Invitation to Join FEMA BRIC Reinstatement Letter

[Sara Barge]

On behalf of CM Qadri:

Colleagues,

In light of the catastrophic flooding that struck Central Texas over the July 4th weekend, I’ve prepared a letter to FEMA Administrator Criswell and Secretary Noam urging the reinstatement of Austin’s previously awarded $50 million Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant. The flood damage across our region has underscored how essential proactive infrastructure investment is – not only citywide but regionally.

This letter also highlights similar federal reversals in funding decisions (e.g., Westport, WA; Boulder County, CO) and ongoing efforts by members of Congress to restore the BRIC and Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) programs, which many Texas communities—including Kerr County—had been relying on for mitigation tools like siren systems.

For my colleagues, please respond to this post by 2:00 PM tomorrow, July 10, if you would like your name included. If you're an elected official outside of City Council and are interested in signing on, please email me directly at zo.qadri@austintexas.gov.

http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 192313.pdf

Thank you for your consideration,
Zo

[Ryan Alter]

Thank you CM Qadri and fellow colleagues for organizing this letter. Please add my name to this important message from the Austin community to our federal government.

- Ryan

[Colleen Pate]

Council Members:

I want to thank Council Member Qadri for his leadership in bringing forward this critical request to reinstate the City’s $50 million FEMA BRIC flood mitigation grant, canceled earlier this year.

After touching base with Council Member Qadri and our Office of Government Relations regarding the broadest vehicle to demonstrate the impact to the entire city and Central Texas, he graciously agreed to allow the letter to come from my office. Carrie’s team will distribute this letter to the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Noem, as well as FEMA leadership. We will also share the letter with Austin-area federal, state and local elected officials and stakeholders.

http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 144227.pdf

Thanks,

Kirk
On Behalf of Mayor Watson