Michigan State Police, who will oversee the project completion and distribution of the reimbursement.

DCC Executive Director Jim Perry credited Dingell with moving the application through the process.

“We couldn’t have done it without her efforts,” Perry said, also in a statement.

FEMA pays 75 percent of eligible recovery costs.

The assistance is provided through FEMA’s Public Assistance (PA) Grant Program, which provides assistance to state, tribal and local governments and certain types of private nonprofit organizations to assist communities to quickly respond and recover from a major disaster or emergencies declared by the president.