Pinellas receives $75,000 grant to identify and evaluate flood risks

Pinellas County is one of the 33 communities in Florida that has been selected for grant funding under the State of Florida’s Florida Resilient Coastlines Program for the Financial Year 2020/2021. Pinellas County will utilize the $75,000 grant for a proposed project that would identify and evaluate resilience-based policies in the Coastal Management Element of its Comprehensive Plan that address flood risks.

The grant-funded project will help the County achieve compliance with Florida’s Peril of Flood state statute. Additionally, the project will also evaluate policies with the County’s current Post-Disaster Redevelopment Plan, which assists our community’s ability to quickly and successfully redevelop following a major disaster. The project will also identify the local community’s vulnerabilities that need to be addressed well in advance of a major disaster in order to ensure a speedy and well-thought out, post-disaster recovery.

The project will involve public workshops and outreach through social media, website, and the Local Mitigation Strategy (LMS) Storymap, in addition to coordination with various departments, Pinellas County’s municipalities, and other stakeholders that are identified through the planning process.

The State of Florida provides grant funding to promote community-resiliency planning and supports projects that address risks associated with floods, other disasters and changing coastal conditions.

The time-frame for the grant is from Aug. 31, 2020 to June 30, 2021.