Pinellas receives $233 million in hazard mitigation funding

This story was updated with new information.

Pinellas County and its municipalities have received $233 million in Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funding to lessen the impacts of future storms. 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant funding is available following a presidentially declared natural disaster. States then distribute the money to counties, which disburse it to sub-applicant municipalities. 

Local governments can apply on behalf of businesses and residents. Principal planner Smita Ambadi recently met with city administrators and explained the process to county commissioners at a July 17 workshop. 

“Although we have been maintaining this program since 1999, this is the first time we have received this big of an allocation,” Ambadi said. 

Some municipal stakeholders expected a greater windfall. Claude Tankersley, public works administrator for the City of St. Petersburg, noted in June that the county “would not be receiving the amount we had originally anticipated.” 

Tankersley said the amount of local Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funding for Hurricane Helene decreased from $240 million to $146 million. The amount expected for Hurricane Milton dropped from about $176 million to $87 million. 

In total, the area lost $183 million in anticipated grants. The program is reimbursement-based and covers 75% of a project’s cost. 

“I want to be clear, these are the numbers that are allocated to the county,” Tankersley said in June. “We’re not going to be grabbing all that – just a portion of it, we hope to be able to take advantage of.” 

Tony Fabrizio, interim public information manager for Pinellas, subsequently told the Catalyst that the county “does not have visibility on who has applied or how much they have submitted for reimbursement.”

Ambadi was unavailable for comment. 

However, Fabrizio did note that there is a 30-day estimate based on initial damage assessments, a six-month estimate based on submitted project worksheets and a “12-month lock-in amount.” 

County Administrator Barry Burton said Thursday that local governments typically receive $5 million or $10 million without much formal discussion. The amount awarded is “just a lot bigger” this year. 

However, Burton said the state can “slice it and dice it and change it.” Local governments must have a mitigation strategy in place before applying for funding.

Ambadi said applicants who prove they have the 25% cost match can use the grant money for flood risk reduction, storm hardening buildings, property acquisitions and to purchase generators for critical facilities. 

Ambadi compared the application process to a relay race. She said 14 of the county’s 25 municipalities and two nonprofits have requested funding. 

Commissioner Dave Eggers said the 25% match “kind of limits” the number of applicants who can “come to the table.” He believes that excludes smaller cities that “would love to have some opportunity.” 

Ambadi said city officials must also have the capacity to manage the project. The $233 million will support 71 throughout Pinellas. 

The county will oversee 11 projects totaling $55 million in unincorporated areas. That leaves $178 million for municipalities. 

County funding will support three stormwater projects at Cross Bayou, the 34th Street North culvert on Joe’s Creek and the Baypointe Conservation Area. Officials will also harden two sewage pump stations, two water reclamation facilities and the Logan Utilities Operations Center and Laboratories buildings. 

“We’re really looking at a lot of hardening of critical facilities that provide both drinking water and wastewater services,” said Kelli Hammer Levy, public works director. “As well as improvement to electrical components – elevating them out of flood plains, out of surge zones, to protect those very critical pieces of infrastructure.” 

She said the Cross Bayou stormwater project would benefit the Cities of Pinellas Park and Largo, as well as the surrounding unincorporated areas. The Joe’s Creek and Baypointe initiatives will have similar, far-reaching impacts. 

Levy noted that the commission already approved a nearly $11 million project that will elevate and storm-harden 35 traffic signals along major evacuation routes. The county will use $9.3 million in HMGP funding from Hurricane Debby to support those efforts. 

Levy said the funding amount could increase, as some communities had not submitted the required information as of the July 17 meeting. “That’s another reason we want to make sure we have a big list – there may be more opportunities.” 

State officials will also reallocate funding for unapproved projects to counties. Ambadi said they would “go down the list until the (federal) allocation is exhausted.” 

“I’m sure when you were assigned this project a year ago with fewer funds, it was a much easier task,” Eggers told Ambadi. “Thank you for the work, because I know it’s been hard to pull everybody together on such large requests.”

Update: The City of St. Petersburg has responded with a list of its HGMP projects totaling $100.5 million.

• Lage Magiore/Salt Creek Flood Mitigation Measures: $30.31 million.
• Gulf to Bay Electrical Hardening: $6 million.
• Fire Rescue Headquarters and Master Station Water Intrusion Mitigation and Resilience: $5 million.
• Fleet Management at the Emergency Operations Center – Fueling and Maintenance Shops: $9.9 million.
• Northeast Water Reclamation Facility Critical Asset Hardening: $5.6 million.
• Shore Acres Flood Mitigation – Backflow Preventers and Pump Stations: $26 million.
• St. Petersburg Police Department Headquarters – Emergency Operations Center Mitigation: $1.4 million.
• Wastewater Lift Station Resilience and Hardening: $16.3 million, with a $2.4 million balance.

The city noted that all but one application has received “full funding recommendations based on current FEMA allocation estimates.”