Radcliffe flood mitigation project delayed as FEMA grant period lapses; council to consider NFIP-related ordinance amendment

Neil Crawford, the city’s on-call consultant city engineer, told the Radcliffe City Council on Aug. 19 that design work and planned construction for the North Logsdon flood mitigation basins are on hold after the federal grant period tied to a 2018 disaster declaration expired Aug. 5.

Crawford said the project — about $1,800,000 in federal share — was ready to move to construction in September, but the state requested a performance-period extension from FEMA and the community must wait for FEMA approval. “She said it could be two weeks. It could be two months or it could be two years,” Crawford said of the state grant manager’s estimate.

Nut graf: The council also heard that the Kentucky Division of Water and FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) updated definitions related to “substantial improvement,” triggering a required local ordinance amendment. Staff presented a draft amendment to the city’s flood damage prevention ordinance (Chapter 7.5) and told council members the city must adopt the change by Oct. 15 to remain in the NFIP.

Details: Crawford explained that NFIP clarifications replace the prior one-year lookback for cumulative improvements with a five‑year period. Under the updated definition, if cumulative improvements during five years equal or exceed 50% of a structure’s market value, the property owner must bring the entire structure into floodplain compliance — which can require elevating a building or other mitigation work. Crawford said the city received a state-drafted amendment and coordinated with City Attorney Pike to produce an ordinance for council consideration; the draft was on the meeting’s new-business agenda as a first reading.

Why it matters: Falling out of the NFIP could make flood insurance unavailable for affected properties and limit eligibility for certain federal grants or loans. Crawford warned the council the consequences could be substantial for properties in the floodplain and for the community’s competitiveness for future federal funding.

Council discussion: Council members asked for clarifications about the definition’s application; Crawford said the rule applies to properties in mapped floodplains (for example along Brushy Fork) and to locally defined floodplain areas. He noted the change is primarily “wordsmithing” but materially extends the lookback window to five years and includes more types of improvement work in the cumulative calculation.

Ending: The council scheduled the ordinance amendment for first reading that night with a timeline that requires adoption by Oct. 15 to maintain NFIP compliance. The city’s flood mitigation construction schedule will remain paused until FEMA approves the grant-period extension.