Consultants present final flood vulnerability assessment; city positioned to seek no‑match state grants

Consultants from Dewberry presented the City of Freeport’s final flood vulnerability assessment to the council on Oct. 23, 2025, saying the study meets state statutory requirements and opens the city to additional grant funding for design and construction of flood‑mitigation projects. A Dewberry outreach lead, Hannah Hart, described the modeling, sensitivity analysis and next steps for funding.

Dewberry’s outreach lead, Hannah Hart, said the firm started with an “inventory of assets” and combined coastal and rainfall flood‑hazard data to model compound storm events. “The reason we’ve applied for this grant is because it opens up significant funding for the city for future projects to mitigate flooding,” Hart said. She added that the study used a FEMA‑based modeling approach and produced spatial maps of vulnerable assets that can inform future engineering design.

The consultants described four sensitivity categories required by the state: natural/cultural/historical assets; community and emergency facilities; critical infrastructure (linear and point assets); and transportation networks. They said the model results allow staff to prioritize assets that are both critical to the community and highly susceptible to flood conditions. Dewberry noted the modeling goes beyond the statutory baseline in some respects: the engineers combined coastal and rainfall data to examine “what if” scenarios such as a high‑tide event coinciding with heavy rainfall.

A Dewberry project manager (identified in the presentation as part of the consultant team) told the council the work was fully funded by the State of Florida and required no local match. “It was fully funded by the state of Florida, so there was no match required,” the presenter said, adding that the project will be submitted to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) as a final report.

According to the consultants, completing the assessment early positions the city to apply in April for the next round of adaptation planning grants; those planning grants can be followed by no‑match implementation grants to fund design and construction of mitigation projects. The consultants also highlighted an ancillary benefit: the hydrologic and coastal modeling outputs can be reused in future engineering design for stormwater pipes and other infrastructure sizing.

The presentation concluded with an overview of next steps: Dewberry will submit the final report to DEP, and city staff will be able to apply for adaptation planning and implementation funding once grants open in April. No formal council vote on the assessment itself was recorded in the transcript; the item was presented for informational and planning purposes.

The council’s ability to pursue these grants could affect future capital projects and prioritize vulnerable transportation links and emergency facilities identified in the study. The next related procurement and funding decision would occur when specific projects are proposed for design or construction funding.