La Crosse’s emergency management director learns a few things from FEMA visit

13 municipalities applied for FEMA aid in county

La Crosse Emergency Management director Keith Butler has dealt with flooding issues in his career, but a meeting yesterday with FEMA officials taught him a couple things.

First, you can’t start construction on an area not examined for damage yet.

Also, “When you’re doing contracting bids for repairs, you have to, now, send out a request to three agencies owned by a woman, owned by a minority or a local small business,” Butler said.

FEMA was in the area Monday to speak with municipalities on the paperwork needed to get some federal aid. 

Thirteen municipalities in La Crosse County applied for aid from the group to help repair infrastructure. 

Butler says meetings this month will be more specific to the damage caused by the storms.