Larimer County, Colorado— The Larimer Home Improvement Program managed by Loveland Housing Authority is assisting in the County’s flood recovery efforts through its home repair program which is able to offers assistance to flood impacted homeowners. Funds are available to provide qualified applicants a zero interest loan with repayment deferred until the sale of property. And in certain circumstances families these funds will be considered a grant if the family remains living in the home for 5 years after the assistance. Maximum loan amounts can go up to $100,000 and can be combined with additional funding from the Long Term Recovery Group, FEMA and SBA if needed to rebuild or repair their home. The Housing Authority also manages The Larimer Home Ownership Program another program that is able to assist families wishing to purchase replacement housing with down payment or subsidy assistance to make the home affordable up to $50,000 per household. This program for flood survivors allows for the purchase of a stick built home or a modular home either in a park or on property they own.
The Larimer Home Improvement Program and Home Ownership Program are the vehicles through which this funding and support are being made available. Administered by the Loveland Housing Authority for over 17 years, both programs are funded through Colorado State Division of Housing’s CDBG and HOME programs. These programs are ready to meet the challenge and help to rebuild our community better and stronger than before. “The repair program was just awarded by the Colorado State Division of Housing 4 million dollars in CDBG-DR funds explains Amy Irwin, Home Ownership Programs Manager for the Loveland Housing Authority. We’ve been taking application for several months and will continue to do so as we ramp up to get these funds to the families that need them. The Larimer Home Improvement Program and Home Ownership Program also provide different resources to families who were not affected by the floods. For more information about the programs, and specifically about the flood relief effort, visit www.lovelandhsg.org or call 970-635-5931. SERVE 6.8, Red Cross and Larimer County are collaborating to provide 30,000 filled sandbags this weekend to residents in Larimer County, however this program will continue through the summer.
To help fill this need of filling 30,000 bags this weekend, SERVE 6.8 is recruiting volunteers. There are 6 shifts available to help fill sandbags. Sign up using the following link: https://serve68.doodle.com/mgpxy3mzprq6edmv Sandbags are available or will be available in the following locations: ESTES PARK: 1754 Fish Hatchery Rd: Bags on Site GLEN HAVEN: Fire Station: Coming Soon DRAKE: South side of HWY 34 & East of River Fork Rd Bridge: Coming Soon WEST LOVELAND: East of N County Rd 27, South side of HWY 34 (CDOT Right-Of-Way): Coming Soon RIST CANYON: VFD Station 1: 11835 Rist Canyon Rd: Coming Soon Just South of 4390 Stove Prairie Rd: Coming Soon POUDRE PARK: 10069 Poudre Canyon Rd: Coming Soon BELLVUE: Watson Lake 1936 W Rist Canyon Rd: Coming Soon LOVELAND/FORT COLLINS: The Ranch, 5280 Arena Cir: Bags on site/Call to Schedule a pick-up – Zane Strange 970-214-0020 For information on when sandbags are available go to: www.serve68.org SERVE 6.8 is based in Fort Collins, CO. For more information about SERVE 6.8, call 970-231-6445, email kstewart@serve68.org, or visit www.serve68.org United States Senate
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 22, 2014 CONTACTS: Mike Saccone (Udall) – 202-224-4334 Kristin Lynch (Bennet) – 303-837-3802 Udall, Bennet Secure $110 Million to Support Colorado’s Ongoing Flood Recovery Emergency Watershed Protection Funds Will Address Debris Issues that Threaten Coloradans’ Homes, Businesses U.S. Senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennet announced today that they have secured $110 million for the Emergency Watershed Protection Program to help strengthen Colorado’s ongoing recovery efforts in the wake of the September 2013 flood. The funds — which Udall and Bennet have led the fight to have appropriated — will help Colorado communities remove hazardous debris, repair streambeds and conduct bank stabilization in waterways that could cause new damage during future storms. Colorado has an estimated $61.5 million in projects awaiting funding through the Emergency Watershed Protection Program. The $110 million included in the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee’s bill, announced today, is expected to cover the great majority of these needs and other similar needs throughout the country. “Colorado is on the road to recovery, and I am proud to have led the bipartisan efforts in the delegation to ensure our friends and neighbors have the resources they need to rebuild after the 2013 flood. These Emergency Watershed