LOS ANGELES COUNTY : County to Fight FEMA Ruling on Hospital Repairs
Los Angeles County officials said Tuesday they will fight a decision by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to grant only $1 million to repair the earthquake-damaged psychiatric hospital at County-USC Medical Center.
The amount is only a fraction of the $64 million the county had been seeking to demolish and replace the facility. It allows for only minimal repairs that would be insufficient to meet state structural standards, according to a memo submitted to the Board of Supervisors by county Chief Administrative Officer Sally Reed.
Federal, state and county inspectors had concluded that the cost of structural repairs would almost equal the cost of replacing the facility. After the county sought $64 million, FEMA challenged the assessments and indicated it would commit to funding only minor repairs, including the grouting of cracks, Reed said.
The psychiatric hospital project is part of a $1-billion plan to replace County-USC Medical Center, a plan that was expedited after the earthquake. County officials had hoped to get FEMA to provide nearly all of the funding.
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