[This is part 3 of a multi-article series on the Grant County Commission long work session on Nov. 15, 2022. It will cover the discussion on flood repair costs.]

By Mary Alice Murphy

Grant County Emergency Manager Justin Gojkovich led a discussion with commissioners on flood repair costs at the work session on Nov. 15, 2022.

He said the first thing he would talk about is the $750,000 in emergency funds the state has allocated to the area. "I also want to talk about the acequias and the ditches in the MImbres and Cliff-Gila areas. The first thing the state wants is for the acequias and ditches to meet, get their board members in place and have minutes. The state will ask for all that. The funding that the state allocated is 100 percent reimbursable, so it needs to be spent first and then it will be reimbursed. The Gila Farm Ditch, for example, needs about $55,000 to fix the diversion head gate repair and it has $23,000 in its budget, from what I learned at a meeting out there a few weeks ago. They can't come up with the money to start with. That's why I suggested they come to the county and when spent the state will reimburse the county. But only when the ditch is returned to the way it the day before the damage happened. The ditch cannot do any upgrades or improvements, or the state will not reimburse the expenses."

He said he had just found out about a meeting in Mimbres with the Department of Transportation that afternoon. The NM DOT has been removing sediment and debris in Mora and Lincoln counties, because they received federal emergency designation from the fires and had equipment immediately and it was paid for 100 percent.

"Us, we've had rain a month straight," Gojkovich said. "Everyone I talked to, ditch associations, private landowners, all of them had the same problem. They couldn't get equipment into the areas without it getting stuck and sinking into the clay, which created more problems. This is definitely an emergency, and it will become a crisis if they don't have mitigation plans for when the creek is drier and they can get equipment in. The DOT will be reviewing the Upper and Lower Mimbres today. Some of the Lower Mimbres ditches have been able to clean out their ditches and are ready to receive water right now. DOT is going out to Cliff and Gila tomorrow to look at the ditches there and see if they can remove some of the sediment and debris. That will ultimately save some money for the county up front. The DOT will be refunded by the state from state funds."

He said some people aren't sure which ditch they're on, so they need to go to the ditch and acequia meetings to get their requests in. "I took the request for assistance forms out to both Mimbres and Cliff-Gila to people to fill out. The forms must be filled out and if they have questions they can call the New Mexico Emergency Operations Center, which is part of NM Homeland Security. I've asked to be cc'ed on everything, so I'm in the loop knowing they have sent in the paperwork. It's a slow process, because we are one of the 10 counties out of 33 that have applied for these funds. From the meetings I've had, we're light years ahead of a lot of counties around us because we declared an emergency immediately. A lot of the counties haven't even declared an emergency yet for their damages to acequias or ditches. Are there any questions before I get into the NRCS (National Resources Conservation Service) part?"

District 3 Commissioner Alicia Edwards said she wanted to make sure she had all the details straight. "So, we declared for state emergency and got that. That's the $750,000."

District 4 Commissioner Billy Billings said that money has been allocated to the county, "right? But it's only for reimbursement. We're not sitting on that pot of money."

Gojokovich confirmed that. "If we spend it, we will get reimbursed."

Edwards said the county applied for federal emergency designation but did not meet the state threshold of $3.4 million for the state damages.

Gojokovich said the Acequia Association is doing its own assessments, because it has a strong feeling that the federal government low-balled the estimates.

Edwards noted that she had read the estimate on just Grant County damage is $1.1 million. "Why is that different?"

Gojkovich said the state funding of $750,000 is only for public infrastructure. "They're not looking at ag land, at farm land, at fences, at riprap or sediment removal and such. It has to be $3.4 million for state damages to get federal funding."

He said he had asked the same questions Edwards was posing and would break it down.

"Each county has to meet a threshold," Gojkovich said. "The way they determine the threshold is a certain dollar amount times the census of that county. So, for Grant County, our threshold is $115,550,52. Once we meet that threshold, the county can apply for that state funding. Larger counties by census have larger thresholds. We surpassed that threshold in Cliff-Gila alone, so we got assessments done. The first report said the state had more than $25 million in damages across the state. They did the assessments and said $650,000 was proof of assessment. But only three of the 10 counties met that threshold."

"This is an aside and I will move on," Edwards said, "but essentially we are being penalized for having a lower population."