Protection Program funds will help ensure that Coloradans are able to confront jammed and damaged waterways that threaten homes and businesses during future storms,” Udall said. ”This is an important victory for Colorado’s flood recovery, but we are far from finished. I will keep fighting to ensure Colorado can rebuild stronger and smarter in the wake of last year’s floods.” “Folks across Colorado have made a lot of progress in rebuilding their communities in the wake of devastating floods and wildfires,” Bennet said. “There is still work to do, and these EWP resources will help complete projects to restore watersheds and riverbanks and prevent flooding in the future. We will continue to work to ensure Colorado has the funding it needs for the recovery projects that remain.” The appropriations bill now moves to the full U.S. Senate. Udall and Bennet have led the effort to ensure Colorado has the federal resources it needs to rebuild in the wake of the 2013 flood. Theysuccessfully secured $450 million in emergency federal transportation funds to repair Colorado’s road, bridges and highways damaged in the flood. They also led the successful effort to bring more than $262 million in federal recovery aid to Colorado through the U.S. Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Program. Udall and Bennet also have introduced legislation to give the victims of the 2013 flood, 2013′s Black Forest Fire, and 2012′s Waldo Canyon and High Park wildfires common-sense tax relief. Udall and Bennet led efforts to secure federal aid to restore watersheds damaged by the recent mega-fires. Estes Park: Fish Creek Public Infrastructure Repairs and Stream Corridor Master Planning Underway5/22/2014 Two flood recovery projects are underway in the Fish Creek corridor, with the long-term goal of restoring public infrastructure and increasing health and resiliency of the stream corridor.
Fish Creek Public Infrastructure Project The infrastructure repairs will take place in two phases, with the first phase including design and replacement of 1,500 feet of water line and crossings, installation of concrete encased electric lines at stream crossings, and replacement or relocation of about 23 sewer manholes and 6,000 feet of sewer line. Because utilities are located beneath the roadway, they must be completed before reconstruction of the road. Phase two will include repairing the road, public access roads, and the multi-use trail. Larimer County is the infrastructure repair project manager, with a technical advisory committee consisting of the Town of Estes Park, Upper Thompson Sanitation District, the Estes Valley Recreation and Park District, and design consultants at HDR Engineering, Inc. Funding has been secured for these improvements. Construction for the utilities is expected in late 2014 and the roadway and trail in late 2015, assuming an expedited federal review and approval process. Fish Creek Stream Corridor Master Planning Project A second major project affecting the Fish Creek corridor is the stream corridor master planning effort, which will occur separately from and be coordinated with the infrastructure project. This effort is guided by the Fish Creek Coalition of residents and businesses, the Town of Estes Park and the consultants at Walsh Environmental. This effort will identify and rank scientifically defensible recovery and restoration projects that are supported by the community, protect life and property from flood and geomorphic hazards, and improve stream health. This will be a risk-based approach that implements lessons learned from Hurricane Sandy’s recovery. The 2013 flood may have exceeded a 500-year event, and drastic changes to the floodplain require careful planning. The ultimate result of master planning efforts and subsequent implementation will be increased resiliency in the community, economy, and river systems. Master planning is fully funded and the Town is considering all available options to fund implementation of priority master plan projects. Coordination between the two projects Project partners include agencies and consultants that are leading both the infrastructure and master planning projects. The partners are coordinating and sharing information to best inform each project. Additionally, the partners have implemented several short-term temporary projects to best protect the destabilized, sandy Fish Creek corridor during peak flows this runoff season. Approximate timeline of Fish Creek corridor flood-recovery efforts – past, present and future: September -- December, 2013: Immediately after the September, 2013 flood, temporary repairs to the road, crossings and utilities were constructed by Larimer County, the Town of Estes Park, Upper Thompson Sanitation District and other utilities including natural gas, cable and telephone services. September, 2013 – Now: