Clarification on Grant Program and Process for Manitou Incline

Clarification on Manitou Incline grant project with the City of Colorado Springs following Gazette report on Tuesday, August 1.

1. Grant funding is not currently at risk as the City of Colorado Springs continues to work through the grant application process with support from DHSEM.

2. The grant involves a multi-step, methodical process and takes time to complete.

3. The goal of the state is to assist the city in meeting all of the federal procurement rules so that in the end they are able to utilize all grant dollars allocated to them.

4. The grant program is a reimbursement program that means that after the grant agreement is approved and the work is completed the city can submit documentation for reimbursement of expenses.

5. This project falls under the Community Development Block Grant - Disaster (CDBG-DR) Program.

Link to the Gazette story: http://gazette.com/funding-in-question-as-anticipated-manitou-incline-closure-looms/article/1608255.

Planning for Drought Resilience from FEMA

The DHSEM Mitigation and Recovery Staff forwarded this information from our partners at FEMA to share with our stakeholders.  This information will be applicable to many as DHSEM begins the applicatoin process for FEMA's Pre-Disaster Migitation and Flood Mitigation Assistance Grants.  Learn more about Planning for Drought Resilience by following the links below.  To learn about mitigating drought, read the “Planning for Drought Resilience Fact Sheet”. To learn more about these project types, visit “Mitigating Flood and Drought Conditions Under Hazard Mitigation Assistance.”  To learn more about various Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) project types, visit the “Hazard Mitigation Assistance Mitigation Activity Chart.”

About “Mitigation Minute” This series is provided by FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Assistance Division. The “Mitigation Minute” contains a weekly fact about grants and resources provided across the country to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to people and property from natural hazards.

Free Webinars Suggested by DHSEM Mitigation and Recovery

Webinar Opportunities

On July 28, join us for Care of Books and Scrapbooks with Rebecca Elder at 2:00 -3:30 PM EDT. See https://www.connectingtocollections.org/books-and-scrapbooks/ for more information and to sign up.

On August 9, we are offering Are You Ready? Your Animals Depend on It - Contingency Planning for Collections with Dr. Yvonne Nadler DVM MPH and Ashley Zielinski at 2:00 – 3:30 PM EDT. This webinar is about emergency planning when you have living animals in your collections, however, the concept of contingency planning for emergencies should be of interest to all. See https://www.connectingtocollections.org/are-you-ready-animals-depend-on-it/ for more information and to sign up.

These webinars are offered free to all – join us, what do you have to loose? One of our recent webinar participants said “Overall these are excellent resources for me and my institution. Our funds are limited and any free training is appreciated – and, the quality of these presentations is excellent.”

DHSEM Accepting Grant Applications for Pre-Disaster Mitigation and Flood Mitigation Assistance

Grant Application Period Open

FEMA has formally announced the FY 2017 PDM and FMA grants. These nationally competitive grants provide mitigation funding on a cost share basis to local communities for the completion of eligible, cost effective mitigation projects. FEMA’s announcements state that $90 million and $150 million have been allocated to the PDM and FMA programs for FY 2017 respectively.

• Eligible project types include, but are not limited to, the following:
• Hazard mitigation planning
• Localized flood control to protect critical facilities
• Wildfire mitigation (to include hazard fuels reduction, defensible space and ignition-resistant construction)
• Floodwater storage and diversion
• Floodplain and stream restoration
• Property acquisition and demolition in high hazard areas
• Water and sanitary sewer system protective measures
• Utility protective measures
• Community safe room construction

Additional information available on our Grant Announcements page under the 2017 Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) and Flood Mitigation Assistance tab.
Grant Priorities

Detailed information is posted on our PDM and FMA Program Grant Priorties tab under the Grants tab. A summary of important dates is listed below:
Grant Subapplication Submission Timelines (applicable to both PDM and FMA grants)

FEMA will be opening eGrants to prospective applicants August 14, 2017. Applicants are required to develop preliminary applications in DHSEM’s EMGrants system prior to this date. DHSEM has replicated the FEMA eGrants application in EMGrants to avoid duplication of effort prior to FEMA making applications available in eGrants. Completion of a project/plan application in EMGrants will facilitate the application completion process in eGrants.

