ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – St. Johns County and the City of St. Augustine held their second of three meetings on Thursday to talk about a federal flood mitigation grant.
These meetings allow homeowners to learn about the Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) grant, including how they can better protect their property from flooding and apply for funding to make it happen.
Forrest Cotton lives in South Davis Shores and is no stranger to flooding.
“There’s a similar program that I applied for recently for ‘Elevate Florida,’ which I just got an email, oddly enough, while I was waiting for this presentation, that I wasn’t approved,” Cotton said.
The FMA grant is a nationally competitive Federal Emergency Management Agency program aimed at reducing or eliminating repetitive flood damage to buildings insured under the National Flood Insurance Program. It funds projects such as elevating, reconstructing, or demolishing and rebuilding flood-prone buildings.
Even though Cotton is at a bit of a higher elevation, he said he wants to get ahead of the issue, and he hopes he’ll meet the criteria under the FMA grant.
“I’ll still apply for this one. It’s a pretty straightforward process, and the worst they can say is no,” Cotton said.
News4JAX spoke with another resident who attended Thursday’s workshop and said she’s applying and crossing her fingers that she gets approved because she lives on Park Place and her home has been flooded at least three times.
She said her hope is to get approved and elevate her home like the others around her.
Cotton also said he’s been in the area long enough and went through Hurricane Ian and Nicole. He said seeing all that water was a scary experience.
“Just seeing that water come up and get as close as it does, any advantage that you can get in terms of getting the house up higher is always working in to,” Cotton said.
The final FMA workshop will give more residents a chance to learn about eligibility requirements, the application process, and how the funding could help safeguard their homes against future storms.
To learn more about the FMA grant program, visit this website.
