The City of Springfield was in the direct path of Category Five Hurricane Michael on October 10, 2018. The City suffered almost complete devastation, including hundreds of homes lost or heavily damaged; almost every business destroyed; lost every City building, including the City Hall, the Police and Fire departments, Public Works; All City Parks, and all Warehouses were destroyed or heavily damaged. Almost every roadway and water system were heavily damaged by the disaster or the massive debris removal efforts that took place after the event.
Since the day of impact, The Integrity Group has assisted the City in every phase of disaster short and long-term recovery, including FEMA PA; FEMA Mitigation (406 & 404); and HUD CDBG-DR and Mitigation. We coordinated the City’s involvement in the development and implementation of a Long-term Recovery Plan. Overall, the long-term plan has resulted in total federal, state, and private investment funding totaling over $100 million. As part of this effort, we led efforts to secure over $30 million in CDBG-DR infrastructure and mitigation funding to meet the enormous infrastructure, housing, and economic needs of the community. We coordinated FEMA funding requests and set up management systems to ensure compliance with over $40 million in all categories of the FEMA Public Assistance Program, including the FEMA 428 program which provided flexibility in the relocation and construction of a new state-of-the-art Consolidated Government Complex. Additionally, we assisted the City in obtaining $1.5 million in state grant funding for certain costs not covered by FEMA or HUD.
During the COVID Pandemic and its aftermath, we also assisted the City in securing Federal Funding totaling $8 million and assisted them in carrying out related programs in full compliance with a funding plan consistent with the CARES and ARPA funding guidelines. We continue to provide direction and leadership as the City moves ahead, to ensure no claw back nor deobligation of funding occurs. As part of our ongoing effort to make sure that our clients are prepared for potential future disasters, and through the Integrity “Recovery Ready” program, we captured all data related to City projects and ongoing maintenance and work with the City to update and maintain all critical policies and procedures.
Finally, due to diligent planning efforts and the linkage of recovery incentive funding, our efforts resulted in a large development firm purchasing in excess of 350 acres in the City to develop a planning community with hundreds of new homes, an apartment complex, shopping venues and park space for what is referred to as the “new Springfield.” Private investment in this development is approximately $30 million. This will bring many new jobs, better housing options, increased ad valorem tax revenues, and enhanced recreational services.
