Such preparation services could cost the city as much as $19,000, but the contractor would bring valuable experience navigating FEMA regulations, officials said.
The contractor’s services could also help the city obtain more reimbursement money from FEMA in the event of a natural disaster, a council member noted.
During a work session Tuesday afternoon, the Tupelo City Council met with Danny Shows, president and CEO of SCHAUS Disaster and Assistance Services.
In February, Lee County supervisors approved a contract with SCHAUS for nearly identical services as he proposes to provide to Tupelo.
Under a proposed contract presented Tuesday, the Ellisville-based firm would write plans for the monitoring and removal of debris following a natural disaster.
The firm will also help establish a list of pre-qualified contractors able to provide debris removal services.
There would still have to be a bidding process following a disaster, but the process could move quicker with the pre-qualified list in place.
“The intent here is to move rapidly,” Shows said, describing the benefits of advance planning.
The contract also calls for SCHAUS to compile contract templates and other document templates.
The debris management plan, the pre-qualified contractor list and the other documents should remain valid up to five years if renewed, Shows said.
“We need this plan,” said Don Lewis, the city’s chief operations officer, citing experiences from the 2014 tornado.
Lewis said that it would be difficult for the city’s own personnel to produce everything that SCHAUS would produce.
That is because FEMA regulations are very difficult to navigate and require a great deal of expertise, Lewis said.
Advance preparation could also enable the city to receive additional federal relief funds in case of a disaster, according to Shows.
In the event of a federal disaster declaration, Shows said the federal share of relief costs is typically 75 percent.
But with the preparation of the debris plan SCHAUS will help design, an additional 2 percent of federal relief funds should be available.
In the event of a disaster, that extra 2 percent of funds would almost certainly more than pay for the contract’s cost, Shows said.
Lewis and Mayor Jason Shelton told council members to consider the issue and to consider whether it wants to pursue a contract with SCHAUS.
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