Coconino County outlines $105 million in post‑wildfire flood work and seeks long‑term restoration plan

Coconino County officials told the Board of Supervisors on Jan. 14 that the county has completed major construction work on post‑wildfire flood mitigation and now needs a long‑term plan for forest restoration and remaining flood projects.

Lucinda Andreani, deputy county manager and flood control district administrator, said construction and related spending tied to the Schultz and Pipeline fires total about $75 million to date and roughly $105 million when recent guaranteed maximum price (GMP) packages approved at the meeting are included. "We've invested in terms of what we've actually spent today. We're at about $75,000,000. If you include the prior and today's GMPs, we're at about $105,000,000 now," Andreani said.

The mitigation work is funded through a mix of federal and state grants and local match. Sean Puyama, flood control district program manager, said the county secured two Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) awards for multiple watersheds, a Good Neighbor Authority award from the U.S. Forest Service, and a federal PROTECT grant administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Puyama described the PROTECT award as "roughly 19,400,000, with a match of approximately 3,700,000," and said the district's direct contribution to that award will be about $191,000.

Why it matters: County leaders said the projects have reduced immediate flood risk in neighborhoods burned by the wildfires but left some construction costs ineligible for grant reimbursement. Those ineligible costs and other remaining local obligations must be paid from the Flood Control District's fund balance and prior short‑term loans from the county general fund.

What officials say: Andreani summarized federal and state relationships that helped fund work and urged that the county move from emergency construction to a long‑term prioritization process. "We're really gonna be culminating over the next fiscal year," she said. "Now we're entering into this transition and I would advocate that we initiate a long term planning process."

She and Puyama described accomplishments across several watersheds and listed remaining tasks including a planned crossing under U.S. Highway 89. Andreani said a change in approach — boring a steel pipe under the highway rather than open trenching — substantially reduced the projected cost of that crossing. "...we're actually gonna bore that crossing," she told the board. "It's also half the cost, which is really a good thing."

Funding and loans: After the 2022 fire response the board approved two emergency loans from the county general fund — $5 million for immediate response and $10.5 million for initial mitigation. Puyama said those loans were fully expended and that the district and county legal and finance staff are preparing a formal repayment schedule, planned to begin in fiscal 2026 over 10 years. Andreani said the remaining local exposure for ineligible or other costs is currently estimated at roughly $2.2 million to $3.5 million, though the highway bore option could lower that amount toward the lower end of the range. She said the board has budgeted and reserved portions of the Flood Control District fund balance for forest restoration and that after proposed transfers the district would retain about $4.6 million in fund balance.

Next steps and priorities: Supervisors and staff emphasized prevention and forest restoration to reduce future flood risk. Andreani proposed updating earlier engineering assessments for the county's special flood hazard areas and producing an updated, conceptual prioritization of remaining flood‑mitigation needs. "We need to step back a little bit and start looking to the future," she said. Supervisors asked staff to return with a long‑term planning timeline and proposed stakeholder outreach.

Quotes: "This is such an important work that we continue," Supervisor Jeronimo Vasquez said. "Part of this is community education... people are in fear of what could happen again."

Ending: The board voted that morning to approve multiple GMP amendments for flood district construction. Staff said they will present a more detailed long‑term planning timeline and financial implications during the budget process and at upcoming work sessions.