Heritage Emergency National Task Force
Midwest Flooding Conference Call
June 25, 2008
Jane Long of Heritage Preservation convened the call and requested updates on damage from flooding by state, as well as information on current funding and response initiatives. Midwest states on the call included Iowa, Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri, and Illinois. Representatives from the State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPO) in Louisiana and Mississippi also signed on to share expertise gained from response and recovery efforts after Hurricane Katrina.
FEMA Update. Alan Aiches from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) noted that a disaster declaration was made for Illinois on June 24; Missouri and Minnesota have subsequently been declared. FEMA is moving ahead with staffing its Joint Field Offices (JFOs) with environmental and historic preservation experts. The agency will soon begin with extractions and assessments of any affected collections, and additional people will be needed to assist in the effort. He stressed that institutions should not throw away damaged items without consulting a conservator, because they may still be salvageable. FEMA may be able to fund stabilization of certain collections; the current policy is outlined at www.fema.gov/government/grant/pa/9524_6.shtm.
Iowa. Cyndi Sweet from the Iowa Museum Association said that so many museums have been impacted that a detailed damage report is not feasible. Some places are moving forward with extractions while others are still not able to enter their buildings and assess the damage. There is a need for archival and cleaning supplies. Two collection points have been established: The Cedar Falls Historical Society in Cedar Falls, and Brucemore in Cedar Rapids. Details are available at www.iowamuseums.org.
Iowa Deputy SHPO Barbara Mitchell reported that her office is still collecting information on historic properties and, along with architectural conservators and structural experts, trying to make assessments. They are just receiving reports from southeastern Iowa and also looking into archaeological sites that may have been affected.
Candy Streed from the Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area noted that her organization has a small disaster recovery fund to help historic resources in rural areas.
A morning news report that the Cedar Rapids City Council was considering demolishing approximately 2000 historic homes was discussed. The buildings are located in the 500-year flood plain area and include some of the earliest houses in the city. Representatives from the Louisiana and Mississippi SHPO offices offered advice on slowing the demolition process.
Indiana. Steve Kennedy from the Indiana Historic Preservation & Archaeology Department summarized reports from several agencies and said that reports are coming in slowly. The Moscow Bridge was the main historic resource affected. The town of Franklin seems to be the hardest hit, with about 100 historic homes flooded, and 25 to 50 historic homes in the National Historic District of Columbus were flooded. The state library reports water in its basement and the courthouse annex in Franklin has sensitive records threatened by mold.
Wisconsin. Jim Draeger from the Wisconsin SHPO said that information is just now trickling in from the towns of Princeton, Oshkosh, Waterloo, and Rock Springs.
Missouri. Mark Miles, Missouri SHPO, said that they are still in the assessment phase, and mostly farmland—rather than historic resources—has been flooded along the Mississippi River. Recovery information is posted on the agency’s Web site.
Illinois. Deputy SHPO Anne Haaker reported flooding in Rock Island and Keensburg, which has a downtown listed on the National Register of Historic Places. There seems to be no damage in the southwest part of the state, and state historic sites also seem to be unaffected. Most historic resources in the flood plain were lost during major flooding in 1993.
Advice from Gulf States. The Louisiana and Mississippi SHPOs had representatives on the call to provide assistance and advice based on their experience. Dabne Whitemore offered her phone number in New Orleans, 866-406-7043, and said she was available to answer questions. Phil Boggan is the Deputy SHPO in Baton Rouge, and the Web site is www.louisianahp.org. The office’s programmatic agreements from Katrina will be posted on the Heritage Preservation flood resources page so people in the Midwest can benefit from them.
Rod Scott, trustee of the Iowa State Historical Society and member of the National Barn Alliance, asked about problems of overlapping data that resulted from a GIS (geographic information systems) survey conducted on the Gulf Coast after the storms of 2005. Alan Aiches acknowledged that national standards for surveying historic properties need to be established, and FEMA and the National Park Service are working on the effort.
Funding Initiatives. Elizabeth Joffrion from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) announced $1 million in new Flood Assistance Grants which can provide up to $20,000 to affected institutions. The application process is simple. She is coordinating this grant program with Laura Word at NEH, and more information is available at www.neh.gov/Flood_Assistance.html.
Kathleen Williams from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) described her agency’s grant to the Indiana State Historic Records Advisory Board to benefit archives and historical organizations affected by the flooding.
Response Efforts. Kristen Harbeson of the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers (NCSHPO) said that there will be a second supplemental appropriations bill for the flooding, and NCSHPO is working to have preservation language added to the bill. NCSHPO needs specific damage figures from people to help them formulate the request, and information should be forwarded to Elizabeth Belleville at belleville@sso.org. Rod Scott added that there is an ongoing effort to increase the historic preservation tax credit to 40 percent.
Jennifer Sandy from the Midwest office of the National Trust for Historic Preservation said that the Trust has been updating its Web site with flood information, and she is working with various groups in an attempt to put together a volunteer coordination plan. See www.preservationnation.org/resources/technical-assistance/flood-recovery.
Eryl Wentworth from the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC) reported that they have Cultural Emergency Response Team (CERT) members ready to assist on site as well as a 24-hour phone number, 202-661-8068, where people can request assistance. AIC-CERT team member Bob Herskovitz is already on the ground in Iowa. Jerome Thompson added that the Midwest Art Conservation Center in Minneapolis is also willing to send help.
Heritage Preservation still has Emergency Response and Salvage Wheels to distribute free through state agencies, and the water damage segment of the Field Guide to Emergency Response video will soon be available as a streaming video on the Task Force Web site.
