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Denton pursues FEMA resilience assistance

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DENTON – The town of Denton may be eligible for federal assistance for two resilience projects.

At its Jan. 27 working session, the Denton town council discussed a presentation by Katie Northam, project manager with the town’s department of planning and codes, during which she outlined the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s program.

The two projects on the drawing board include installing propane generators at the Denton police station and firehouse to provide uninterrupted service for the town public safety entities during emergencies, and culvert upgrades and green infrastructure to address peak overflows and flooding at 7th Street near the Health and Public Services (HAPS) building.

Of the many projects considered, Town Administrator Scott Getchell said, “We found out that two were the only ones that would qualify” for the program.

According to FEMA, “Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Direct Technical Assistance (BRIC DTA) provides non-financial support to communities, territories and Tribal Nations that may not have the resources to begin climate resilience planning and project design on their own.”

“The grant funding would come from FEMA’s BRIC program,” Northam stated in a Jan. 29 email. “The Direct Technical Assistance (DTA) we have been involved in provides non-financial support through guidance on their application process.”

The project planning and grant application processes since the July 2024 kickoff has been a team effort, Northam said. Along with FEMA personnel, she has worked with local engineers and the Maryland Department of Emergency Management.

Mayor Abigail McNinch asked Northam if the Denton Volunteer Fire Company and the county had been included in meetings. Northam said representatives had been “involved in conversations.”

“They provided a lot of data on what we needed in terms of capacity, size and everything,” Northam said.

Northam said the BRIC grants would provide technical assistance and “cover 75% of the project costs, if awarded, and then we would be responsible to cover the remaining 25%.” The town would be responsible for long-term maintenance costs.

Along with technical assistance with, for example, planning, applying for grants, analyzing data and making maps, BRIC DTA would help with community engagement and communications.

Councilman Keith Johnson questioned the age of the Denton Police Department building and the firehouse, which are both about 20 years old. He noted the normal life expectancy of buildings used by the public is typically 40 years.

“The generator situation at the firehouse has been critical for many, many, many years,” Councilman Dallas Lister said. “There's not a place that has power for sustained heating when we have situations like we did last week.”

A power outage five days earlier on Jan. 23 during a cold snap prompted county and town officials to open the Choptank Visitors Center and the Fretterd Community Center as warming centers.

The projects may face headwinds as a result of a Jan. 20 executive order by President Donald Trump titled “Unleashing American Energy.” A Jan. 21 “Memorandum to the Heads of Departments and Agencies” from Matthew Vaeth, acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, directs agencies “to immediately pause disbursement of funds” The memorandum refers specifically to Section 2 of the EO that addresses the “Green New Deal.”