He shared the following story about how it is to work with FEMA during the recovery phase of a disaster.
There had been a flood that washed out a bridge on a county road. They were able to do a temporary bypass over private property on a single-lane road that required traffic lights on either end to control vehicles passing. The private property owners objected to this being a long-term solution. The county asked FEMA to fund as an eligible project a temporary bridge. FEMA said, "No, won't do that." So, the county went back and said, "OK, we'll station 24/7 off-duty sheriff deputies (can you say overtime — a fully reimbursed expense) to be there and control traffic until the permanent bridge is constructed." At that point, FEMA said OK to the temporary bridge.
This is how the disaster recovery game is played.
