According to Mike Taylor, the City of Gulfport’s point person for FEMA programs, roughly one-third of Gulfport falls inside the 100-year floodplain.
FEMA
To get the best out of life in a coastal community, it is prudent to also plan for the worst.
That’s why local governments throughout Pinellas County, including Gulfport, operate with a floodplain management plan. They also participate in a community rating system (CRS) offered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) which aims to reduce flood risk – and can also lead to reduced flood insurance premiums.
Gulfport City Council voted at its April 19 regular meeting to adopt the annual report for the city’s floodplain management plan as part of the county’s multi-jurisdictional report. Also approved was an annual report for the accompanying public information program that keeps local residents in the know, especially in the coming months during hurricane season.
Under the rating system, cities and counties get points for activities they perform, and then get placed in specific classifications based on their score.
On a scale of 1 (best) to 10 (worst), Gulfport currently has enough points to be considered a Class Six community, according to Mike Taylor, Gulfport’s principal planner in the Community Development Department and the point person for Gulfport’s participation in these programs.
“Most communities are probably a seven or an eight,” he said. “Pinellas County is trying right now for a three. They have the people and resources to do that.”
A key factor for participation in the CRS program is the number of repetitive loss properties a city has. Those are properties with two or more losses due to flooding in any 10-year period. If there are 10 or more, a floodplain management plan is required. Gulfport currently has 13.
“That’s actually not bad,” said Taylor, noting that every community in Pinellas has sufficient repetitive loss properties to require a plan. “It doesn’t take much to get to that number.”
The county has a floodplain management plan approved by the state as well as FEMA, and FEMA allows cities to follow the county’s lead and do this on a cooperative basis. That takes a lot of work off the backs of floodplain managers like Taylor, who is a one-man show for Gulfport in that regard.
About a third of the City is within the special flood hazard area or the 100-year floodplain.”
This participation pays off for Gulfport in the way of funding for specific projects related to flood mitigation, flood proofing, or even the purchase of flood-prone properties. Taylor pointed out that city projects of late included the hardening of City Hall and the fire station, where materials were installed to provide added protection against wind damage. You can see the results of this work by observing the outside shutters on windows at various city buildings.
Anytime a project is undertaken under such a hazard mitigation program, the cost is split 75-25, with FEMA paying the bulk of it.
The program was in play in recent years due to Hurricane Irma, which caused 85% of Gulfport to lose power for about a week. That included City Hall and the 49th Street Neighborhood Center, which houses the Public Works Department.
“It very severely limited the services we provide,” said Taylor. “We could do it, but it took longer because we couldn’t use our computers and had to use paper.”
The City made changes to mitigate the risks, including installing generators at City Hall and the 49th Street Neighborhood Center.
As for the public information portion of the plan, the City uses various public outreach methods to keep residents up to date. This typically starts in the summer, at the onset of hurricane season.
Taylor puts out a brochure once a year that is inserted in every resident’s utility bill, along with three specific letters that are sent to property owners in the city’s 100-year floodplain. FEMA encourages municipalities to send out repeated messages, he noted.
“About a third of the City is within the special flood hazard area or the 100-year floodplain,” he said.
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