NE Florida News

City of Palm Coast issued the following announcement.

The City of Palm Coast is pleased to announce it has won the Regional Award for Excellence in Resilience for the Floodplain and Stormwater Management Program from the Northeast Florida Regional Council.

This award recognizes an individual, organization, or specific project that has made positive contributions towards making the region more resilient. Award entries were judged based upon the criteria of background, innovativeness, effectiveness, implementation, comprehensiveness, and clarity.

Palm Coast's infrastructure was built about 50 years ago. Since incorporating in 1999, city leadership has made it a priority to reduce the risk of flood. And to win the award, various steps were outlined in accomplishing that task while ensuring a high quality of life for residents.

In 2002, the City joined the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and then in 2004 entered the Community Rating System (CRS), which documents activities the City does to reduce the risk of flood. The City gradually increased its CRS rating to a Class 4 in 2017. Community rating designations range from 1 to 10, with the lower the number, the better rating. Currently, only three communities in Florida have a class 4 rating or better; the City of Palm Coast leads northeast Florida with most points achieved. 

The City Council adopted its first Comprehensive Plan in 2004 that detailed forward-thinking flood reduction policies, but also reviewing and implementing floodplain regulations.

Other measures to reduce flood risk include:

• Staffing six (6) Certified Floodplain Managers across the organization;
• Funding $2.076 million in generator projects and securing 75% cost reimbursement through Hurricanes Matthew and Irma FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program;
• Perpetual protection of 60% of total special flood hazard area in municipal limits;

City staff also developed a stormwater management program, a strategic plan, and cost analysis for addressing infrastructure needs. The elements were woven into a comprehensive five and ten year Capital Improvement Plan with alternatives for an accelerated program to address infrastructure assessment, inventory, inspections, maintenance, regulatory requirements, monitoring, and tracking. Two levels of programming were presented to City Council in August 2017 and an Enhanced Program Approach was also approved.

The City has also received state-wide acknowledgement of the comprehensive approach to stormwater management by the Florida Stormwater Association (FSA) earlier this year. As a result of the established level of service, staff, funding, coordination and projects, FSA awarded the program the Outstanding Achievement Award. 

The NEFRC is an independent, regional government agency serving Baker, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Putnam, Nassau and St. Johns counties. It provides a regional perspective toward growth management, economic development, emergency preparedness, resiliency, and community development to enhance the quality of life of Northeast Florida residents. The organization awards these honors each year to recognize the best projects and the brightest leaders in the Region. For more information about the Northeast Florida Regional Council, visit www.nefrc.org.

Residents can check the status of capital projects, including those that are stormwater related, by utilizing the GIS (Geographic Information System) mapping tool. Click here to view it. You can also check on the status of swales by clicking here to visit the swale information page.

Stay informed with the latest news and information from the City of Palm Coast by signing up for weekly updates. Visit www.palmcoastgov.com/government/city-manager/week-in-review to get started today.

Original source can be found here.