Public Safety Committee advances Board Bill 74 to accept FEMA-related funds for 2022 Ellendale flooding

The St. Louis City Public Safety Committee voted to advance Board Bill 74 out of committee with a due-pass recommendation after brief discussion and a roll call vote in which six members voted aye.

Chair Narayan, who sponsored the bill, said Board Bill 74 is a companion to Board Bill 43 and relates to FEMA assistance following flooding in Ellendale in 2022. He said some houses will need to be bought out because they are now in the flood plain of the River De Pere and that the bill authorizes the City Emergency Management Agency to accept just shy of $700,000 connected to that incident.

Committee members asked procedural questions about whether the matter had been reviewed by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment (E&A); the sponsor said it had likely been taken up by E&A because it was on the administration’s radar and had been on the informal calendar earlier this year.

A motion to pass Board Bill 74 with a due-pass recommendation was made, seconded and advanced after a previous-question motion was sustained following an objection. The clerk called the roll: Alderman Oldenburg (Aye), Alderman Clark Hubbard (Aye), Alderwoman Velasquez (Aye), Alderman Sonnier (Aye), Vice Chair Aldridge (Aye), and Chair Narayan (Aye). The committee clerk announced six aye votes and the bill was reported out of committee with a due-pass recommendation.

The committee did not receive written testimony on Board Bill 74 and there were no public commenters on the item. The transcript does not include the final ordinance text, exact buyer lists, or specific property addresses; those details are not specified in the meeting record and will appear in subsequent committee or board filings.