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Commission Minutes-April 20, 2009 3505 <br />6. HAZARD MITIGATION GRANT PROGRAM <br />County Administrator Bonnie Johnson said at this time Federal Emergency Management <br />Agency (FEMA) funds are not available for flood buyouts; however, the county may begin <br />the application process in order to move forward with property acquisitions in the event <br />funding is granted. She said the first step is to submit a letter of intent to apply for funds <br />through the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services. Dave Rogness, Emergency <br />Manager, was present. He said a letter was sent to the state today regarding the county's <br />intent to apply for funds through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP). <br />Mrs. Johnson said in 1997 the county retained the services of Lake Agassiz Regional <br />Council (LARC) to manage the application process on behalf of the county. The second <br />step in the process is to approve a contract for services with LARC. <br />Irv Rustad, Executive Director of Lake Agassiz Regional Council, was present. He said a <br />contract is not yet available and will not be ready until rates and fees are established by <br />FEMA. He distributed a timeline for the flood buyout program and said the entire process <br />takes about 12 to 18 months to complete. The timeline is as follows: <br />April 2009 <br />- submit letter of intent to North Dakota Department of Emergency Services (NDDES) <br />- appoint flood buyout program committee <br />- committee develops buyout priority list <br />Mav 2009 <br />- prepare and submit flood buyout application to NDDES <br />June 2009 <br />- application reviewed by NDDES (takes 20 to 30 days) <br />July-September 2009 (assuming funding is approved) <br />- complete buyout program <br />October 2009 <br />- sell acquired property <br />Mav-June 2010 <br />- site clean-up <br />Mr. Rustad said the third step is to appoint a flood buyout program committee to develop a <br />priority list. This program is voluntary and does not involve condemnation of properties. He <br />said property owners will know in the next month or two whether their homes are on the <br />priority list for acquisition. <br />MOTION, passed <br />Mr. Wagner moved and Mr. Bennett seconded to appoint a flood buyout <br />program committee to work on behalf of Cass County with Irv Rustad of <br />Lake Agassiz to include the following members: Commissioner Ken <br />Pawluk, Auditor Mike Montplaisir, Tax Director Frank Klein and County <br />Engineer Keith Berndt. Motion carried. <br />