3 finalists named to get FEMA grants

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has named three Utah finalists to receive grants as part of a national competition that will dole out nearly $89 million to projects across the nation to prepare for disasters.

If chosen, the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District Headquarters Complex will receive $2 million and The Leonardo — an art, culture and science center at Salt Lake City's Library Square — will receive $1 million for seismic retrofits to their facilities.

Richard Bay, general manager of the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District, said Tuesday that the district is "quite confident" that it will receive the funding, even though it is still only a finalist.

Finalists must complete pre-award activities, such as being environmentally assessed and securing non-federal funds to pay the projects' additional costs. Bay said the water-conservancy district is in compliance with both of those requirements.

He does not expect competition for the final funding, he said, because most of the competition already took place in Utah before the state's finalists were chosen. Bay said the water conservancy district will find out late this summer if it will definitely receive the funds.

Lisa Davis James, communications director at the Leonardo, declined to comment Tuesday on the grant competition because the Leonardo had not yet received official notification of the center's finalist status.

The State of Utah Disaster Mitigation Act (DMA) Mitigation Planner was also named as a finalist to receive $187,507.

The $88.9 million allotted nationwide by the agency will go to 210 recipients, less than half of those that applied for the grant. The finalists represent 44 states, six tribes and one territory, according to a FEMA news release.

The grants will potentially fund 75 percent of the recipients' activities. Recipients must find the remaining 25 percent from a non-federal source in order to receive the grants. The recipients are evaluated by federal, state, territorial, local and tribal governments. Each state with qualifying projects is guaranteed to receive at least $500,000 of the money.

"Mitigation saves our nation $4 for every dollar spent," said David Paulison, FEMA's administrator. "This program encourages local leaders across the nation to look ahead and plan against what could be catastrophic events."

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