The City of Alexandria is hosting a seminar on plans to expand the Flood Mitigation Grant Program, and the timing couldn’t be better.
Yesterday afternoon, storms hit Alexandria and caused flooding across the city. As frustrating as that flooding was, Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson warned that it paled in comparison to previous intense rainfall.
The Flood Mitigation Grant Program was started in 2021 after multiple storms caused extensive damage around Alexandria. The program provides financial incentives to property owners to install flood protection.
The program stumbled early on, but over 235 grant applications have been approved for flood mitigation installations, and the city is looking to expand the program.
“The City is seeking to expand the program to offer more residents opportunities to apply for the grant program and continue to streamline the documentation,” the city’s release said. “This webinar will help property owners understand the types of flood mitigation practices that can be installed, the type of documentation required, and the process to apply to receive up to $5,000 matching grant from the program.”
Applicants are required to document flooding retroactively back to July 2019, though the release from the city said that requirement could be going away.
“Additionally, the City is seeking community input on ways to address common areas for condominium homeowner associations to fund the implementation of flood mitigation practices for their common areas,” the release said. “This could be a 50/50 match up to $25,000 for protecting common area primary structures such as clubhouse, parking garage, pool area, etc. with floodproofing measures.”
The seminary is scheduled for tonight (Tuesday) at 7 p.m. via Zoom.