"I wouldn't say we are being penalized for population," Gojkovich replied. "I would say we are being penalized by other counties not doing adequate assessments of damages that occurred. That means taking pictures, getting out there and doing the report. We and the guys had to go step by step determining how many cubic yards of sediment there were. That's how FEMA and Homeland Security work."

Edwards asked what conversation the county is having with the governor, lt. governor, whoever. "It's ridiculous that we have to spend it first before we get reimbursed. The ridiculousness when the state could write a check for $750,000. It's a drop in their bucket."

County Manager Charlene Webb, who was manager for a time in Sierra County, said: "We had the same issue in Sierra. We had a vocal group of legislators speaking to how ridiculous it was. Their comments fell on deaf ears. FEMA is the same, reimbursement based. There has to be some effort to fix things like this that need to change."

Gojkovich said he's very passionate about the issues. "I've done my research. We need someone to push for us. When this happened in 2008. FEMA paid up front to the acequias, but now it's reimbursement only."

District 5 Commissioner Harry Browne said: "Thankfully, the county has some resources. We can use reserves and get the county reimbursed."

Gojkovich said the acequias will have to request the county pay for the repairs. "They will have to come to you."

Edwards said she heard that the acequias had done the paperwork.

Billings noted that the funding is not going to individuals, but to ditch associations. "One path is for them to do it themselves, but since they don't have enough money, they must come to us."

Gojkovich asked if the county had any specific request for assistance.

Webb replied that it is only for public infrastructure. "Individuals will have to go through the NRCS."

Billings noted that the Upper Gila Ditch Association needs about $55,000; the Fort West Ditch about $50,000 and the Gila Farm Ditch about $60,000. Gojkovich added that about $20,000 is needed in Mimbres.

"What guarantee do we have to get reimbursement from the state," Billings asked. "Do we just have to make sure all the 'I's are dotted and the 'Ts' crossed?"

Gojkovich said the scope of work has not been submitted. "What was explained to me by Homeland Security is that they will do the inspection to make sure the restoration is only back to the way it was before the flood." The ditches need to submit the RPA directly to Homeland Security.

"Will the ditches had to do the same to the county?" Edwards asked. "They need to submit to the county and Homeland Security the amount they are short?"

District 1 Commissioner and Chair Chris Ponce asked who would oversee the work "so as not to get caught in a technicality of doing improvements, for example?"

Gojkovich said the state wants photos before, during and after the work, "but a lot don't have before photos."

Edwards chimed in again: "It seems ridiculous to expect them to have before photos."

Billings noted that all the work needs to be done by February, so those on the ditches can plant their crops.

Gojkovich noted that the Lower Mimbres ditches have cleaned theirs out. "The DOT has a contract to clean up the ditches."

Webb asked: "Would it be OK if Justin and I come up with the process to make sure the county will get reimbursed?"

Gojkovich said he has told Homeland Security that the repairs need to be done before February. "I submitted to the recovery team for Road Department repairs."

Webb noted that Homeland Security is very understaffed, with 22 vacancies.

Gojkovich said he emails all the agencies at once "just to get a response. With email I have a paper trail."

On the NRCS information, he said the NRCS submitted every damage report by Nov. 1. "We have given it two months. We concluded that damage totals $4,382,275 for 60 landowners. The county match is $1,095,568.75, but the county is not liable yet for payment. When it is approved, we will talk to the Soil and Water Conservation Districts to see if they can pay with cash or in kind for the match. The NRCS wants to know the threats of damaged infrastructure or safety concerns. But it may not necessarily cover private property, such as a driveway. NRCS can come out and rebuild ditches and put in riprap to stop erosion."

Billings cautioned that the NRCS is "very slow."

Gojkovich agreed and said he was told it would be at least 18 months and "that was before the Florida hurricane."

Billings asked where the county can get the match.

Gojkovich said landowners can use their own equipment as in kind for the match. "There is a formula. We came up with about $350 per hour per dozer for the in-kind match.'

Webb said the rate includes the body on the rental or owned equipment.

Billings asked about road repairs in Gila and Mimbres.

"The Road Department has already put in more than $40,000 and that will increase," Gojkovich said.

The next article will begin with county reports at the work session.

For the previous articles, please visit https://www.grantcountybeat.com/news/news-articles/75418-grant-county-commission-hears-public-input-and-presentations-at-work-session-111522-part-1; and https://www.grantcountybeat.com/news/news-articles/75445-grant-county-commission-hears-public-input-and-presentations-at-work-session-111522-part-2 .