Community Development Administration (CDA) to Host Open House Wednesday on Flash Flooding and Severe Storms Recovery Funds

Community Development Administration (CDA) will host two upcoming community engagement events focused on long-term flood recovery efforts. These events will provide residents with the opportunity to learn more about the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery CDBG-DR program (CDBG-DR) and share their feedback and experience from the July 2022 flooding.

An in-person Community Open House will take place on Wednesday, Mach 27, 2024 from 3:30-7:30 p.m. at Wohl Recreation Center. Residents are invited to attend and participate in various interactive community engagement activities to provide input on the planned use of recovery funds. City staff will make presentations at 5:30 PM and at 6:30 PM.

The second event, a virtual Lunch and Learn session, will be held on Friday, March 29, 2024, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. via Zoom. Participants can join online to hear presentations from city officials, ask questions, and engage in discussions about flood resilience planning. 

HUD allocated approximately $25 million in CDBG-DR funds to support long-term recovery efforts in response to the severe storms and flash floods that struck the St. Louis region in July 2022, causing extensive damage to homes, infrastructure, and communities. The City is prioritizing community engagement opportunities for residents impacted by the flood to participate in the planning process for the funds.

Community Open House 
Date: Wednesday, March 27, 2024 
Time: 3:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Location: Wohl Recreation Center - 1515 Kingshighway Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63113
URL: https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/events/eventdetails.cfm?Event_ID=42458

• 3:30 PM: Doors Open
• 5:30 PM: First Presentation on Flood Impacts, Unmet Needs, and CDBG-DR Program Objectives
• 6:30 PM: Second Presentation (Repeat)

Virtual Lunch and Learn
Date: Friday, March 29, 2024
Time: Noon - 1 PM
Location: Zoom
Zoom link: https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/events/eventdetails.cfm?Event_ID=42420

Both events are open to the public, and residents are encouraged to attend. Residents’ insights will help guide and prioritize potential City programs that include:

• Home Repair Program: direct assistance for households affected by the disaster.
• Subsistence Grant/Car Replacement Fund: providing payments for car replacement due to storm damage.
• Flood Plain Management: developing a floodplain management plan to improve stormwater management and restore the River Des Peres, tree planting to mitigate flooding and enhance air quality, and construction of rain gardens and catchment basins for flood management.
• Potential Home Buyout Program: purchasing properties in flood-prone areas to conserve the land and potentially transform it into community amenities.
• Flood Response Capacity: developing a resource distribution plan for managing and deploying goods during disaster response and creating a flood response reserve for purchasing emergency response goods for immediate deployment during disaster events.

The Community Open House and the virtual meeting will help CDA continue to identify the unmet needs of residents. “Unmet needs” refer to the issues for individuals, households, or communities that have not been adequately addressed through existing resources like FEMA or other recovery programs. CDA opened an Unmet Needs Assessment Survey in January. City residents are encouraged to share how flash flooding impacted them to help the CDA develop funding priorities. The survey is available at www.stlouis-mo.gov/CDA/cdbg/disaster-recovery/.

About CDBG-DR:
The Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery program is a vital federal initiative for aiding cities in recovering from major disasters. It focuses on long-term recovery, infrastructure restoration, housing, and economic revitalization. CDBG-DR funds are allocated for HUD-approved activities related to housing, infrastructure/public facilities, economic revitalization, public services, planning, or administration. A significant portion of funding is dedicated to assisting households with incomes at or below 80% of the area median income.

About the City of St. Louis CDBG-DR Action Plan:
A detailed six-month planning process is in progress, involving data review and community input to identify unmet needs and develop eligible projects and activities. This process will culminate in an Action Plan submitted to HUD for approval, followed by an implementation plan. The estimated timeline for these activities spans from Winter 2023/24 through Fall 2024.