The Leon County Commission has finished awarding $1 million to county residents who were especially harmed by the three tornadoes that devastated the area on May 10th.
The county has awarded $1 million in microgrants to 419 households and 53 businesses to help those in greatest difficulty due to the storms recover. Commission Chair Carolyn Cummings praised the county’s response at Tuesday’s meeting.
“We did not miss a beat," she said. "We might not have had a strategy written…policies and procedures written…but our team leaders and our county administrators stepped up to the plate. And we had fast turnaround in many different areas within less than 24 hours.”
Commissioner Christian Caban, who represents the southwestern part of Leon County, said the tornadoes had destroyed homes and left some of his constituents and those of other commissioners homeless.
“I would like a status report to come back at our next meeting, or at our August meeting, to see what is the status of all our citizens of Leon County whose homes have been displaced," he said. "Are they still getting help from American Red Cross and do they need further assistance?”
To respond to the tornado emergency, the county established Team Leon, the Targeted Emergency Assistance Microgrant Leon Program.
With the completion of that program, the county is awaiting a federal disaster declaration that would bring FEMA aid to the community.
