Tuolumne County eligible for Rim Fire recovery funds

By Alex MacLean

The Union Democrat, June 18, 2017

California will be eligible for up to $500 million in federal funding later this year for post-Rim Fire projects that would benefit the Tuolumne County area.

County officials received word late Monday afternoon that California was one of 26 states selected by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban development to move onto the second phase of the national Disaster Resilience Competition, a federal program announced by President Barack Obama last June.

“Now the real work begins,” said Deputy County Administrator Maureen Frank, who is overseeing the local effort to organize projects that would be eligible for funding.

The competition is designed to provide federal funding for areas that experienced a natural disaster in 2011, 2012, or 2013.

Tuolumne County was eligible because of the 2013 Rim Fire that burned more than 400 square miles in the Central Sierra and forced hundreds along Highway 108 to flee their homes.

Though five other California counties experienced a natural disaster in that time frame, Frank said the Governor’s Office told her that Tuolumne was selected for the state’s application due to the size of the Rim Fire, the area’s unmet needs and reputation of collaboration between local groups.

A total of 48 states submitted applications in the competition’s first phase.

The Governor’s Office now must submit a second application to HUD by Oct. 27 that lists specific projects to receive funding, Frank said.

“This is just the start of the fun,” she said.

Frank held two meetings last Wednesday to share information about requirements for projects to be eligible for inclusion om the second-phase application.

She said the meetings were well attended by leaders of various public and private organizations, including Tuolumne Utilities District, Groveland Community Services District, Groveland Community Services District, Twain harte Community Services District, Cal Fire, Sierra Pacific Industries, Pacific-Ultrapower and more.

More information will be posted in the coming weeks about public meetings to gather further input and project ideas.

“We’ll continue to update the website as we get information from the state and continue to refine that,” she said.  “As we get more information, we’ll get that out to the public and continue to have discussions as far as our unmet needs and what we need to build a more resilient community in Tuolumne County.”