TO: Honorable Mayor & Members of the North Port Commission
FROM: A. Jerome Fletcher II, ICMA-CM, MPA, City Manager
TITLE: Approve the Application to the Florida Department of Emergency Management (FDEM) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) Watershed Planning Program for the Funding of a Watershed Master Plan (WMP), in the Amount of $300,000, and Authorize the City Manager or the Mayor, as Applicable Under the City Charter, to Execute all Funding Documents After Legal Review, Should the Grant be Awarded to the City.
Recommended Action
Approve the application to the Florida Department of Emergency Management (FDEM) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) Watershed Planning Program for the funding of a Watershed Master Plan (WMP), in the amount of $300,000, and authorize the City Manager or the Mayor, as applicable under the City Charter, to execute all funding documents after Legal Review, should the grant be awarded to the City.
Background Information
With the longest coastline in the contiguous United States, Florida is particularly vulnerable to tropical systems, storm surge, and other heavy rain events which contribute to flood risk. Due to the evolving frequency and severity of these natural hazards, resiliency in our communities is a priority for the State of Florida. As Florida continues to grow, the importance of well planned, smart development is at an all-time high.
The Watershed Planning Program, funded through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), as approved by FDEM and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), has the purpose of funding Watershed Master Plans (WMP) or Stormwater Master Plans (SWMP) throughout the State of Florida. According to the Community Rating System (CRS) Coordinator's Manual "the objective of watershed master planning is to provide the communities within a watershed with a tool they can use to make decisions that will reduce the increased flooding from development on a watershed-wide basis." Under the Water...
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