Associated Press - July 20, 2009 1:44 PM ET

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) - Cedar Rapids' new flood-recovery director knows he has his work cut out for him but says he took the job because it's a public service he owes to the city.

Greg Eyerly (EYE-erlee) became the city's flood-recovery director on July 13.

He was the city's utilities operations manager during the 2008 spring floods, when Cedar Rapids suffered an estimated $6 billion in damage.

Eyerly's main job will be to get federal dollars to the city faster, but he says both flooded-out residents and businesses have needs that go beyond dollars and cents.

In his first week, Eyerly toured neighborhoods near the Cedar River and talked to residents about what they need to move on from the flooding.

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