Hurricane Sally swept over the Florida panhandle, making landfall on September 16, 2020, as a Category 2 hurricane, and bringing heavy rainfall and flooding.
The U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that the state of Florida will receive $187,383,000 in funding to support long-term recovery efforts following Hurricane Sally through the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity’s Office of Long-Term Resiliency. Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding is designed to address needs that remain after all other assistance has been exhausted. When
applying for funding through the Rebuild Florida Hurricane Sally IRP,
applicants must provide a detailed description of damage caused by Hurricane
Sally, including plans to mitigate against future damage, and show how the
proposed project will assist the community in rebuilding after Hurricane Sally.
Eligible Counties
- HUD designated Most Impacted and Distressed (MID) Areas (80%
of the Funding awarded to these counties through a competitive application
process)
- Escambia County
- Santa Rosa County
- State designated MID areas (20%
of the Funding awarded to these counties through a competitive application
process)
Rebuild Florida Programs
Housing Programs
- Rebuild Florida Subrecipient Housing Repair and Replacement Program - The Escambia County Board of County Commissioners has been awarded $9 million of CDBG-DR funds for the Escambia County Housing Repair and Replacement Program. Representative of the Rebuild Florida HRRP, the primary focus of this agreement is to provide relief to residents impacted by Hurricane Sally. This project will provide countywide residential housing repair and replacement to those individuals and families most impacted by Hurricane Sally, will affirmatively furthering fair housing and benefit low to moderate-income individuals.
- Rebuild Florida Voluntary Home Buyout Program - Escambia County has received $15,346,550 in FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funds to acquire and demolish 49 single family homes in repetitive flood areas. The FEMA HMGP funds cover 90-percent of the cost for buyout. Escambia County will use the $3,170,114.80 Hurricane Sally CDBG-DR funds as the 10-percent match for HMGP grants, and cover HUD-required environmental clearances, incentive packages, and URA assistance as needed.
- Public comment period has closed.
- Public meetings: (NEWS RELEASE)
- April 12 - 3 p.m.
- April 13 - 10 a.m.
- Both meetings will be held at the Central Office Complex, 3363 W. Park Place, Room 104
- Escambia County is requesting the amount to cover our local match for these previously approved Hazard Mitigation Grant Programs (HMGP) –
- Total Project Budget - $18,516,665.50
- Total HMG Grants Already Obtained - $15,436,550.70
- Total VHB Grant Request - $3,170,114.80
- Escambia County proposed Voluntary Home Buyout application would include:
- Bristol Park – 23 homes
- Countywide Acquisitions - 13 homes
- Ranchlands - 5 homes
- Escambia County, Pensacola and Cantonment - 13 homes
Infrastructure Programs
- Rebuild Florida Infrastructure Repair Program - Subrecipient administered program designed to fund infrastructure restoration and hardening projects in communities impacted by Hurricane Sally.
- Public comment period has closed.
- New ECAT energy-efficient Escambia County Transit Center - The Escambia County Board of County Commissioners has been awarded $26,550,000 for CDBG-DR funding to build a new state of the art, energy-efficient and resilient facility for transit operations, to include fixed-route services, ADA and Transportation Disadvantaged paratransit services, and Emergency Operations Distribution Center and/or Emergency Shelter, when necessary.
- Regional stormwater projects that will include the following: Escambia County has been awarded $26,396,768 of the mitigation set aside amount for CDBG-DR funding that will provide environmentally sound, comprehensive, and cost-effective solutions to stormwater challenges facing neighborhoods located within Low-Moderate Income areas. This project will improve stormwater infrastructure allowing these areas to be more resilient when faced with future events like Hurricane Sally.
- Total Project Budget - $36,886,768
- Total CDBG-DR Funds Requested - $20,436,768
- Total CDBG-MIT Funds Requested - $5,960,000
- Total Leverage from Local - $10,490,000
- The neighborhoods and areas proposed for improvements as part of this project are as follows:
- PHS Drainage Improvements Phase I, II and III - $1,800,000
- Oakfield Acres/Palafox - $11,200,000
- Carver Park Phase II - $2,160,000
- Monroe Avenue - $2,000,000
- Brickyard Road - $2,000,000
- Olive Road street and drainage improvement - $7,236,768
- Escambia County Infrastructure Regional Stormwater Application 4/14/2023
- Escambia County Regional Stormwater Hurricane Sally Infrastructure Repair Projects Award Letter
Economic Revitalization Programs
- Rebuild Florida Hometown Revitalization Program - Escambia County has been awarded $5 million in CDBG-ER funding for the rehabilitation of streetscapes and development of solar-powered lighting throughout LMI areas. The county will update 32 of Escambia County Area Transit current bus shelters as well as installing 80 new bus shelters at stops which do not have a bus shelter. New bus shelters would allow Escambia County to bring the bus shelters to current ADA compliance while also providing the opportunity for local business advertisements to b updated or created.
- Rebuild Florida Workforce Recovery Training Program ($5,000,000) - Designed to provide funding opportunities for local workforce development boards, educational institutions and technical centers located in the communities most impacted by Hurricane Sally to train new workers in construction trades.
- Workforce Affordable Housing Construction Program ($25,000,000) - Designed to construct new affordable rental housing in areas impacted by Hurricane Sally.
Citizen Participation
Escambia County values citizen and stakeholder engagement and will provide a reasonable opportunity of at least 30 days for citizen comment and ongoing citizen access to information about the use of these grant funds. During the development of our grant applications, we will consult with disaster-affected citizens, stakeholders, local government, public housing authorities, and other affected parties in the surrounding geographic area. Please look for press releases, social media posts and public meetings.
Click here to read the Escambia Consortium Citizen Participation Plan.
Citizen Complaint Procedures
Escambia County takes citizen complaints seriously and has developed a complaints resolution protocol to ensure that timely response is provided to all citizens or entities within 15 working days of receipt of the complaint. Please email complaints regarding any of the Rebuild Florida Hurricane Sally Escambia County projects to sallyrecoverygrant@myescambia.com and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
State Action Plan
DEO led the state's efforts in creating the federally required State Action Plan that provides a high-level strategy for how the funding will be used to address eligible communities' long-term recovery and mitigation needs. The State Action Plan was developed with input from state and community partners, as well as citizens, to determine the remaining long-term recovery needs and most critical disaster mitigation needs.
The State Action Plan was posted for a 30-day public comment period beginning May 6, 2022 and ending June 6, 2022, during which comments were submitted on the State Action Plan. The State Action Plan, as approved by HUD, is below:
Additional Documentation
Threat Assessment for Less Severe Hazards - Action Plan Attachment
Program Documentation Requirements
Procurements and Solicitations
Policies and Procedures
Resources
