To: Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): County Administrator’s Office
Staff Name and Phone Number: Michael Gossman, 565-2341
Vote Requirement: Informational Only
Supervisorial District(s): All
Title:
Title
Recovery Update
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Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Receive an update on the status of recovery operations, planning and seeking of funding opportunities following the October 2017 Sonoma Complex Fires and the 2019 Winter Storm Events. (Informational Only)
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Executive Summary:
Office of Recovery and Resiliency staff provides the Board regular updates on disaster recovery efforts, including building permits; external funding and grant efforts; and relevant legislation.
Discussion:
In an effort to keep the Board and community informed about the County’s recovery efforts, the Office prepares a standing agenda item for each Board meeting, typically included on the consent calendar. This update includes information on: Ongoing Recovery Efforts; Housing; Recovery Related External Funding Opportunities; and other items of interest. In addition to the standing agenda item, the Office will be presenting quarterly updates to the Board on the status of the implementation of the Recovery and Resiliency Framework. The quarterly updates are scheduled for the following Board meetings this calendar year: April 16, July 9, and November 5, 2019.
2017 Sonoma Complex Fires
1. Ongoing Recovery Efforts
A. Debris Removal
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in May 2018 concluded the Government-Sponsored Debris Removal Program in Sonoma County on 3,674 participating properties and stopped accepting new debris-related complaints.
Additionally, the California Office of Emergency Services on December 14, 2018 concluded the program that addressed over-excavation issues that occurred during the Government-Sponsored Debris Removal Program. Owners of 722 properties in Sonoma County requested site assessments by the September 21, 2018 deadline; 381 properties were ruled eligible and backfilled by the Cal OES contractor to appropriate elevations; 341 properties were ruled ineligible for the program.
All properties in the Public Debris Removal Program have been cleared. CalOES has completed remediation work for properties it deemed eligible for the Over Excavation Program, except for a few. We have been advised that FEMA completed the cost reports, and both CalOES and the County expect to receive them in the near future.
If property owners require additional clarification specific to the Debris Removal Program, they can contact the California Office of Emergency Services Recovery Section at 916-845-8200. If property owners have other questions or concerns, they can contact Sonoma County’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency at 707-565-1222.
2. Housing
A. Resiliency Permit Center
Permit Sonoma established a Resiliency Permit Center providing expedited comprehensive permitting and inspection services for those who lost homes in the fires and their representatives dealing with reconstruction of approximately 3,000 residential structures destroyed or damaged by the Sonoma Complex Fire. Services at the Resiliency Permit Center began February 13, 2018. In 2019, the Resiliency Permit Center will also provide, free of charge, a general review of bid proposals to fire survivors to help them determine where scope and pricing are appropriate.
B. Rebuilding Permits
1. The County has issued 930 building permits for homes as of March 18, 2019; 137 permits are in process; 51 homes have been finished. For the latest numbers, go to <http://sonomacounty.ca.gov/PRMD/Performance-Data/Rebuilding-Permits-Data/>
2. The City of Santa Rosa has issued 1,224 building permits for homes as of March 18, 2019; 328 permits are in process; 203 homes have been finished. For latest numbers, go to <https://www.srcity.org/2675/Rebuilding>
See attachment: Permit Report 3-18-19
3. Recovery-Related External Funding Opportunities
A. Community Development Block Grant - Disaster Recovery
Announcement of $212 Million: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced on April 10, 2018, that California would be receiving $212 million to support long-term disaster recovery through the Community Development Block Grant - Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program, including $124 million for unmet disaster recovery needs, and $88 million for preparedness and mitigation. The Federal Register governing the $124 million portion for unmet disaster recovery needs was issued on August 20, 2018.
Action Plan: on March 15, 2019, HUD approved the Action Plan for the $124 million portion for unmet disaster recovery needs as submitted by California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), who is the Grantee and receiver of the funds. HUD is still reviewing HCD's Implementation Plan, Capacity Assessment, and Financial Certifications to ensure sufficient capacity to manage the funds and associated risks. HUD also is encouraging HCD to revisit the unmet needs assessment in the Action Plan as new data becomes available and recovery progresses throughout the life cycle of the grant.
The Action Plan details the proposed use of all funds. HCD’s proposed Action Plan includes a budget of $47.6 million for an owner-occupied housing program, $66.7 million for a multifamily housing program, $3.5 million for a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Public Assistance (PA) match program, and $6.2 million for administration.
The owner-occupied program is proposed to be a Statewide program by HCD. HCD will release a Survey to help finalize the owner-occupied program prior to opening up the application process.
The multi-family program will have funds allocated directly to the local jurisdiction. This allocation is proportionate to the number of Low and Moderate Income renters within the disaster areas of each jurisdiction. As proposed, Sonoma County would receive $4,698,809 and the City of Santa Rosa would receive $38,469,772.
Status of $88 Million for Preparedness and Mitigation Funding: HUD to develop and finalize the rules and publish in the Federal Register in order to begin the funding cycle. The date the Federal Register will be published has not been announced, although there have been discussions about it possibly being published in May 2019.
The County Administrator’s Office has worked with Congressman Mike Thompson’s Office to advocate to the United States Senate through U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein to include an additional $11.1 million in CDBG-DR monies for the State of California.
B. Federal Funding In Process: FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program
FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) is one of many public funding sources the County is pursuing to implement projects designed to reduce the potential risk to life and/or property in Sonoma County. To date, the County Departments and Agencies have submitted 28 grant applications to the California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) in response to the October 2017 Wildfire Presidential Declaration of Disaster. The projects proposed for funding directly implement activities identified in the Sonoma County Recovery and Resiliency Framework drafted by the Office of Recovery and Resiliency (ORR) and subsequently approved by the Board of Supervisors in December 2018.
