Committee gives due-pass to $10M demolition, $1M home-repair funding from state disaster aid

A St. Louis City committee on June 2 voted unanimously to advance an ordinance that would allow the city to accept $10 million in state disaster-relief funding for demolition of tornado-damaged, FEMA-ineligible properties and $1 million for home-repair reimbursements tied to the Missouri Housing Development Commission.

Alderwoman Shamim Clark Hubard, chair of the Housing, Urban Development and Zoning Committee, asked the panel to give Board Bill 29 a favorable due-pass recommendation after the mayor's recovery office and a state representative outlined how the money fits into broader Senate Bill 1 (SB1) recovery authority.

Julian Nicks, chief recovery officer reporting to the mayor, told the committee SB1 originally provided roughly $100 million and that a supplemental appropriation added about $86 million, giving the state up to $186 million in appropriating authority for tornado recovery focused on the city. Nicks said the state agreed to a $10 million grant to the city to begin demolition work on properties that FEMA has deemed ineligible for federal funding. "Ten million gives us roughly enough funding to fund about 120 to 140 demolitions total," Nicks said, and he added the city already has about 68 properties in active permitting and about 56 demolitions either complete or underway.

Nicks also said the ordinance before the committee would encumber and authorize reimbursement of funds already being spent on those activities. He described program structure: a 7% administrative set-aside in the $10 million for costs such as augmented building-division staff and pre-inspections, and a roughly 3% administrative allowance tied to the MHDC home-repair dollars; the rest, he said, is for direct demolition or repair costs.

State Representative Kimberly Anne Collins told the committee the $186 million in appropriating authority was intended to support recovery, and while early work prioritized debris removal and demo, the statutory language does not strictly limit all remaining funds to demolition. "We didn't come back and allocate the additional 86 million until this legislative session," Collins said. "It doesn't specifically say that that money can only be used for demo or debris removal, but it does say that it is used for recovery efforts in the City of St. Louis." She said conversations are ongoing with the governor's office about shifting remaining funds toward rebuilding once required debris work and cost-share obligations are satisfied.

Committee members asked for details about other debris-removal pathways and contractor staffing. Nicks described multiple efforts: a Right-of-Entry program for private-property debris removal, a PPDR program that has completed about 230 clearances, and state-funded work focused on items FEMA excluded (for example detached outbuildings). He said the city is prioritizing parcels for the state pilot and finalizing 17 home-repair properties that will be eligible for MHDC reimbursements. On contractor staffing and local hiring, Nicks said local workforce is being used where possible while outside managerial teams provide technical support.

On timing, the recovery office projected that wrecking activity tied to the $10 million pilot would be fully underway and that work on the 120-demolition target would start by mid-July, followed by a four- to six-week closeout for inspections, paperwork and invoicing. Nicks said MHDC-funded repairs on prioritized properties are expected to move on a similar eight-week horizon.

Aldermen asked to be added as co-sponsors during debate. The committee then voted on a motion to pass Board Bill 29 out of committee with a due-pass recommendation; the clerk recorded five affirmative votes (Alderman Conn, Alderwoman Switzer, Alderman Browning, Alderman Aldridge and Chair Clark Hubard), and the motion carried 5-0.

The chair announced a separate community hearing on Board Bill 22 scheduled for the next day at the Julia Davis Library and closed the meeting after the adjournment motion passed without objection. The due-pass recommendation will move Board Bill 29 on to the next legislative stage for further consideration.