FEMA has decided to grant Orange County over $3.6 million for hurricane damage to the county government center in Goshen. County Executive Edward Diana had originally sought about $7.5 million,
Diana and the State Office of Emergency Management have both endorsed the funding.
The award is a far cry from the $505,290 FEMA first offered the county. It upped that to $534,980, but Diana now said it is because of the perseverance of his administration to challenge the numbers that convinced FEMA to increase them dramatically.
“We fought for our taxpayers to receive every dollar afforded them under federal law,” he said.
FEMA’s project worksheet said the damages to the building were as a result of “rain water entering through the roof system and through the porous split face exterior masonry units.” It also said “wind driven rain resulted in damages to the Orange County Government Center resulting in water infiltration into the building from roof and building leaks.”
Diana had been pushing for the county legislature to approve funding to build a new government center, but lawmakers refused to fund it.