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City council authorizes notice of intent for FEMA hazard-mitigation grant to fund citywide drainage study
Summary
At a special Oct. 15 meeting, the city council authorized staff to submit a notice of intent for a FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program application to fund a citywide drainage study. Council members discussed two engineering proposals, a roughly $148,000 scope from Garver and an estimated $37,000 local match, and voted to proceed.
The city council on Oct. 15 authorized staff to submit a notice of intent to apply for a FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) award to fund a citywide drainage study, a staff presenter told council members at a special meeting.
Mr. Michael, a city staff member who presented two engineering proposals, said one bid from Garver would produce a comprehensive drainage manual and carries an estimated scope cost of $148,000. He said the firm described that proposal as “the kitchen sink,” and that the study would identify problems citywide but would not itself implement fixes: “This is only going to identify the problems that we have. it will not fix them,” he said.
The council’s authorization covers submitting a notice of intent for HMGP funding; it is not acceptance of grant money or approval to spend project funds. Mr. Michael said the HMGP award is intended to support mitigation-focused work and that Western Arkansas Planning adviser Miss McKenna had recommended framing the proposal as mitigation of public-safety hazards rather than a simple “drainage study” to meet program criteria.
Mr. Michael told the council the Garver scope was roughly $148,000 and that, under his estimate, the local match on that proposal would be about $37,000. He said the HMGP award maximum is approximately $1 million, and that the $148,000 figure would likely represent only an initial phase of a broader program of capital-improvement projects (CIP). He also said he would handle the grant paperwork and that Garver could support later, project-level grant work once hot spots are identified.
Council members clarified procedural points before voting: submitting the notice of intent is a step to pursue grant funding and does not obligate the city to accept or fund projects beyond required local matches if a grant is awarded. Council members also noted the application deadline is imminent (the 26th) and that any awarded funds would be included in next year’s budget process.
A motion to adopt the authorization resolution was made and seconded. The council conducted a roll-call vote in which AC Brown, Mr. Ricker, Mr. Terry, Mr. Raw and Mr. Pow each recorded “yes,” and the motion passed on the record. Council members thanked Mr. Michael for his work; staff will proceed with the notice-of-intent filing ahead of the stated deadline.
The council did not award a contract or approve spending on specific phases at the meeting; further action would be required if and when grant funds are offered or if the council chooses to move forward with vendor selection for later CIP phases.
