$100 million available for Hurricane Wilma relief

TALLAHASSEE - Following instructions from Governor Charlie Crist to better meet the continued needs of local governments and Florida hurricane victims, the Department of Community Affairs has invited cities and counties affected by Hurricane Wilma in 2005 to apply for a share of $100 million in long-term recovery funding. Today's announcement follows several months of work to make a share of the money available for ongoing efforts to recover from past damage rather than solely to protect homes against future storms.

DCA is providing application forms and information to local governments in the areas affected by Wilma, following recent federal approval of Florida’s action plan for distributing the Disaster Recovery Program funds to benefit low- and moderate-income residents. A total of 18 Florida counties, some of which sustained more than $200 million in damage during the October 24, 2005, hurricane, will share the $100 million for housing and infrastructure repairs and mitigation.

The State of Florida originally determined that most of the federal money should be designated for hardening, a process intended to shore up existing structures to better withstand the impacts of future storms. After hearing from local government officials in the affected areas, the state made changes in order to be more responsive to immediate local needs. DCA has worked with local officials in recent months to develop a process that will make it easier for eligible communities to apply for the recovery funds and ensure that funds can be distributed quickly.

“Under Governor Crist’s leadership, we quickly recognized that many Floridians continue to suffer in very real ways from a devastating storm that ravaged their communities almost two years ago,” DCA Secretary Tom Pelham said. “I am pleased that the federal government has approved our plan so those citizens can finally get the assistance they need.”

The $100 million allocation represents the third round of federal emergency assistance following the devastating 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons. This particular allocation can be used for hurricane victims in the counties affected by Hurricane Wilma. The funds will be distributed for purposes identified by local governments in the affected counties, with the program administered by DCA's Community Development Block Grant program.

Under the action plan, eligible local governments must submit plans to DCA outlining their needs for housing and public facilities affected by Wilma. The bulk of the federal assistance will be directed toward improvements to single-family homes and public infrastructure, while federal regulations require that at least 20 percent of the money be designated for repair and rehabilitation of multifamily rental housing. Under the newly approved plan, any home that undergoes repairs with the Disaster Recovery funds must also be hardened to minimize future damage.

The funding allocations are based on each county's relative share of estimated damage. Eligible activities for use of the funds include: single-family housing repair, rehabilitation and hardening; replacement of single-family homes; multifamily housing repair, rehabilitation and hardening, or infrastructure repair and/or improvement.

A spreadsheet showing a county-by-county breakdown of available funding, excluding multifamily rental housing and state program administration, is attached. A copy of the Florida Department of Community Affairs Disaster Recovery Program Action plan is available at http://www.floridacommunitydevelopment.org/Files/DisasterRecoveryActionPlan.pdf.