Staff remains committed to recouping COVID vaccine clinic reimbursement

GRF RECREATION

by Kathy Thayer

GRF Recreation Manager

It was exactly a year ago that we informed the community of the City of Seal Beach’s approval to assist GRF in recovering the nearly $92,000 in expenses laid out for the 2021 COVID vaccine clinics held onsite.

Staff had been working behind the scenes since November 2021 to navigate multiple governmental agencies in an effort to get reimbursement. In 2021, the U.S. Government designated LWSB as a 'Point of Dispensing,' resulting in 5,000 people receiving the new COVID vaccination.

Multiple referrals and misdirection among various agencies resulted in the clock running out before FEMA could review GRF’s application. It was then that GRF staff approached the City of Seal Beach, which subsequently agreed to resubmit GRF's request under the City’s Disaster Relief Program, facilitated by Sgt. Brian Gray, SBPD emergency services coordinator.

Near the end of 2025, we received the disappointing news that FEMA had rejected our request to extend the deadline. Neither GRF nor the city were deterred as, after all, this is shareholder money that was spent at the behest of the government.

Sgt. Gray then submitted an appeal to FEMA, laying out the timeline of all of the hoops LWSB had jumped through to comply. Our plight was added to Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen’s quest to recover other OC expenses and a trip to Washington, D.C., was planned to personally approach FEMA and Leisure World’s congressional representatives. Among the contingency headed to D.C. were Seal Beach Mayor Pro Tem Ben Wong and GRF Director Donald Horning.

The team met with Aubree Sepler, the deputy director of intergovernmental affairs, who provided information on how to move forward with FEMA. Staff continues to work with Sgt. Gray in seeking reimbursement through these new connections. According to Horning, reimbursements under $100,000 are easier to secure from FEMA and may be the key to ultimately succeeding in this endeavor. The takeaways: Many hands from several sources have assisted GRF in this fight, and GRF continues to advocate for its residents despite the hurdles.

For more information, contact Recreation at 562-431-6586, ext. 2398.