Subject:
Title
Rebuild Florida CDBG-MIT General Planning Support Program grant application with the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.
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Recommended Action:
Recommended Action
Approval of submission of a Florida Department of Economic Opportunity’s Rebuild Florida Community Development Block Grant - Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) General Planning Support Program application to create a Countywide Flood Mitigation Action Plan.
• These funds are available through a newly created Community Development Block Grant - Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) Program through U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and administered by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity’s (DEO) “Rebuild Florida Program.”
• On May 15, 2020, DEO launched the Rebuild Florida General Planning Support (GPS) Program, making $20 million available for eligible applicants, including units of general local government. The GPS program is designed to provide funding opportunities for local governments to engage in pro-active mitigation planning and to create regional disaster mitigation plans.
• Pinellas County’s application will fund our on-going vulnerability assessment to acquire flood hazard data, community asset inventory collection, flood hazard modeling and map development, governmental asset exposure analysis, mitigation and community adaptation strategies, public outreach and mitigation prioritization of actions for community planning.
• Final applications were due to DEO on July 31, 2020.
• There is no fiscal impact to the County for submission of this grant application. Should grant funding be approved, no match is required, but existing awarded projects will be used as leveraged funds.
• Grant amount is $992,000; Leveraged funding is $300,000; grant application submission deadline was July 31, 2020.
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Strategic Plan:
Ensure Public Health, Safety, and Welfare
2.1 Provide planning, coordination, prevention and protective services to ensure a safe and secure community
Practice Superior Environmental Stewardship
3.3 Protect and improve the quality of our water, air, and other natural resources
Deliver First Class Services to the Public and Our Customers
5.2 Be responsible stewards of public’s resources
Summary:
The purpose of this DEO grant application is to provide funding to allow for the County to reduce risk from future hazards. The project will provide substantial benefits to the community by addressing during current-day flooding situations and future conditions, including extreme weather events and impacts from sea-level rise, by providing advanced data and tools for planning and mitigation. The planning effort will leverage the recent state-approved Local Mitigation Strategy and an on-going vulnerability assessment that is evaluating future tidal and storm surge inundation. Outcomes from the project include flood hazard data acquisition, community asset inventory collection, flood hazard modeling and map development, governmental asset exposure analysis, mitigation and community adaptation strategy development, public engagement and outreach, and mitigation prioritization and actions for community planning and procedures.
Background/Explanation:
In response to presidentially declared disasters in 2016 and 2017 the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that $633 million in first-of-its-kind funding would be available to the state of Florida for disaster mitigation projects. These funds are available through HUD’s newly created Community Development Block Grant - Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) and will be used to fund disaster mitigation programs to better protect Florida from future disasters.
Administered by the State of Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO), a federally required State Action Plan was developed in partnership with state agencies, as well as with input from local communities and stakeholders to determine Florida’s most critical disaster mitigation needs.
On May 15, 2020 DEO launched the Rebuild Florida General Planning Support (GPS) Program, making a total of $20,000,000 available for eligible applicants, including units of general local government (UGLG). The GPS program is designed to provide funding opportunities for local governments to engage in pro-active mitigation planning and to create regional plans that will enable the state of Florida to withstand future disasters. Final proposals were due to DEO on July 31, 2020.
Fiscal Impact:
There is no fiscal impact to the County for submission of this grant application. No match is required but existing awarded projects will be used as leveraged funds. Sources of leveraged funds include the Pinellas County General Fund, Florida Department of Historical Resources, and Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
This funding is not part of the FY21 Proposed Budget. Should funding be approved, resolution will be submitted to accept the grant and increase the expenditure. If approved, the grant will be on a two-year term.
Delegated Authority:
Authority for the County Administrator to sign this Countywide Flood Mitigation Action Plan grant application is granted under Code Section 2-62 (a)(4).
Staff Member Responsible:
Hank Hodde, Sustainability & Resiliency Coordinator, County Administration
Partners:
Cities of Belleair Beach, Belleair Bluffs, Clearwater, Largo, Madeira Beach, Oldsmar, Pinellas Park, Seminole, St Pete Beach, St Petersburg, Tarpon Springs, and Treasure Island; Towns of Belleair, Indian Shores, Redington Beach, and Redington Shores.
Attachments:
Pinellas County Grant Proposal
FDEO GPS funding announcement
OMB approval email
Grant application approval memo