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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 06-02-2009 - 4eeORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: June 2, 2009 Action Agenda Item No. ~ - 2e SUBJECT: Authorization to Pursue Stimulus Fundin for aPre-disaster Miti ation Grant DEPARTMENT: Planning & Inspections PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No ATTACHMENTS: 1. Aerial Photograph of the Heritage Hills Subdivision Showing the Floodway, Floodplain and County-acquired Properties 2. FEMA Announcement INFORMATION CONTACT: Craig N. Benedict, Planning Director 245-2592 Tara Fikes, Housing & Community Development Director 245-2490 Glenn Bowles, Floodplain Manager 245-2577 PURPOSE: To authorize County staff members to pursue Stimulus Funding for aPre-disaster Mitigation Grant and other appropriate grant programs to purchase asingle-family residential structure and relocate the building for an affordable housing opportunity. BACKGROUND: Planning staff has identified a property in need of acquisition. The property is one of the seventy-eight (78) properties surveyed by Greenhorne and O'Mara, Inc. as part of the County funded Elevation Certificate Surveying Program. The Elevation Certificate for the property documents the base flood elevation (BFE) is 4.3 feet above the lowest adjacent grade of the house and 0.9 feet above the first floor of the residence. The GIS mapping confirms the house is located within the regulated floodway of East Price Creek. The property has been flooded three (3) times this past summer. This property is a prime candidate for acquisition and relocation because: 1. The house is less than five hundred (500) feet downstream from two (2) properties which Orange County acquired and relocated one of the houses in 2003 through a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) pre-disaster mitigation grant because of recurrent flooding; 2. There is significant regulated floodway involvement on the property; 3. The owner realizes the obligation to disclose the severity of the flooding should be sold; and 4. The Owner, by her own account, is now ready to move into a retirement community and would voluntarily sell the house and property to Orange County. Staff is requesting the BOCC give staff authorization to pursue a FEMA pre-disaster grant to acquire the property and improvements. The FEMA pre-disaster grant program will provide all of the acquisition costs. Tara Fikes, Director of the County's Housing and Community Development Department, has been contacted regarding moving the residence to another site for an affordable housing opportunity. Should additional work be needed to make the structure habitable again after the move, other outside funding may be required to correct any deficiencies. FEMA Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) Grant Program The PDM program provides funds to states, territories, Indian tribal governments, communities, and universities for hazard mitigation planning and the implementation of mitigation projects prior to a disaster event. Funding these plans and projects reduces overall risks to the population and structures while also reducing reliance on funding from actual disaster declarations. PDM grants are to be awarded on a competitive basis and without reference to state allocations, quotas, or other formula-based allocation of funds. Eligible mitigation projects include voluntary acquisition of real property, relocation of public and private structures, and elevation of existing public or private structures. FINANCIAL IMPACT: Estimated costs to acquire the property and relocate the structure include the following items: Property Acquisition $268,000 Property Appraisal $ 1,500 Structural Feasibility to Move Residence $ 5,000 Relocation of Structure $ 25,000 Administration $ 15 000 Estimated Total $314,500 All estimates will be verified and the BOCC will approve any grant request prior to an official submittal to FEMA pre-disaster mitigation program. RECOMMENDATION: The Manager recommends the Board authorize the Floodplain Manager and other staff to pursue Stimulus Funding for aPre-disaster Mitigation Grant to fund the purchase of a single family residential structure in the Heritage Hills Subdivision and the Director of Housing and Community Development to explore other appropriate funding opportunities to make the building acceptable for occupation as an affordable housing opportunity. F, P ~~~W7yT DF tt~ Attachment 2 NC Emergency Management Announces TS Hanna HMGP Application Cycle Now Open STATEWIDE! The application period is now open STATEWIDE for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) for Tropical Storm Hanna (1801). Letters of Interest from communities are due to NCEM no later than Friday June 19, 2009. Potential eligible activities include acquisition, elevation, retrofit, and storm water management projects. No Hazard Mitigation Plans will be considered for this grant program. Acquisitions and elevations of owner occupied principle places of residence will be our first priority for funding. Please note that equipment purchases for items such as stand-alone generators and communications devices are not eligible for this grant grogram Funds for this disaster are limited therefore no late Letter of Interest (COI's) will be accepted. For more information please view FEMA's HMGP program guidance at http://www.fema.gov/government/grant/hmgp If your community is considering any acquisition or elevation projects, it would be very helpful if tax cards and elevation certificates for the properties are attached with the COI's so that we can evaluate the cost effectiveness of such projects early on in the process. Again, Letters of Interest which briefly describe ideas for potential mitigation projects are due no later than Friday June 19, 2009. The Letter of Interest form is attached to this email and should be returned to Joyce Holley at NCEM (Contact Information on attached COI). Based on these COI's, NCEM's Hazard Mitigation Section will provide technical assistance with identifying viable projects and developing applications. For additional information please feel free to contact Chris Crew, Hazard Mitigation Section Chief, at (919) 715-8000 x277 or jcrew(a~ncem.org. Thank you.