Puerto Rico governor’s office assigned $2.5M in FEMA recovery funding
The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced the obligation of an additional $11.4 million in funds for 97 post-Hurricane María recovery and reconstruction projects in Puerto Rico.
That amount includes nearly $2.5 million assigned to the Office of the Governor at La Fortaleza in Old San Juan for a number of repairs to the building’s third and fourth floors, according to the federal agency.
The money will be used to repair the following areas of the Executive Mansion, namely the Pabellones building, the third floor bathroom, telephone switchboard, the faith-based room, the Compliance Monitoring and Supervision room, the Judicial Appointments room, the Monitoring Room, third floor hallway, the administration hallway, exterior walls, finance and budget, finance and budget director’s office, the hallway, the kitchenette at the administration hallway, the lactation room, municipal affairs, purchasing department, roof and stairs to the roof.
Furthermore, there will also be repairs done to the four floors, basement and roof of the Field Operations building.
This round of funding is the second announced in as many weeks. Late last month, FEMA confirmed it awarded $832,978 to make repairs at the governor’s mansion, as this media outlet reported.
FEMA and the Central Office for Recovery, Reconstruction and Resilience, or COR3, confirmed the funds were obligated between Mar. 27 and April 2.
“As the island continues to safeguard its residents with social distancing and self-quarantine measures, FEMA and COR3 remain focused on prioritizing obligations of funds to municipalities for eligible expenses to help communities recover. To date, nearly $6.6 billion has been approved for Puerto Rico under FEMA’s Public Assistance program,” the agency said.
The latest grants obligated are as follows:
- More than $4.1 million for repairs to roads and bridges.
- Nearly $4 million for repairs to public buildings and equipment.
- More than $1.6 million for emergency protective measures.
- More than $1.3 million for repairs to parks and recreational facilities.
- More than $632,600 for public utilities.
- Nearly $242,000 for debris removal.
Funding for permanent work includes projects like roads, bridges, water control, buildings and equipment, utilities and park and recreation facilities as authorized under Section 406 of the Robert T. Stafford Act.