In 1998, Pinellas County and Its Municipalities Joined in the Creation of the First Local

Dear Mayor:

In 1998, Pinellas County and its municipalities joined in the creation of the first “Local Mitigation Strategy” (LMS). The original LMS was updated in 2004 and now that document needs to be updated again and include new federal guidance released this summer. The purpose of this letter is to inform you about the update process, invite you to participate, and offer possible assistance if necessary.

“ The purpose of the LMS is to establish an ongoing process that will make hazard mitigation part of the daily functioning of the entire community. The LMS serves as a bridge between local governments’ comprehensive growth management plans, the county comprehensive emergency management plan, land development regulations, and relevant ordinances and codes such as those for floodplain management. It may also fulfill some of the requirements of Florida Statutes Chapter 163, ‘Comprehensive Growth Management Plan,’ and Florida Administrative Codes ‘9J-5’ and ‘9G-22’. This strategy integrates mitigation initiatives established through various policies, programs, and regulations into a single stand-alone working document. The Pinellas County LMS was developed by a working group composed of municipal and county representatives and those from a variety of other interested groups. As the senior official of your jurisdiction, you are a voting member of the LMS Working Group. It is very important to understand that the participation of your community in the LMS process is a requirement for any federal mitigation funding including the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), the Flood Mitigation Assistance Program (FMAP), and Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant (PDMG) program. These programs represent hundreds of millions of dollars in grants for the county and its municipalities. The LMS Working Group has defined participation as attendance at a minimum of 50% of the LMS scheduled meetings and submission of a project for future funding. Participating in the LMS process can also mean additional points on the Community Rating System (CRS) which may result in lower National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) premiums for your residents. As part of the LMS update, individual jurisdictions and other participating organizations have tasks that must be done in order to realize the benefits associated with the LMS.

The first major task is to identify initiatives and/or projects that your community believes are appropriate for inclusion in the LMS and worthy of receiving funding. Initiatives/projects have included:

 Strengthening of Critical facilities including public shelters  Drainage, storm water management, and flood control  Vegetative or beach management, and soil stabilization  Infrastructure protection  Property acquisition  Planning projects/community outreach  Elevation of flood prone structures Your participation is needed to update the projects list which is Appendix 9 to the LMS Plan. You can get this list by going to (http://www.pinellaslms.org/plan-update.htm) and clicking on Appendix 9. Projects that have been completed should come off that list and be put on the Appendix 10 list, which is the list of Accomplishments. The deadline for updates of your projects is December 31, 2008.

The second task involves identifying relevant policies, ordinances, codes and programs implemented by your community intended to address disaster mitigation. This process involves transferring the existing policies, etc. from the 2004 plan onto the template we are using for the 2009 plan. If there are additional policies since that time, they need to be put in as well. The Pinellas County Planning Department has developed a template in Excel and has completed their entries. It is included on the website (http://www.pinellaslms.org/plan-update.htm). The 2004 LMS Appendix 5 contains the original policies and programs that need to be moved over to the template for our updated 2009 plan (see www.pinellaslms.org and click on “FEMA Approved LMS Plan”).

The third task will be the passage of a Resolution supporting the LMS that is adopted by the Board of County Commissioners in 2009. The deadline for your jurisdiction’s resolution is November 15, 2009 and you will be notified once the BCC has adopted the plan.

Staff members from the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council and the Pinellas County Planning Department are available to assist you if needed. Such assistance will be provided as our resources and other commitments allow. We do ask, however, that the assistance be requested in writing by the mayor or city/town manager of your jurisdiction and sent to the Pinellas County Planning Department.

Whether you request assistance or not, your participation in the LMS development process is important because it can result in vital disaster mitigation projects needed by your jurisdiction being identified, prioritized, and potentially funded. Our next LMS meeting will be on December 18, 2008.

If you have questions regarding this letter, please contact one of the staff identified below:

Betti Johnson, AICP David Walker [email protected] [email protected] Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council Planning County Planning Department

Sincerely,

Sally Bishop, LMS Chair Director, Pinellas County Emergency Management