Hoquiam eyes federal funds to pay for Beacon Hill repairs

The City of Hoquiam has successfully applied for federal funding to repair damage to Beacon Hill Drive from a mudslide, but the funds likely won’t be available for another two months, a state Department of Transportation official said.

The city is still waiting for the bill it incurred for contractors’ clean-up of the hill following the landslide on Jan. 5, said Brian Shay, the city’s administrator. The cost of repairs, he added, would probably amount to nearly $800,000.

But as the city waits for a final number, it has already filed for federal disaster funding that would refill the coffers. The funds come directly from the Federal Highway Administration, and only cover damage to roads classified as federal roads. Expenses for soil removal, road repairs and fixes to the sewer system all qualify for reimbursement.

Neal Campbell, the DOT’s local programs engineer for the Olympic Region, said Beacon Hill Drive meets that classification as a minor collector of traffic from larger thoroughfares.

The first step of the process, Shay said, was estimating the damage accrued, providing photographs and filling out a detailed damage assessment. That’s since been filed, and Shay said all that’s left to do is wait.

Campbell added that because the program is a reimbursement, the city must collect a bill before receiving any federal cash. Once the expenses have been documented, it will take the city as long as two months to see the money, Campbell said.

But that typically only happens “in a perfect world,” he said.

“The world is rarely perfect though,” Campbell added. “Things need to be fixed, bills need to be adjusted, but that’s sort of the bottom line.”

With the funding mostly secured, Shay said the city will benefit substantially from the federal assistance. “It would be huge for the city to get federal funds because this specific damage and expense all has to be charged to our general fund, which is the fund that has the least amount of financial resources available,” he said. “Getting this funding would be a huge boost to the city that’s already in a tough financial position.”