AGENDA #4g

 

MEMORANDUM

 

TO:                  Mayor and Town Council

 

FROM:            W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

 

SUBJECT:      A Resolution Authorizing the Town Manager to Execute a Hazard Mitigation Grant Agreement Involving Potential Camelot Village Acquisitions

 

DATE:                        May 23, 2005

 

 

Adoption of the attached resolution would authorize the Town Manager to execute a Hazard Mitigation Grant Agreement between the Town of Chapel Hill and the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management. The grant involves the potential acquisition and demolition of as many as three buildings and the acquisition of land in the Camelot Village condominium complex.

 

The Manager recommends adoption of the resolution.

 

BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION

 

On July 16, 2004, the Town of Chapel Hill submitted a grant application proposal to the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management (NCDEM) for funding under the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Pre-Disaster Grant Program.  The Town proposed the acquisition and demolition of three structures located within the regulatory floodway and floodplain of Booker Creek in the Camelot Village condominium complex.

 

The Town’s application was approved by FEMA in February 2005 for a $2,283,000 grant through the federal Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.  The North Carolina Division of Emergency Management has agreed to pay the required 25 percent local share of the grant funding, and therefore the Town is not expected to incur any direct monetary cost associated with the grant.  The Town would be responsible for the administration and supervision of the project, and funds are included in the grant to reimburse the Town for documented costs it may incur relating to staff time and materials necessary for project administration and supervision.

 

To take advantage of this grant, it would be necessary for the owner(s) of each affected unit to agree to sell at the fair market price approved by FEMA.  The fair market price would be based on property appraisals. The grant also requires that the Camelot Village Associates Partnership agree to sell the common area surrounding the buildings. The combination of the land where the three existing buildings are located with the common land adjacent to the building sites would be contiguous to the Town Community Center property.

 

 

 

The key elements of scope of work associated with this grant are:

 

Preliminary Findings

1)      Determination of owners’ interest in selling. (100 percent owner participation is required)

2)      Determination of Home Owners’ Association interest in selling commonly owned land.

Appraisals

3)       If it appears that 100 percent unit owner participation is possible and that the Home Owners’ Association is willing to sell land, the Town would contract for necessary building and land appraisals.

4)      Second appraisals may be performed if first appraisals are rejected by owners.

 

Closings, Tenant relocation and land sub-division

5)      Closings would be scheduled upon execution of purchase contracts.  (The Town would contract for legal work associated with closings.)

6)      Tenant relocation would be administered following Federal guidelines. (The Town would contract for tenant relocation services including identification of in-kind dwellings to offer tenants.)  Funds for moving expenses are provided by the grant. 

7)      Property purchased under the grant would be surveyed, platted and recorded.  (The Town would contract for the necessary land surveying and legal services.)

 

Building Demolition and Landscaping

8)   Upon successful completion of the acquisitions, tenant relocations and plat recording, the Town would contract for the necessary demolition, grading and landscaping of the acquired property.

 

NEXT STEPS

 

We have received a preliminary draft of the grant agreement document for review and comment.  If the Council adopts the attached resolution indicating its desire to accept the grant and authorizing the Manager to execute the necessary grant documents on behalf of the Town, then the Town Manager, Town Attorney, and Town Engineering staff would review and revise the document as necessary.

 

Upon preparation of a final agreement document acceptable to both the State and the Town, the Manager would execute it, thereby accepting the grant.  Once the document is countersigned by the State, we would begin the process outlined above.  The final agreement would include language stating that the Town would be reimbursed for interim costs incurred associated with the grant, whether or not the project is successfully carried through to full completion.

 

MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION

 

That the Council adopt the attached resolution authorizing the Manager to execute a Hazard Mitigation Grant Agreement between the Town of Chapel Hill and the North Carolina Division of Emergency involving the potential acquisition and demolition of as many as three buildings and the acquisition of land in the Camelot Village condominium complex.

 

A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE TOWN MANAGER TO EXECUTE A HAZARD MITIGATION GRANT AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE TOWN OF CHAPEL HILL AND THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA DIVISION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT INVOLVING THE POTENTIAL ACQUISITION AND DEMOLITION OF AS MANY AS THREE BUILDINGS AND THE ACQUISITION OF LAND IN THE CAMELOT VILLAGE CONDOMINIUM COMPLEX (2005-05-23/R-6)

 

WHEREAS, on July 16, 2004, the Town of Chapel Hill applied for federal assistance under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program to purchase and demolish three buildings and to acquire land in the Camelot Village condominium complex; and

 

WHEREAS, the buildings in question in Camelot Village are located within the regulatory floodway and floodplain of Bolin Creek and experience repeated flood losses causing substantial damages to the units and resulting in public health and safety risks; and

 

WHEREAS, on May 26, 1998, the Council adopted the Chapel Hill Greenways Comprehensive Master Plan which set as a goal the construction of a trail along Bolin Creek from the Community Center Park to Fordham Boulevard; and

 

WHEREAS, the proposed acquisitions in Camelot Village would connect with the Town’s Community Center property creating a link suitable for part of the proposed greenway; and

 

WHEREAS, the proposed acquisitions in Camelot Village would reduce health and safety risks of occupants and emergency rescue units during flood events; and

 

WHEREAS, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management have approved a Hazard Mitigation Grant for the purchase and demolition of as many as three buildings and associated lands in Camelot Village; and

 

WHEREAS, the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management has agreed to fund the required 25 percent local share of the grant;

 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Town Manager is authorized to execute a Hazard Mitigation Grant Agreement between the Town of Chapel Hill and the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management involving the potential acquisition and demolition of as many as three buildings and the acquisition of land in the Camelot Village condominium complex..

 

This the 23rd day of May, 2005.