ORDINANCE approving and authorizing four (4) Grant Applications to the TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD for funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) Grant Program for 99 home elevations; declaring the City’s eligibility for such Grants; authorizing the Director of the City of Houston Public Works to act as the City’s representative in the Grant application process - DISTRICTS A - PECK; B - JACKSON; C - KAMIN; D - EVANS-SHABAZZ; F - THOMAS; G - HUFFMAN; H - CASTILLO; I - MARTINEZ; J - POLLARD and K - CASTEX-TATUM

RECOMMENDATION:
Approve an ordinance for authorization to submit four (4) applications to the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) for funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) grant program for 99 home elevations; declaring the City's eligibility; authorizing the Director or designee of Houston Public Works to act as a signatory on the grant application with the authority to apply.

SPECIFIC EXPLANATION:

The FEMA Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) grant program provides funding for mitigation projects and studies to reduce or eliminate claims under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Since the FY2015 FMA, the City of Houston has applied for and received FMA grants to elevate 320 homes that have experienced repetitive flood loss or are at risk of repetitive flood loss (not all homes elect to move forward). Eligible costs include engineering, design, permitting, construction, and project management. Participation in the program is voluntary. Houston Public Works (HPW) annually solicits interest from repetitive loss homeowners through mail outs and public meetings. Interested homeowners can apply to participate and find additional information at https://houstonrecovers.org/riskreduction.

HPW prepared four (4) applications to the FY2024 FMA program for the elevation of 99 homes two feet above the 500-year or 2% flood event. Properties are grouped into separate applications depending on whether they qualify under FMA criteria using pre-calculated benefits (PCB) or a benefit-cost analysis (BCA). One application is a re-submittal of the FY2023 PCB application for 38 homes, another PCB application is for 9 homes. The other two applications - one for 31 homes, one for 21 homes - are  separated by the type of BCA. FEMA also allows for the use of different methodologies to yield a positive benefit-cost ratio, but differing BCA methodologies cannot be combined into one application. 

The total projected cost of 99 home elevations including cost to administer the grant is $33,509,247.20. The total federal cost share requested is $29,977,860.07. The homeowner share depends on the NFIP loss history of each property at the time of application: Severe repetitive loss is 100% covered by the grant, repetitive loss 90%, and non-repetitive loss 75%. The cost to administer the grant, including application development, is budgeted to be 5% of the total projected elevation cost or $1,675,462.36. The City is responsible for $169,935.79 of that amount.

If awarded, HPW will request Council authorization to accept the grant agreement and appropriation of the local share.

No fiscal note is required on grant items. 

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Randall V. Macchi, JD

Director, Houston Public Works

$29,977,860.07 - Fed/State/Local Pass Through Fund 5030

$169,935.79 - Water and Sewer System Operating Fund 8300 (Future Appropriation)