Consent 1.H.
Regular City Council Meeting
- Meeting Date:
- 01/11/2021
- Title
- Letter of Support for FEMA BRIC Grant Application
- Presented by:
- Jennifer Duray
- Department:
- Public Works
- Division:
- Administration
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council approve signing the Letter of Support for the FEMA BRIC Grant application.
BACKGROUND (Consistency with Adopted Plans and Policies, if applicable)
The City Council is being asked to support staff's preparation and submittal of a $50 million application to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Building Resilient Infrastructure & Communities Grant Program (BRIC) seeking funds to support the City of Billings Water Supply Flood and Drought Project, which represents the west end raw water delivery system, west end reservoir, and water treatment plant projects. These projects are identified in the 2020/2021 City Council Priorities with a ‘High’ priority rating.
These water system projects have been approved through the Capital Improvement Plan and budget process and will provide resiliency for the water supply which serves a local population of approximately 127,000 people. In addition, the water system provides water for commercial, industrial, and medical facilities that serve not only the City of Billings but all of southeast Montana. The existing water system is limited by a single source of supply and water treatment plant. If the treatment plant is out of service due to a natural disaster such as flooding, drought or landslides or a man-made event such as a hazardous material pipeline failure, the City can only supply drinking water and water for fire suppression for approximately 8-hours. The project will provide a raw water delivery system, off system raw water storage, and a redundant water treatment plant, capable of providing approximately 40 days of drinking water supply in the event that the existing water supply or treatment facility are out of service.
The City of Billings is seeking Grant funding through the FEMA BRIC program that will be used to offset the cost of design and construction for the raw water delivery system (river intake, pumping station and pipeline), water storage reservoirs (reclaimed gravel mine), and west end water treatment plant.
These water system projects have been approved through the Capital Improvement Plan and budget process and will provide resiliency for the water supply which serves a local population of approximately 127,000 people. In addition, the water system provides water for commercial, industrial, and medical facilities that serve not only the City of Billings but all of southeast Montana. The existing water system is limited by a single source of supply and water treatment plant. If the treatment plant is out of service due to a natural disaster such as flooding, drought or landslides or a man-made event such as a hazardous material pipeline failure, the City can only supply drinking water and water for fire suppression for approximately 8-hours. The project will provide a raw water delivery system, off system raw water storage, and a redundant water treatment plant, capable of providing approximately 40 days of drinking water supply in the event that the existing water supply or treatment facility are out of service.
The City of Billings is seeking Grant funding through the FEMA BRIC program that will be used to offset the cost of design and construction for the raw water delivery system (river intake, pumping station and pipeline), water storage reservoirs (reclaimed gravel mine), and west end water treatment plant.
ALTERNATIVES
City Council may:
- Authorize signing the letter of support for the grant application, or;
- Disapprove signing the letter of support for the grant application.
FISCAL EFFECTS
The BRIC Grant application total is $134,960,000 for the Water Supply Flood and Drought Mitigation Project with local match for the grant making up $84,960,000, which has been approved through the adopted CIP for the west end raw water delivery, west end reservoir, and water treatment plant projects.