Star Staff Reports
Shelby County has applied for a $39 million disaster resiliency grant for flood mitigation measures that would provide greatly enhanced protection for Millington’s citizens, businesses and industries from future flooding disasters. The grant is designed to make Millington and other areas of Shelby County more resilient to future disasters and revitalize areas affected by flooding. By kick starting the Millington GreenPrint Project and providing more areas for parks and recreation, the grant, if awarded as requested, will improve the quality of life for Millington’s citizens. Join in the discussion with Shelby County Government concerning the county’s application to the National Disaster Resilience Competition (NDRC) – a $1 billion federal grant. The program seeks broad input from residents county-wide and specifically from the communities like Millington that were directly affected by severe storms and flooding in 2011. The public is invited and encouraged to attend a public meeting on Oct. 1 at the Harvell Civic Center from 6–7:30 p.m.. The Harvell Civic Center is located at 8077 Wilkinsville Road in Millington. This will be the second public meeting Shelby County has held in Millington in addition to the Shelby County Front Porch that was seen at the 26th Annual International Goat Days Festival to inform the public and collect public input on the project. Make plans to attend the public meeting and visit www.resilientshelby.com/survey and share your thoughts via an online survey on the greatest needs and ways to change thinking, planning and action in the face of changing weather patterns and natural disasters. NDRC Summary & Key Facts The U.S Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is making available $1 billion in CDBG-DR funding to state and local governments impacted by disasters in 2011 – 2013 for the purpose of promoting innovative resilience projects to better prepare communities for future storms and other events. A total of 67 eligible applicants competed in Phase I, and 40 were chosen (including Shelby County) to move to Phase II. Objectives & Key Criteria Proposals must be tied to an eligible disaster from 2011-2013, must address an unmet need resulting from the qualifying disaster, and must prepare communities to face future disasters. Emphasis is placed on science-based, forward looking risk analysis. The goals are to: • Institutionalize resilient approaches to disaster recovery; • Engage stakeholders to inform them of impacts of climate change and the importance of developing resiliency based on sound science; • Leverage investments from public, private, and philanthropic sectors
Awards are expected to be announced in January – February, 2016.
