Commissioners approve $10,000 signatory authority for wildfire mitigation grants; county schedules regional meetings on federal funding

Valley County commissioners voted Dec. 23 to grant a $10,000 signatory authority to Mara for the county’s wildfire mitigation and Firewise reimbursement work and discussed next steps on a planned regional funding initiative and mapping tool access.

The matter is intended to speed Firewise and Title 3 reimbursements for homeowner association (HOA) mitigation projects, county staff said. Mara told commissioners the program operates as a 50/50 match: homeowners or HOAs pay the contractor, submit receipts and before/after photos, and the county reimburses the local share after inspection and documentation. The approved signatory authority is limited to wildfire mitigation reimbursements and remains subject to clerks’ office processing; Mara will not be the person who actually issues county checks.

Mara also reported progress on the county’s comprehensive plan updates and an updated Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). She said staff have been meeting with local fire chiefs and are creating a portal for a statewide mobile risk-assessment tool so fire chiefs can view and share structure-by-structure assessments. Mara said a regional working group meeting is scheduled for Jan. 23 in Lake Fork to discuss regional priorities and to help determine where initial projects funded by a recently described $20 million regional pot should be sited. She invited commissioners to attend and noted a LandTrendr mapping tool will be part of those discussions; access and password arrangements are in progress.

Commissioners moved and seconded the delegation motion and voted by voice; the board recorded the outcome as approved. Mara said the county’s process will continue to require the clerk’s office to process reimbursements and that a board review step remains part of the workflow.

During the discussion, Mara explained Firewise grants typically reimburse up to the county-authorized amount after inspections from a panel including herself, local fire representatives and county staff. She said prior Firewise reimbursements have been in the range of $2,000–$6,000 per project depending on the scope, and that the county has handled similar reimbursements in previous years (processed through the clerk).

The board did not set specific project start dates nor did it name which parcels will be included in the first round of the regional funding; staff said LandTrendr outputs will guide initial selections. The Jan. 23 working group session and a LandTrendr orientation scheduled for Jan. 2 were identified as next steps.