Since the flood, officials have conducted detailed damage assessments and surveys of the corridor to assist permanent repair planning. In this time, funding sources have been identified for both the design and construction of public infrastructure project and risk reduction/floodplain management and master planning efforts, with most requiring a match in funding from the local agencies. February – May, 2014: Several short-term, temporary projects have been implemented to protect the destabilized, sandy Fish Creek corridor during peak flows this runoff. The Fish Creek Coalition of residents and businesses has formed to develop a stream corridor master plan, and the coalition held its first meeting in April. Ecologic and flood and geomorphic hazard assessment fieldwork has been completed. Now – September, 2014: The Fish Creek Coalition and master planning consultants at Walsh Environmental will identify and rank scientifically defensible recovery and restoration projects that are supported by the community, protect life and property from flood and geomorphic hazards, and improve stream health. The next public meeting will be scheduled in June. Now – Spring, 2015: The infrastructure team will develop a design for phase one of the infrastructure project – repairs to the utilities. The first public meeting was held May 14; another public meeting will be scheduled this summer. Extensive environmental assessments are included in this process. Tentatively, the team will finish the design this summer, receive approval from federal funding agencies, and begin utilities construction for completion prior to spring runoff in 2015. June, 2014 – Fall, 2015: Considering information from the stream corridor master plan, phase two of the infrastructure project will address the design and reconstruction of Fish Creek Road and the multi-use trail. The design process is expected to take place from this summer through Spring, 2015. This will include more public input and outreach to stakeholders. Construction of the road and trail is expected to begin in late Fall of 2015. In the meantime, the temporary road will be maintained. Information and updates on the infrastructure project are available at www.FishCreekCorridorRepair.com or by contacting Larimer County Engineer Kyle Arend at 970-498-5734. Information on Fish Creek stream corridor master planning is available at www.FishCreekCoalition.com and www.facebook.com/FishCreekCoalition or by calling the Town’s Community Development Department at 970- 577-3721. Estes Valley Land Trust (EVLT) is pleased to announce the receipt of a $35,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Northern Colorado. The purpose of these funds is to assist with flood recovery, specifically re-vegetation and erosion control this spring through early fall.
Funds from this grant are being used by EVLT to purchase plants and seeds to assist with the restoration of vital vegetation to flood-impacted areas in the Estes Valley. Seeds have already been provided for nearly 30 acres and plans are underway for assistance to many more areas. In addition, EVLT is coordinating volunteer crews to assist with debris removal and plantings. Currently, materials provided by EVLT include erosion-control blankets, native grass seeds, willows and trees. EVLT maintains conservation easements on over 9,500 beautiful acres in the Estes Valley. These properties are being given first priority, but re-vegetation support also will be extended to the wider community, as resources and funds are available. EVLT has plans to leverage these funds for further re-vegetation grant dollars in future years as the community rebuilds. If your property needs re-vegetation assistance, whether or not you are a member of the EVLT family, please contact EVLT for further information on how we might assist you in your recovery efforts. As of January, the Community Foundation of Northern Colorado has raised and awarded $1,827 million to local non-profits in Colorado to assist with flood recovery issues. EVLT finds itself in an ideal position to use its grant for restoration of some of our most significant and beautiful vistas in the Estes Valley. The grant provides yet another opportunity to fulfill our mission, “…to preserve and protect open space, streams, and wildlife habitat throughout the Estes Valley.” Monumental tasks are still ahead, and the funds from this grant are just part of the effort. If you are interested in volunteering with EVLT as we help restore properties across the Estes Valley, please visit the EVLT website at www.evlandtrust.organd use the contact form. You can also email evlt@evlandtrust.org or call the office at (970) 577-6837. “Like” us on Facebook to receive the most up-to-date information at https://www.facebook.com/estesvlt . |
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