Federal assistance already is flowing to thousands of homeowners in Milwaukee, Waukesha and Washington counties who were affected in August by severe flooding in the region. On Sept. 24, local officials opened several in-person disaster recovery centers, including in Wauwatosa, to help individuals apply for flood relief.
The Wauwatosa disaster recovery center is set up in the lower room of the city's City Hall and Civic Center, 7725 W. North Avenue. Tosa Forward News visited the center midday Sept. 24 and found that several people were taking advantage of the opportunity to meet with representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, as they navigate the agency's application process for disaster relief.
Also this week, city officials provided an update at a committee meeting on the status of repairs to flood damage at Hart Park as they wait to see what aid FEMA might provide for damage to public infrastructure. (Details from that update can be found later in this story.)
About 200 FEMA employees are in southeast Wisconsin this month helping residents, and nearly 100 more are working the agency's call center to assist people by phone, according to Cassie Kohn, a FEMA spokeswoman. Flood victims also can apply directly online at DisasterAssistance.gov.
"We're helping them then walk through that process now with these centers being open," Kohn told Tosa Forward News. "We can answer their questions. We can help them with their registration process, if they need that help. And then we can help them upload documents, if additional information is needed form them."
FEMA also is staffing a disaster recovery center at McNair Elementary School, 4950 N. 24th St. in Milwaukee. Both centers in the county will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
The Tosa center will continue to operate through Oct. 10.
Anyone who has uninsured damage from the floods can apply for FEMA assistance and visit any of the disaster recover centers. Individuals do not need to visit the centers to apply or qualify for relief, if they successfully navigate that process online or by phone.
And since Sept. 11, when President Donald Trump authorized FEMA disaster assistance for the three southeast Wisconsin counties, 2,600 households have applied and been approved for more than $20 million in aid, Kohn said.
Once approved for assistance, some residents are receiving aid checks in as little as one week, Kohn said. The deadline to apply is Nov. 12.
Last month, the city estimated that more than 500 total homes were impacted by the disaster, though it is unclear how many would qualify for assistance from FEMA.
Last week, the Small Business Administration also announced it was providing low-interest federal disaster loans to Wisconsin businesses, nonprofits and residents in Milwaukee, Washington and Waukesha counties.
As for public losses, the City of Wauwatosa is still awaiting word from the federal government on whether it will extend assistance to cover damage to city property, such as Tosa's Hart Park. The city initially estimated the flood damage to city-owned facilities totaled about $9 million.
Wauwatosa Finance Director John Ruggini provided an update Sept. 23 to the Common Council Finance Committee, informing the committee that the city had spent about $531,000 repairs under emergency purchase regulations. Ruggini also notified the committee of about $1.2 million in adjustment to the 2025 city budget related to flood recovery work.
Video of Ruggini's presentation can be viewed here. It starts about an hour and 17 minutes into the meeting.
While the city awaits potential assistance from FEMA, Ruggini noted the city has benefited from the $1 million donation it received from the TOSA Foundation, run by Tosa natives John and Tashia Morgridge. Also two vehicles parked at Hart Park were destroyed in the flooding, and the $86,500 cost will be covered by insurance.
As for the football stadium, softball field and playground, Ruggini explained that flood insurance covers only buildings, not playing fields. Insurance reimbursement totaling $456,000 is on its way to cover some of the damage to the Muellner Building and other buildings at Hart Park.
The elevator in the Muellner Building was not covered by insurance. Public Works Director David Simpson said his team is working to get the elevator repaired as quickly as possible, so seniors can access the second floor of the senior center.
The city has updated its estimated net expense from the flood damage to $4.2 million, Ruggini said. FEMA aid could offset some of that. The city's backup plan would be to cover about half of that cost by drawing from a reserve fund.
Simpson said the city is still dealing with some unknowns. Testing, for example, is being done on the gravel and drainage system under the Hart Park football stadium's artificial playing surface that was ruined by the floodwaters from the Menomonee River. If inspectors determine that layer of gravel doesn't need to be replaced, it could reduce the city's repair cost by nearly $800,000.
Simpson is optimistic that federal aid will help offset some of the city's cost as well.
"Because the individual damage assessment dollars were allocated [and] approved by the federal government," Simpson told the committee, referring to the household applications, "we're certainly hopeful that public damage like we're talking about here tonight will be approved as well."
