Pikeville town board expresses frustration with federal aid
By Brandon Davis
Published in News on March 8, 2017 9:44 AM
PIKEVILLE -- The town of Pikeville approved funding to repair a waste water pump damaged during Hurricane Matthew as it waits for FEMA funding for a replacement.
Michael Hunt, town administrator, said damages to the pump put its replacement at $48,000. The town approved a $4,000 loan to repair it to be used immediately.
Gary Pittman, town accountant, allowed the town to take out a loan from the electric fund for the repairs, but the town must pay back the money by June 3.
Hunt said the town met with the FEMA in November and December to file a claim for reimbursement since the pump was damaged during a natural storm.
Hunt said the town also asked the administration for assistance with debris removal and overtime pay for police officers and emergency personnel.
FEMA asked the town to submit original forms for a possible replacement. Hunt said the town resubmitted the paperwork, but a new group from FEMA inspected the trash pump on-site two months ago -- with no confirmation of a replacement pump. He said FEMA contacted him last week for the town to submit formal paperwork.
"We're back to where we were before," Hunt said. "I've been in contact with FEMA at least a dozen times, and we're not as close as we thought we were to getting a reimbursement."
Hunt said Hurricane Irene hit the county in August of 2011, and he said the town received help from FEMA in March of 2012. Hunt said he hopes to receive assistance from FEMA in the following months. He said the town used the portable trash-waste water pump to help people at the Countryside Village the day after the hurricane hit Wayne County last October. But Hunt said the pump discharged large amounts of water and debris at the assisted living facility before shutting off for good due to excessive use.
Robert Hunt, who maintains manhole covers and storm drains in the city, said the pump is used once monthly to transfer water from one pond to the other after a heavy rain. To protect the dikes from erosion, the pump sucks up the excess rain water, moves it through a waste water line and places it in another pond with less water.
"If the pond gets too full with rain water, it won't fit through our plant -- it sits in our storage pond," he said.
He said water moving through the pump rusted the bits inside after the hurricane, but he said the engine is currently operable.
"We've been in the process for some time, just as everybody in Wayne County and eastern North Carolina," Michael Hunt said. "We would like to be reimbursed for a new pump, but if it comes down to repair it, we'll do that as well."