M E M O R A N D U M
To: Honorable Mayor and Town Council
From: Rafael G. Casals, Town Manager
Date: October 15, 2014
Re: Adoption of the Floodplain Mitigation Plan
REQUESTTitle
A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF CUTLER BAY, FLORIDA, RELATING TO THE ADOPTION OF THE FLOODPLAIN MITIGATION PLAN AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE
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BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS
On May 2, 2012, the Town of Cutler Bay was one of two (2) local governments in the State of Florida selected by FEMA to receive a grant in the amount of $50,000 with a Town match of $68,000 to develop a "Town-wide" Flood Management Plan (FMP). The successful development and implementation of this plan means that the Town's Community Rating System (CRS) ranking may improve to a Level 5, and flood insurance in the Town can be reduced an additional five (5%) percent, in comparison, with the current Flood Insurance discount rate.
On October 17, 2012, the Town Council adopted Resolution # 12-56, authorizing staff to issue a Request for Qualifications (RFQ #12-03), to identify the best available consultants to provide Floodplain Management Planning Professional Services for the Town. On February 20, 2013, the Town Council adopted Resolution # 13-14, selecting AMEC Environmental & Infrastructure, as the consultant responsible for developing the Town's Floodplain Management Plan consistent with the requirements and regulations set forth in the 2013 Community Rating System (CRS) Handbook. This effort will be achieved in four (4) phases: (1) Planning Process; (2) Risk Assessment; (3) Mitigation Strategy; and (4) Plan Maintenance.
The purpose of a Floodplain Mitigation Plan (FMP) is to reduce or eliminate risk to people and property from flood hazards. Planning is one of the best ways to develop a customized program that will mitigate the long term impacts of flood hazards while taking into account the unique characteristics of our Town. This plan will provide mitigation actions (implementation measures) designed to address these flooding problems which have been identified by the Floodplain Mitigation Planning Committee (FMPC), of which Council Member Mary Ann Mixon, was appointed as the Council Liaison:
· Flood: 100/500-Year
· Flood: Stormwater/Localized Flooding
· Hurricane and Tropical Storm (including Storm Surge)
· Climate Change/Sea-Level Rise
· Coastal/Canal Bank Erosion
· Dam/Levee Failure
The Town was awarded a Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) Planning Grant to prepare our Floodplain Mitigation Plan. The Town was only one of two communities in the State of Florida in 2012/2013, to be awarded the FMA grant from FEMA Region IV through the State of Florida Office of Emergency Management.
The FMP grant paid for seventy-five percent (75%) of the cost of preparation with the other twenty-five percent (25%) being paid through "in-kind" services from Town staff members who attended meetings, preparing news releases, conducted surveys within the community, reviewed planning documents, etc.
The FMP was prepared according to two (2) Federal Mitigation planning processes. The planning process followed the Disaster Mitigation Act (DMA) of 2000 - the multi-hazard local government planning legislation (44CFR) 201.6 which is part of the Stafford Act, and FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program's (NFIP) Community Rating System (CRS) Program Activity 510 Planning Requirements so that increased credits can be realized for this planning effort.
The planning process began in late October, 2013 with a Public meeting to organize the FMPC and to discuss the Biggert-Waters Reform Act of 2012, along with a review of the DMA and CRS Planning processes. A Public Involvement meeting was held, immediately following the FMPC meeting, later that evening with the same topics of discussion in order to further inform the general public. Throughout the next eleven (11) months, the FMPC met publically seven (7) times on variety of topics required to complete the DMA and CRS planning processes. Additionally, Town staff created an aggressive Public Outreach campaign which included the development of several press releases (Attachment "A") and on-line resident surveys (Attachment "B"). The FMPC will be required to reconvene quarterly starting in 2015 to review and evaluate implementation of the mitigation actions/projects and to maintain CRS credit for the FMP.
The public was also invited to participate in the planning process through a variety of ways. First, four (4) public meetings were held in October 2013, April 2014, September 2014 and most recently on October 1, 2014. The Town's website was used to advertise all events concerning the development of the plan, to post a survey and the draft plan. Additionally, Town staff's public outreach efforts included attending different community events to further engage the public's participation in our planning process.
Coordination with outside stakeholders and agencies took place with individual letters requesting their participation in the process. Other agencies' plans, studies and Ordinances in the Town were used to develop the capability assessment and to help develop mitigation actions/projects.
As a result of the above mentioned efforts and planning phase, a final mitigation action plan with seventeen (17) measures was developed to address the flood problems within the Town and those which come from outside the Town. The Action Plan is specific in terms of assigning responsibility for implementation, a funding source, and a date for completion.
Please find below a summary of both the FMPC and Public Involvement meetings:
Floodplain Mitigation Plan Committee Meeting (Attachment "C"):
· October 24, 2013 Town Council Chambers
· December 11, 2013 Town Center Community Room
· January 16, 2014 Town Center Community Room
· February 20, 2014 Town Center Community Room
· April 23, 2014 Town Center Community Room
· July 17, 2014 Town Center Community Room
· September 25, 2104 Town Center Community Room
Public Involvement Meetings (Attachment "D")
· October 24, 2013 Town Council Chambers
· April 23, 2014 Cutler Ridge Park
· September 25, 2014 Town Council Chambers
· October 1, 2014 Town Council Chamber
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the Mayor and Town Council adopt the Floodplain Mitigation Plan.