The total project funding data allows for an analysis of hazard mitigation proposals submitted across County Departments (Figure 1. FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program Total Project Cost by Lead Department, in $ millions). Using the federal funding proposal information, the total cost for hazard mitigation projects is approximately $47.6 million. The grant requests, if awarded will provide resources to execute the ten priority projects identified by the Block Captains and Board members as being the highest priority for implementation. The anticipated start date for these grant-funded projects is fall 2019, and the performance period will be three years from the date of federal contract.
The full $47.6 million program is broken out by department or agency as follows: the Community Development Commission has a total project cost of $1,807,044; the Department of Transportation and Public Works has a total project cost of $6,115,359; the Emergency Management Department has a total project cost of $894,000; General Services has a total project cost of $7,999,888; the Information Services Department has a total project cost of $1,209,680; Permit Sonoma has a total project cost of $18,488,887; Regional Parks has a total project cost of $310,813; and Sonoma Water has a total project cost of $10,814,190.
The total program cost of is $47,639,861 with a Federal grant request of $35,729,870 and at total cost share of $11,909,991. This $11,909,991 cost share is further broken into different categories of funding sources. Property Owner Contribution (Home Hardening): $2,401,761; General Fund (Recovery and Resiliency Set Aside): $4,349,112; State Grant Funding: $1,323,055; and Lead Department Revenue, Fees or Specified Funds: $3,996,073.
See two attachments:
1. Figure 1 HMGP 4-2-19
2. HMGP Cost Share Breakdown Tables 1 and 2 4-2-19 rem
4. Other Items of Interest
A. Fuels Reduction and Landscape Resiliency Campaign
On your Board’s agenda today, there is an agenda item providing an update on the overall Fuels Reduction and Landscape Resiliency Campaign underway as part of implementation of the Recovery & Resiliency Framework, a progress report on vegetation management inspections and enforcement under the County’s Vegetation Management Ordinance, and the consideration of an enhanced and expanded Fuels Reduction and Landscape Resiliency Campaign.
2019 Winter Storms and Flooding Update Summary
On February 26, 2019, Sonoma County Supervisors declared a Local Emergency as powerful winter storms battered the county. On February 28, 2019, Governor Newsom declared a State of Emergency for Sonoma County.
Sonoma County’s Health Officer declared a local health emergency on March 5, 2019 due to the scale of household hazardous waste scattered along waterways, roadsides, and on public and private properties after flooding.
At the March 7, 2019 Special Meeting, your Board ratified the County Health Officer’s proclamation of local health emergency due to the presence of significant household hazardous waste in the flood zone that requires proper disposal.
Early damage assessments estimated over $150 million in countywide flood damages. Thirty five structures have received red tags, which means that the structure is damaged and poses an imminent threat to life or safety under expected loads or other unsafe conditions, while roughly 600 structures have received yellow tags, which means inspectors determined that there is some risk from damage to the structure.
In addition to private property damage, there are at least $23.5 million in damages to public property including debris removal, emergency protective measures, non-federal road and bridge systems, water control facilities, public buildings, public utilities, and park and recreational facilities. Damage estimates also include approximately $4 million in physical agriculture damage.
The Local Assistance Center (LAC) was opened in Guerneville by the Office of Recovery and Resiliency on Sunday, March 3, 2019 and closed on Saturday, March 9, 2019. The LAC served a total of 886 individuals with 1,995 total services provide by all agencies. The most visited County agencies were Permit Sonoma who served 264 individuals, Cal Fresh who served 145 and Community Development Corporation who served 114. The most popular State agencies were DVM who served 216 individuals and CDPH (Vital Records) who served 113. Of the Non-Profit agencies, Red Cross was the most popular, serving 404 individuals, while Catholic Charities served 173 individuals.
The County collected 1,711.62 tons of waste at the staffed debris drop off sites which were open from Saturday, March 2, 2019 through Saturday, March 9, 2019.
Your Board also voted to direct staff to offer curbside debris collection to assist Russian River communities with the significant amount of waste created by the flood disaster at no cost to residents. This was in response to the health and environmental risk posed by flood debris accumulating in streets, parking lots and in other public areas.
Curbside debris collection from the floods began on Monday, March 11, 2019 and will run two weeks. The total tonnage of curbside debris picked up was 1,013.81 tons for the first full week of the program.
The Recovery Operations Center was demobilized on March 20, 2019 and the County transitioned to long-term flood recovery, led by the Office of Recovery and Resiliency but with significant participation from several County agencies.
On March 6, 2019, Sonoma County requested California Disaster Assistance Act (CDAA) funds for private property debris removal because of damages sustained during the event. Governor Newsom has authorized CDAA (CDAA-2019-01-06) for Sonoma County who will perform the debris removal from the public rights-of-way and request reimbursement from Cal OES for the eligible activities at a 75 State/25 County percent cost share.
Immediate response costs totaling $2.5 million were programmed on March 12, 2019. This includes a $625,000 match and $1,875,000 of State disaster aid. Funding for the match includes $125,000 of contingencies, $250,000 from the Reinvestment and Revitalization Fund, and $250,000 from the Transportation and Public Works Special Concessions Fund. Funding for local cost share on permanent work will be identified as projects are identified and developed.
Prior Board Actions:
Regular Recovery Updates have been provided to your Board since November 2017.
Fiscal Summary
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
Attachments:
1. Permit Report: 3-18-19
2. HMGP Figure 1: 4-2-19_rem
3. HMGP Cost Share Breakdown Tables 1 and 2: 4-2-19_rem
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board: