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Board approves Flood Control District application for USFS Community Wildfire Defense grant; three-year county match required
Summary
The Board agreed to let the Flood Control District apply for a Community Wildfire Defense Grant from the U.S. Forest Service, with a local match split between the Flood Control District and the county general fund over three years.
The Coconino County Board of Supervisors authorized the county’s Flood Control District to apply for a Community Wildfire Defense Grant from the U.S. Forest Service and approved the proposed local match arrangement.
Why it matters: County staff said the grant would fund community-level wildfire defense and public education aimed at reducing home ignition risk and improving community resilience. Several fire chiefs and district leaders told supervisors that home‑hardening education is already in demand and that local fire districts lack capacity to run an expanded outreach program alone.
Grant scope and match: County staff and Flood Control District administrators explained the grant requires a 25% local match spread over three years. Jay Smith, a county program manager working on the application, said the match considered for the proposal is roughly $111,000 total and would be split between the Flood Control District and the county general fund; split in half and then divided across three years, the board was told the general-fund portion would be about $37,206.33 per year (same for the Flood Control District) for three years. Lucinda Adriani, Flood Control District administrator, and chiefs from Highlands and Pinewood fire districts supported the proposal and said a dedicated, time-limited position focused on outreach and defensible-space work would allow replication of the program beyond the grant’s initial footprint.
Geographic focus and limitations: Staff explained the immediate allowable work under the Forest Service grant is limited to communities covered by the Greater Flagstaff area Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP): Highlands Summit, Munds Park, Pinewood and Ponderosa fire districts, Parks and Mormon Lake areas. The matched staffing position is intended to create a model the county can expand to other communities once additional CWPPs are in place.
Board discussion and vote: Supervisors asked about the geographic reach, budget impacts and how the match would be funded; the county manager and staff said the board would consider budgeting the match through the normal budget process and that approving the application does not commit the board to final budget approval. The board voted to approve submission of the grant application and the proposed match approach.
Next steps: Staff will submit the grant application and, if the grant is awarded, return to the board during the normal budget process to secure the matching funds and to approve any staffing or implementation agreements.
