Title
Emergency Shelter Retrofit for the City of Gainesville/Alachua County Senior Recreation Center (B)
This item involves a request to authorize the City Manager to execute an agreement with the Florida Division of Emergency Management for retrofit of the City of Gainesville/Alachua County Senior Recreation Center to increase the emergency shelter capacity of the facility.
Explanation
The City of Gainesville/Alachua County Senior Recreation Center was completed in 2011. The facility includes emergency shelter capacity which is recognized in agreements the City (as owner of the facility) has with ElderCare (as operator of the facility) and Alachua County (as the Local Emergency Management Agency).
Alachua County currently has a deficit in emergency shelter capacity. The State of Florida provides grant funding to increase emergency shelter capacity and notified Alachua County in March 2014 that funding is currently available but must be encumbered immediately with project completion by December 2014.
A survey of the City of Gainesville/Alachua County Senior Recreation Center identified the ability to increase the emergency shelter capacity of the facility through the installation of exterior envelope protection such as shutters. The current capacity of the facility has been determined by the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) to be 133. The retrofit will increase the total shelter capacity to 366. FDEM has indicated that $77,025 in funding is available for this project which is adequate to cover the costs of the project.
Fiscal Note
No matching funds are required. Grant funds are provided on a reimbursement basis. There is an allowance for administrative expenses up to 5% of the total budget.
Recommendation
The City Commission authorize the City Manager to execute an agreement and any necessary documents with the Florida Division of Emergency Management for retrofit of the City of Gainesville/Alachua County Senior Recreation Center to increase the emergency shelter capacity of the facility, subject to approval by the City Attorney as to form and legality.