ORLANDO, Fla. – The City of Dania Beach will receive a more than $1.8 million federal grant to make its city hall building – which also houses the city’s emergency operations center – more resistant to wind damage and to install a back-up generator.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) has approved $1,804,125 to retrofit the building on West Dania Beach Blvd. with high velocity hurricane zone (HVHZ) large missile impact rated windows and doors. The funds will also be used for hardening the building envelope, placing wind protection on other openings such as vents, louvers and exhaust fans, and installing a back-up generator and fuel supply. All installations will be in strict compliance with the Florida Building Code or Miami Dade Specifications, and all materials will be certified to meet wind and impact standards.
Funding for this HMGP project is authorized under Section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Act, the 1988 law that governs FEMA’s disaster-related activities.
FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program is an important source of federal disaster assistance. HMGP funds may become available following the president’s declaration of a major disaster, and help strengthen communities by improving buildings, facilities and infrastructure that people use every day. A 2018 report from the National Institute of Building Sciences found that one dollar spent on hazard mitigation will save more than six dollars of recovery and rebuilding costs.
Generally, HMGP may provide a state, tribe or territory with additional grants up to 15 percent of the total disaster grants awarded by FEMA for a federally-declared disaster. States such as Florida that meet higher mitigation planning criteria may qualify for a higher percentage.
Florida has a FEMA-approved Enhanced Mitigation Plan, making the state eligible for HMGP funding not to exceed 20 percent of the estimated total amount of money spent by FEMA on disaster grants in the Hurricane Irma disaster. From this amount, HMGP reimburses the state up to 75 percent of eligible costs for mitigation projects. The remaining amount comes from other sources such as state and local assets and a combination of cash and in-kind sources.
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FEMA’s mission: Helping people before, during, and after disasters.