City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: OCTOBER 17, 2023
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
THROUGH: JAMES F. PARAJON, CITY MANAGER /s/
FROM: ADRIANA CASTANEDA, DIRECTOR, TRANSPORTATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Consideration of a Resolution to Support a Grant Application to the Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund Program to develop a Flood Resilience Plan.[ROLL-CALL VOTE]
BODY
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ISSUE: Staff is requesting City Council approval to submit a grant application to the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) for a 75/25 matching grant of up to $525,000 to support the development of the Flood Resilience Plan to address the City’s current and future flood risks, including hazard identification, flood mitigation, flood preparedness and response, policies and regulations, funding strategies, and communication/information dissemination.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council:
(1) Approve the attached resolution to support a Round 4 Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund (CFPF) grant application; and
(2) Authorize the City Manager to submit the grant application and enter into any agreements
that may be required to receive these funds should the requested allocation be approved.
BACKGROUND: The Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund (CFPF), managed by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), was established to provide support for regions and localities across Virginia to reduce the impacts of flooding, including flooding driven by Climate Change. The CFPF prioritizes projects that are in concert with local, state, and federal floodplain management standards, local resilience plans, and the Virginia Coastal Resilience Master Plan. The Fund empowers communities to complete vulnerability assessments and develop and implement action-oriented approaches to bolster flood preparedness and resilience.
The 30-day solicitation window closes on November 12, 2023. Projects must be completed no later than three years from the date of an executed agreement.
DISCUSSION: The City has been experiencing widespread flooding due to the increase in high intensity precipitation events associated with climate change. The City identified large capacity stormwater capital infrastructure projects through the City’s 2016 City of Alexandria Storm Sewer Capacity Analysis (CASSCA) that provided a model of potential storm sewer system areas that may experience capacity issues which could be mitigated through projects focusing on a mix of conveyance, storage, and/or green infrastructure. In addition, Alex311 service requests during large storm events, and subsequent neighborhood field investigations, helped inform the prioritization of these projects and assist in identifying issues and potential spot improvement projects to better convey storm flows and help reduce flooding. However, more work needs to be done to holistically develop a resilience plan to address our current and future flood risks, including hazard identification, flood mitigation, flood preparedness and response, policies and regulations, funding strategies, and communication/information dissemination. The proposed Flood Resilience Plan will address these issues with the goal of making the City more resilient to the effects of flooding from more intense storms occurring across the globe due to Climate Change.
The Flood Resilience Plan is also identified in the City's recently developed Energy and Climate Change Action Plan (ECCAP) that went before City Council on May 23, 2023. The Flood Resilience Plan is a requirement of receiving future funds if the grant opportunity continues. The City’s current ‘Resilience Plan’ required to apply for CFPF grants is a compendium of existing City plans that was approved by the state, but that approval expires September 2024.
FISCAL IMPACT: The state requires matching funds to be available at the time of application. The application is for a cost share to develop the City’s Flood Resilience Plan, with the City’s portion funded through the Storm Sewer Capacity Project program CIP.
The CFPF application cost share, if approved by DCR in late 2023 / early 2024, would cover 75% of the estimated plan development cost, with the remainder of the project funded through FY 2022 CIP funds. To date, the City has received over $5 million in CFPF grants. This includes grant funding to accelerate portions of the Edison and Dale Large Capacity Project that is slated to receive CIP funding in FY 2026 of the 10-Year Stormwater Utility Plan, funding Green Infrastructure design for the Commonwealth, Ashby, and Glebe Large Capacity Project, developing a formal Inlet Program, and funding for the Waterfront Project. This Round 4 may be the last round of solicitation given the administration’s opposition to Virginia’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), which serves as a funding source for the CFPF (and other programs) through the auction of carbon allowances.
Transportation and Environmental Services (T&ES) is working with the Department of Project Implementation (DPI) to submit application materials by the state’s November 12, 2023, deadline. If Council does not approve this application for grant funding, this project would be wholly funded out of the City’s Storm Sewer Capacity Projects program using prior year funds.
Under the CFPF Capacity Building and Planning category, applicants can apply for grant funding of 75% that requires a 25% local match for localities to create resilience plans. The current estimated total cost to develop the City’s Flood Resilience Plan is $700,000, with 75% of the funding (or $525,000) being requested from the Fund and 25% (or $175,000) being the cost share funded by the City. The net effect of the amount of grant funds that the City may receive will be the offset of a similar amount of City funds. This offset amount would then be allocated as part of the FY 2024 CIP planning to another stormwater project or projects.
ATTACHMENT: Resolution
STAFF:
Emily A. Baker, Deputy City Manager
Tarrence Moorer, Assistant Director, T&ES
Morgan Routt, Director, OMB
William J. Skrabak, Deputy Director, T&ES, Infrastructure and Environmental Quality
Jesse E. Maines, Division Chief, Stormwater Management, T&ES
Arthur Wicks, Capital Improvement Program Manager, OMB