Draft subapplications in eGrants are due to the State by October 18, 2017. The compressed timeline suggests that the most competitive projects will be those in alignment with Federal program priorities, previously scoped, in pre-design, and with a well-established cost estimate. Below are the important DHSEM deadlines:

• July 28, 2017:  EMGrants Preliminary Application due to DHSEM via EMGrants
• August 18, 2017:  Draft Benefit-Cost Analysis (BCA) Submitted to DHSEM for Review
• October 18, 2017:  Draft Applications Submitted to DHSEM in eGrants
• November 10, 2017:  State Application Completed in eGrants and Submitted to FEMA
• January 30, 2018:  FEMA Identifies Sub-Applications for Further Review (estimated date)

Free Workshop: Testing Your Disaster Plan

The Colorado DHSEM Mitigation and Recovery Section recommends the workshop provided below by the Western States & Terrirtories preservation Assistance Service (WESTPAS).

ARE YOU READY?   Testing Your Disaster Plan

Course Logistics

• Date:  July 28, 2016
• Location:  Denver,  History Colorado
• Time:  9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
• Cost: The workshop is free; just your time, energy, and institutional commitment.  Funding provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
• Sponsored by Western States & Territories Preservation Assistance Service (WESTPAS)
• Instructor: Julie A. Page, Co-Coordinator, California Preservation Program and WESTPAS

Course Information

Will your disaster plan work in a real disaster situation? It's better to find answers now than after a disaster has occurred! Attend this scenario-based and collaboration workshop to help heritage institutions – libraries, archives, museums, historical societies, etc. – improve disaster preparedness and response for collections.

This workshop will:

• Help you assess your vulnerabilities
• Test your plan using a scenario table top exercise
• Explore how collaborations can help you respond to a disaster
• Build a shared vision for regional disaster preparedness

Who should attend:

When possible, send two to three participants from your institution to work together on disaster preparedness activities:

• Staff member(s) responsible for emergency preparedness
• Administrator and/or manager responsible for the building/collection
• Key members of the emergency/disaster team responsible for decision-making

Requirements for attendance:

• A written disaster plan (draft okay) that includes collections response/recovery
• A letter of institutional commitment to explore collaboration to optimize preparedness
• A simple vulnerability assessment (distributed 3 weeks before workshop)

Course Registration

• Registration: Pre-registration required. Register online at WESTPAS workshop http://tiny.cc/ZePO
•  For registration assistance contact: Alexandra Gingerich gingerich@plsinfo.org
•  For general & content information contact: Julie Page jpage@westpas.org

DHSEM Mitigation and Recovery Program Report

Read the most current issue of the DHSEM Mitigation and Recovery Program Report.

DHSEM Mitigation and Recovery Program Report: October 1, 2015

The DHSEM Mitigation and Recovery Program Report for October 1, 2015 is available to review or download.

DHSEM Mitigation and Recovery Program Report: June 17, 2015

The DHSEM Mitigation and Recovery Report is available to view or download.

DHSEM MARS Report with picture from Preliminary Damage Assessments

FEMA Project Award Programs for Public Assistance and DR-4145

Disaster Case Management Program Statistics

DHSEM Accepting NOIs for Hazard Mitigation Assistance

The Colorado DHSEM Mitigation Team is now accepting Notice of Intent (NOI) forms for the FY15 Hazard Mitigation Assistance Guidance(link is external) grants, including the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program (PDM(link is external))  and Flood Mitigation Assistance Program (FMA).(link is external) These grants represent an opportunity to improve a community’s ability to mitigate natural hazards and reduce potential impacts on citizens, property and local economies. NOIs will be evaluated for eligibility and alignment with HMA program priorities as laid out in the fact sheets linked below. The Mitigation Team will invite jurisdictions to complete a full grant application as appropriate. 

FEMA Program Grant Announcements

• HMA Fact Sheet(link is external)
• Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program(link is external)
• Flood Mitigation Assistance Program(link is external)
• Flood Mitigation Assistance Program Fact Sheet(link is external)

Timeline

Similar to last year, the timeline for application development is significantly shorter than in previous years. The compressed timeline suggests that the most competitive projects will be those in alignment with Federal program priorities, previously scoped, in pre-design, and with a well-established cost estimate. 

