GALVESTON — To get some federal hurricane recovery money, you have to spend some money.
Such is the thinking of the Wharves Board of Trustees, which on Monday agreed to pay a Florida firm up to $800,000 to manage the Port of Galveston’s efforts to win millions of Federal Management Emergency Agency dollars to repair public docks Hurricane Ike damaged.
The wharves board, which governs the port, awarded the sizable contract to Orlando-based Beck Disaster Recovery Inc. to handle the large amount of paperwork and meet regulations imposed by FEMA. The board is seeking reimbursement for debris removal and other expenses.
“If you need more hands to help you get there, you’ve got to pay for those hands,” Port Director Steve Cernak said.
Since the September 2008 storm, FEMA has given the port $5.6 million to clean up and make hurricane repairs after the hurricane sent docks askew. The port expects to receive another $2.5 million in grants from the federal agency.
Waterfront managers estimate the amount of damage inflicted by Hurricane Ike would exceed the $55 million limit on the port’s insurance.
The port still is assessing storm damage to its docks, cruise ship terminals, equipment and buildings.
Beck Disaster Recovery said it has identified about $21 million in FEMA reimbursements for which the port would be eligible, Cernak said.
Typically, the port would have to put such a large contract out for public bid. But Beck Disaster Recovery has a contract with the Houston-Galveston Area Council, of which the port is a member. The company can be engaged through the Houston-Galveston Area Council contract, Cernak said.
The Houston-Galveston Area Council is the voluntary association of local governments in a 13-county region of Texas.
About 90 percent of what the port pays Beck Disaster Recovery could by eligible for reimbursement by FEMA, Cernak said. There are no time limits on the contract, Cernak said.
“Until the job is done,” he said. It’s possible that the port never spends the entire $800,000 for Beck Disaster Recovery services, Cernak said.
Founded in 2000, Beck Disaster Recovery is a privately owned company for which little financial information was immediately available.
The port, which is not funded by taxes, has yearly operating revenues of about $25 million.
