FEMA Approves Over $1 Million in Grant Funds for the City of Shawnee 

Release Date: December 12, 2000
Release Number: R7-00-48

» 2000 Region VII News Releases

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has announced that more than $1 million in federal funds have been made available to the city of Shawnee to purchase and demolish nine residential structures subject to flooding.

The targeted structures are located within the 100-year floodplain of Little Mill Creek. These structures were damaged during the flooding event of October 4, 1998.

The city's goals for this voluntary acquisition project include public safety and floodplain management. This project will remove families out of harms way, reduce the risks to emergency workers, and help the community meet their responsibilities for floodplain management and stay in good standing with the National Flood Insurance Program. When the acquisition project is complete the city plans on using the land for a recreational park and/or a wildlife sanctuary.

The $1,035,783 grant represents FEMA's contribution to the project. The total cost of the project is estimated to be $1,218,568. The local community will contribute $182,785 with the state globally matching the remainder of the non-federal match requirement.

Beth Freeman, director of FEMA's regional office in Kansas City, Mo., said that the funds would come through FEMA's Unmet Needs Program.

The $1 million grant represents FEMA's contribution to the project. The estimated cost of the project is $1.2 million.

The state of Kansas, through the Kansas Division of Emergency Management and the local community, will administer and disperse the federal funds. The state determines which projects will receive funding from FEMA.

FEMA's Unmet Needs Program provides 75 percent of the funds for approved projects that lessen or eliminate the loss of lives and property in future disasters. The remaining 25 percent must come from non-federal sources.

These federal funds came from a special appropriation from Congress for unmet needs that were a direct result from the severe storms and flooding that resulted in a Presidential disaster declaration for the state of Kansas in 1998.

Last Modified: Wednesday, 03-Dec-2003 14:58:03