Gadsden County commissioners weigh emergency safe‑room options as FEMA award hinges on $1.5M local match

Gadsden County commissioners on Monday reviewed a staff timeline of the Stevens Safe Room grant after staff said an early application error and a year of unresolved FEMA requests left the project at risk of losing federal funding.

A county staff member told the board the congressional pre‑disaster mitigation award was submitted through FEMA eGrants and routed through the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM). The packet initially requested a shelter — an ineligible project type for the funding source — and was later changed to a safe room, which produced different project costs and a revised local match figure.

“The previous administration did not earmark the $1,500,000 cost share, resulting in the necessary matching funds not currently being available for the project implementation,” the staff member said, describing an interval of dormancy and a series of outstanding requests for information dating back to May 2024.

Staff said a grant‑manager position was created in March 2025 and that the newly assigned grant manager quickly contacted FDEM after learning of the project. According to staff, FEMA issued a conditional award in January 2026 but did not provide complete agreement documentation (notably a scope of work), and the period of performance (POP) in the paperwork was scheduled to expire on April 30, 2026.

Staff reported that FDEM then told the county FEMA had waived the 60‑day submission rule for a POP extension and that the county could request a one‑year extension to April 30, 2027 if it could reasonably show it would complete construction by the new date. The county would still need to commit to providing the required local cost share.

“The county may submit an extension request for the purpose of completing the project if it reasonably anticipates being able to complete construction by the proposed new period of performance expiration date, which would be now 04/30/2027,” staff said while describing FDEM’s May 15, 2026 notice.

Staff also cautioned that in‑kind contributions are limited to eligible project activities (pre‑construction and construction); land acquisition cannot be used to satisfy the required match.

No formal vote was taken. Commissioners spent most of the meeting debating how to secure the match and whether the City of Quincy or the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) could supply part of the funds, which would require those bodies to vote separately.

“I'm not even gonna address some of these lies in here because there are a lot of them,” Commissioner Holt said, pushing for the staff to provide emails and documentary records that she had requested and describing prior attempts to contact federal representatives and FEMA.

“I’m interested in knowing if we're going to actually continue to try to pursue this project,” Commissioner Green said, urging a focus on next steps rather than assigning blame and saying the CRA (Virginia Davis) needs to be engaged.

Commissioner Woods said he had pushed staff to pursue the project and warned that the one‑year timeline is “very tough.” He suggested alternative approaches — including tying a safe room into another public building or seeking waivers — and emphasized the reputational risk of losing federal funds.

Commissioners directed staff to continue coordinating with FDEM and FEMA, to engage the CRA and the City of Quincy about potential local contributions, and to provide the requested documentation and contact lists so commissioners can pursue political outreach if needed.

The board did not adopt a binding commitment to provide the match during the meeting. Staff said the county can only move forward on a POP extension if it commits to delivering the required cost share and if FEMA accepts the county’s extension justification.