June 12, 2015	Notice of Intent forms due to DHSEM
June 19, 2015	Notice of Intent reviews complete
July 24, 2015	Benefit-Cost Analysis complete
August 14, 2015	Subapplications completed in eGrants
August 28, 2015	State application completed in eGrants and submitted to FEMA

Please take a thorough look at the program webpages and grants.gov sites as linked above, as well as the FY15 Hazard Mitigation Assistance Guidance(link is external). FEMA in 2015 has also provided an addendum that helps to clarify some of the changes to the Guidance FY15 Hazard Mitigation Assistance Guidance Addendum(link is external)

Please fill out the NOI that represents the intent of your specific project.

Visit the DHSEM website for the NOI forms.

DHSEM Mitigation & Recovery Program Report: May 27

Read our current edition of the DHSEM Mitigation & Recovery Program Report at www.bit.ly/MARS05272015.

DHSEM Mitigation and Recovery Program Report: May 12, 2015

Read this week's DHSEM Mitigation and Recovery Program Report for May 12, 2015.

Required Training for Hazard Mitigation Grant Program Applicants

The FEMA Disaster Procurement Assistance Team (DPAT) will be conducting training the afternoon of May 27th and the morning of May 28th. Training on the morning of the 27th will focus heavily on the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program; training on the 28th will focus heavily on the Public Assistance Program. Based on DHS OIG audit findings to date for Public Assistance Program in Colorado, procurement not following federal regulation is one of the key issues we have.

Attendance is mandatory for all Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) applicants conducting procurement as part of their project.

This training will cover essential Federal procurement guidelines to be applied to DRs 4067, 4133, 4134, and 4145 and future disaster events. If you or a member of your team has already attended previous iterations of this training, please send other representatives from your organization that will benefit. If you can’t make the session specific to your program, you may attend the other session.

FEMA DPAT Training Sessions
Date	Time
Wednesday, May 27, 2015	1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Thursday, May 28, 2015	8:00 a.m.– 12:00 p.m.

Location

The training sessions will be held in person at the State Emergency Operation Center. South Metro Fire/Rescue Building, 9195 E. Mineral Ave. Centennial, CO 80112 (second floor).  Please park on the roof of the parking garage.

Please share this information to all persons administering the Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation Grant Programs within your entity as this training is mandatory and will cover procurement information pertinent to all involved. Finance and program staff administering other FEMA programs such as Pre-Disaster Mitigation and Flood Mitigation Assistance Program are also invited to attend.

DHSEM Mitigation and Recovery Report: April 23, 2015

The DHSEM Mitigation and Recovery Report for April 23, 2015 is available to view and download.

Disaster Case Management Program Statistics for April 23, 2015

COVOAD members met in Lyons this week at the Lyons Chamber of Commerce

DHSEM Mitigation and Recovery Program Report: March 18, 2015

Read this week's DHSEM Mitigation and Recovery Program Report for March 18, 2015. 

Included in this issue is information on the following:

This is the progress pie cart that is distributed monthly. It captures all closed and all open cases for disaster case management center and includes a statewide overview.

The Town of Jamestown celebrates the opening of their new fire station that was constructed using funds from CIRSA and DOLA.  "Each step of our community's recovery from the 2013 Flood signifies the strength and resilience of our community and an acceptance of the new normal," said Mayor Tara Schoedinger at the event.

The Larimer Long Term Recovery Group meeting held on March 10, 2015 in Loveland.

DHSEM Mitigation and Recovery Program Report: March 10, 2015

The DHSEM Mitigation and Recovery Program Report is available to view and download.

Joan Cernich, Boulder County Disaster Case Management Supervisor, at the Red Cross Heroes Event.

DHSEM Mitigation Specialists Visit Proposed Project Sites

DHSEM mitigation specialists met with the City of Colorado Springs - Parks, Recreation, & Cultural Services to inspect a proposed Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) project along the Manitou Incline yesterday.

Proposed HMGP project site.

Proposed HMGP project site.

DHSEM Mitigation and Recovery Report: February 3, 2015

Read this week's DHSEM Mitigation and Recovery Report.

Photos from this week with the DHSEM Mitigation and Recovery team.

The Lessons Learned: 2013 Front Range Disasters workshop held on January 29, 2015 identified lessons learned, challenges and other valuable experiences taken from the response to and recovery from large disasters.

Kerry Webster (Colorado DHSEM) met with Clint Henke (ERO Consulting), Daniel Jones (FEMA), David Heinrich (Civil Engineer), and Rich Hansen (FEMA) to discuss the Town of Superior’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) project concerns. The project includes channel improvements to Coal Creek in the Town of Superior.