JEFFERSON COUNTY, Tenn. — February flooding victims in Jefferson County breathed a sigh of relief Tuesday when the Tennessee Housing Development Agency awarded the county $500,000 to help with damages.
Jefferson County Mayor Mark Potts applied for the relief money earlier in the year because more than 20 residents experienced thousands of dollars of damage from the flooding and not everyone could be helped with available funds.
THDA said Tuesday, at a press conference, TEMA and FEMA can't always give the money necessary to all disaster victims and the statewide organization helps to fill in the gaps.
It sets aside money in its rebuild and recover program to help smaller communities like Jefferson County.
"We wanted to set aside a portion of THDA housing revenues to have a reserve fund that we could put to work to help communities to a certain extent," THDA Executive Director Ralph Perrey said.
A meeting is planned for Tuesday, Aug. 13 at the Jefferson City Fire Department. Victims in Jefferson County who have flood damage can come by, sign up for an interview, and then the Tennessee Communications Assistance Corporation will disperse the grant money accordingly to the victims.