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Citation:          FEMA-1604-DR-MS; City of Ocean Springs

Cross -            Eligible Costs

Reference:

Summary:       Hurricane Katrina’s high winds and flood waters caused severe damage to 13 public parks located throughout the City of Ocean Springs (Applicant).  PW 1055 was prepared to document damages and associated repair costs.  FEMA reduced the repair costs by $10,200 and excessive engineering fees by $4,589 for work completed at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (Memorial) as they were deemed ineligible following the final inspection.  

                        The Applicant appealed this determination on November 7, 2008, and provided additional documentation from their engineering firm substantiating that damages  to the Memorial were related to the disaster.  FEMA partially approved the appeal on June 10, 2009, for an additional $6,990 in eligible repair costs and $239 in A/E fees deemed reasonable costs. The total amount approved for the work completed at the Memorial totaled $10,998 for eligible work and $2,200 in A/E fees.

The Applicant submitted its second appeal on August 10, 2009, requesting funding in the amount of $7,560.  The Applicant reiterates its argument that A/E fees were inappropriately reduced and that the remaining $3,210 in repair costs for soil removal and caulking replacement were related to damages caused by the disaster and necessary to repair as they presented  a safety risk.  The Applicant provided additional documentation from their engineering firm stating that the repair work was necessary to restore the Memorial site to its original condition.  The calculation of the A/E fees based on reasonable costs amounts to $2,842, an increase of $642. The total amount of the partial approval is $3,852.  An overview of the costs and appeal activity is included in Table 1.       

Issue:              Are additional repair and A/E fees eligible costs?

Finding:           Partially.   

Rationale:       44 CFR §206.223 (a)(3) General Work Eligibility; Office of Management and Budget, OMB Circular A-87 Revised , Effective May 10, 2004