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Board approves subapplication to Cal OES BRIC program to study Cosgrove Creek flood mitigation
Summary
The Board authorized submission of a BRIC subapplication aimed at producing a shovel‑ready plan to mitigate flooding on Cosgrove Creek. Staff said the study is the first step in a multi‑year, competitive process that could lead to construction funding.
The Calaveras County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Feb. 25 to authorize submittal of a Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant subapplication to the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services for a planning and scoping project aimed at mitigating flooding on Cosgrove Creek.
Mark Ward, a county staff member presenting the item, said the project would produce a “shovel‑ready” plan that could make the county competitive for federal construction funds after a multi‑year planning and design period. He said the proposal ties the creek work to major highways, evacuation centers and the Valley Springs area and described the effort as “step one” in what he said could be a five‑to‑eight year process to design and then compete for construction grants.
Why it matters: County staff said clearing vegetation has helped with recent storms but will not address the largest flood events that a formal engineering project would target. A planning grant, staff said, would allow the county to develop an engineered solution that could be submitted for larger federal funding later.
Details presented: The agenda item named a $900,000 BRIC subapplication to Cal OES. In the presentation Ward said the “total grant will be $1,200,000,” that $190,000 would be a matching amount and made an additional reference to a general‑fund figure that was not clearly stated in the transcript. Board members and staff acknowledged the numbers were being reconciled and emphasized the planning nature of the request rather than immediate construction. Ward said the county hopes to accelerate the work to roughly an 18‑month planning window if funding and procurement allow.
Board action and next steps: The board voted to authorize the subapplication. Supervisors noted a recent Valley Springs town hall about the project and again described the planning grant as a prerequisite to later, competitive construction funding. Staff said they will continue to monitor federal and state program changes and return to the board with next steps if the county is invited to apply for construction funds.
Public context: Supervisors and staff said a long‑term park concept has been discussed for the area once hazard mitigation is addressed, and they noted both the limited number of directly affected homes (staff estimated “up to about 500 homes” in the area) and the difficulty of competing nationally for large mitigation grants.
