Libby city councilors approved an $80,000 contract at a special meeting last week to help the municipality navigate the Federal Emergency Management Agency reimbursement process.

The vote at the Christmas Eve meeting was unanimous, 5-0, with councilor Brian Zimmerman abstaining.

The contract with EA Assist Inc. is for three years. EA Assist will help the city recover FEMA funds and other expenditures regarding the lower Flower Creek Reservoir emergency actions.

The lower structure was breached Dec. 11 by flood surges for about 12 hours. Engineers examining the dam noted seepage along one side and soil erosion resulting from the increased water level, said Patricia Spencer, the communications supervisor of the Water Resources Division at the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.  

The water level of the reservoir was lowered by about two feet Dec. 14 to reduce pressure on the compromised dam and minimize the risk of a total structural failure. Efforts to stabilize the damaged area continued during the morning of Dec. 15.  

According to information on the EA Assist website, it has recovered more than $3 billion in disaster funding in the last seven years.

Most of its work has been done in the Southeast part of the country, but one of its projects was in Snohomish County, Washington for a debris removal project following the deadly March 22, 2014, Oso landslide on State Route 530, 60 miles north of Seattle. The slide left 200,000 cubic yards of material in its wake.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the massive landslide caused 43 fatalities in the community of Steelhead Haven near Oso,

destroyed about 40 homes and other structures, buried nearly a mile of highway and blocked the North Fork Stillaguamish River. 

Precipitation in the area during February and March of 2014 was 150 to 200 percent of the long-term average.

Two members of the Libby government study commission questioned the contract.

Vince Backen asked if city employees could do the work.

“It seems like something the city could do,” Backen said.

City clerk and treasurer Leann Monigold considered it before speaking with EA Assist founder Laurel Matula and project specialist Erin McCauley.

“The paperwork is considerable and I’m not sure we can handle it all,” Monigold said.

City administrator Sam Sikes said having a company who has worked extensively with FEMA working on its behalf is very important.

“When we’re dealing with FEMA, words matter. They have technical experience that we don’t,” Sikes said.

DC Orr said the money the city got from International Paper should have been used to maintain the water system.

“There should be a forensic audit of the IP money,” Orr said. “I can’t wait until we have a new mayor.”

Incoming mayor Hugh Taylor, who voted for the contract, questioned where the hourly rates were in the contract before fellow councilors pointed out they were in the packet of information each member had before them.