Title
Approval of a Resolution Authorizing a Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Grant Application for Coastal Flood Protection Infrastructure Project Scoping
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation:
Not referred to a committee.
City Manager Recommendation:
Move to approve a resolution authorizing a Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) Grant application for Coastal Flood Protection Infrastructure Project Scoping
Report
Issue:
Whether to approve a resolution authorizing a BRIC Grant application for Coastal Flood Protection Infrastructure Project Scoping.
Staff Contact:
Natalie Weiss, Climate Resilience Coordinator, 360.570.5828
Presenter(s):
Natalie Weiss, Climate Resilience Coordinator
Background and Analysis:
Grant Background
In 2024, the City of Olympia applied for a FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant to mitigate coastal flood risk in downtown Olympia. However, the BRIC grant program was then cancelled during the FY2024 application cycle. The grant was later reinstated this year. Washington Emergency Management Division invited the City of Olympia to re-apply to the grant for this application cycle.
The City plans to apply for “Capability and Capacity Building” project type within the BRIC program. These grants are used to advance project scoping and planning activities for physical infrastructure that reduces natural hazard risks and protects critical services and communities.
Proposal Motivation
The City of Olympia’s downtown waterfront is increasingly vulnerable to coastal flooding due to its low-lying location at the southern end of the Puget Sound. Rising sea levels, combined with local land subsidence, are increasing the frequency, depth, and duration of tidal flooding events, while extreme high tides and winter storms further exacerbate local flood hazards. With only 12 inches of rising sea levels by 2050, more than 150 acres of downtown Olympia are projected to be vulnerable to a 100-year coastal flood event.
Downtown Olympia is the social, cultural, historic, and economic core of the city and the wider region. The downtown area contains vital infrastructure that serves the entire region, including the Budd Inlet Wastewater Treatment Plant (BITP), which serves approximately 130,000 people throughout the County, as well as the Port of Olympia marine terminal, a major transit center, and critical transportation corridors. Spanning just half of a square mile, downtown Olympia is home to more than 450 independently owned businesses, as well as important cultural and recreational destinations
Proposal Scope of Work
The City of Olympia’s proposed project will result in engineering, design, and feasibility studies to construct raised landscaping, planter boxes, and deployable flood gates to reduce coastal flood risk in downtown Olympia, as envisioned in the Olympia Sea Level Rise Response Plan. The proposed project area encompasses approximately 0.6 miles of shoreline along Percival Landing Park, and within City rights-of-way along Columbia Street, Water Street, and 4th Avenue in downtown Olympia.
The grant funds will result in 30% design documentation for the coastal flood protection system located within City rights-of-way and Percival Landing Park. The proposed project will be completed over a three-year period and coordinated between the Climate Program, the Storm and Surface Water Utility, and Parks, Arts, and Recreation Department, and other external partners.
Climate Analysis:
The BRIC grant application directly supports Comprehensive Plan policies PC2.2, PL3.4, PR2.6, PR8.7, PU9.8, and PU11.1, which focus on planning and constructing physical infrastructure that reduces coastal flooding risks to wastewater treatment, stormwater systems, emergency services, and the transportation network. These policies support the implementation of both the Olympia Sea Level Rise Response Plan and regional Hazards Mitigation Plan. Progressing physical adaptation strategies to 30% design will help reduce the impacts from rising sea levels to critical services, infrastructure, and economic development downtown.
Equity Analysis:
Downtown Olympia contains critical infrastructure that residents in Olympia and the region rely on for health and safety, including the Budd Inlet Treatment Plant, emergency transportation routes, and the transit center. Downtown is also the region’s employment and cultural hub, with over 450 local businesses. Reducing the impacts from tidal flooding ensures equitable access to critical wastewater treatment services, transportation networks, and economic development. If funding is awarded to advance this work, staff will conduct a comprehensive equity analysis at the start of the project.
Neighborhood/Community Interests (if known):
There is considerable community interest in sea level rise planning and implementation of flood protection measures in downtown Olympia.
Financial Impact:
The City is requesting $536,920 in grant funding for the proposed project. This award matches our previous request from the cancelled FY2024 application cycle. If funding is awarded, FEMA will provide 75% of the grant award, or $402,690, and Washington Emergency Management Division will match 12.5% of the grant award, or $67,115. The City is responsible for the remaining 12.5%, or $67,115.
Based on previous cost estimates for the proposed project, we anticipate the costs of the full scope of work to be approximately $1.1 million, leaving a total City contribution of approximately $630,000 over three years. The Parks, Arts, and Recreation Department, Storm and Surface Water Utility (SSW), and Climate Program will fund the City’s contribution through existing program budgets.
The Parks Department allocates $160,000 of OMPD funds as a savings account for future Percival Landing repairs and annual inspections each year. Annually from 2027-2029, $96,146 of these funds will be used for the BRIC grant match.
The SSW Utility allocates $125,000 to the regional Sea Level Rise Collaborative each year. Annually from 2027-2029, $96,146 of these funds will be used for the BRIC grant match.
The Climate Program will allocate $20,000 from the program’s existing general professional services budget annually from 2027-2029.
Options:
1. Move to approve the resolution authorizing a BRIC Grant Application for Coastal Flood Protection Infrastructure Project Scoping.
2. Move to approve the resolution authorizing a BRIC Grant Application for Coastal Flood Protection Infrastructure Project Scoping, with specific modifications.
3. Do not move to approve the resolution authorizing a BRIC Grant Application for Coastal Flood Protection Infrastructure Project Scoping.
Attachments:
Resolution
FEMA Resolution