Grant

March 11 - 15, 2013

$3,201,600 in FY 2012 Disaster Relief Opportunity funds to the Town of Hackleburg and the Water Board of Hackleburg, Alabama, to fund the construction of critical water infrastructure necessary to increase capacity to support regional economic growth. Marion County and the town of Hackleburg suffered severe damage and economic dislocation when hit by an EF 5 tornado in April 2011. This investment is part of a $4.002 million project that the grantees estimate will create 30 jobs and save 330 jobs.
$3 million in FY 2012 Disaster Relief Opportunity funds to Joplin Schools, Joplin, Missouri, to support the rebuilding and equipping of the Franklin Technology Center in Joplin, which was demolished in the May 2011 tornado disaster. The Franklin Technology Center, operated by the Joplin School District, will provide skills training to students in the school system as well as specialized training to adults already in the workforce. This investment will allow the school district to enhance the career training program to focus on manufacturing and technology to help with job creation and economic diversification efforts needed to make the community more resilient to future disasters. This investment is part of a $3,750,632 project.
$1.89 million in FY 2012 Disaster Relief Opportunity funds to the Town of Pine Hill, Alabama, to fund construction of infrastructure necessary to diversify the regional economy and make it more economically resilient to natural disasters. The tornadoes of April 2011severely impacted the wood products and paper industries and this project will strengthen the emerging metal producing and processing industrial cluster known as the “Metals Corridor” by creating nearly 300 jobs created and leveraging nearly $100,000,000 million in private investment. This investment is part of a $2.7 million project that the grantee estimates will create 300 jobs and leverage $100 million in private investment.
$1,557,408 in FY 2012 Disaster Relief Opportunity funds to the Town of Phil Campbell and the Water Works and Sewer Board of the Town of Phil Campbell, Alabama, to construct critical water and sewer infrastructure to support the reconstruction of businesses in the Phil Campbell North Industrial Park. The tornados on April 11, 2011, destroyed more than 400 structures throughout the county and three-fourths of the businesses within the city resulting in sudden and severe economic dislocations in the community and the surrounding region. This investment is part of a $1,946,760 project that the grantees estimate will create 23 jobs, save 17 jobs, and leverage $5.1 million in private investment.
$1,175,752 in FY 2012 Disaster Relief Opportunity funds to the City of Cordova and the Water Works and Gas Board of the City of Cordova, Alabama, to fund relocation of water and natural gas infrastructure from their present vulnerable location on a bridge over the Black Warrior River to the downtown central business district to protect the utilities and mitigate future business disruptions. The City was devastated by two tornadoes that tore through the downtown in April 2011. The relocation of the infrastructure will stimulate job creation within the Cordova Industrial Development Park. This investment is part of a $1,469,961 project.
$800,000 in FY 2012 Disaster Relief Opportunity funds to the Pennyrile Area Development District and the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, Hopkinsville, Kentucky, to support the establishment of a partnership between the Kentucky Department of Agriculture and the 15 Kentucky Area Development Districts for the development of a state-wide strategy to reduce the impact of future disasters while providing a framework to further enhance the agricultural economy in Kentucky. Ninety-three of Kentucky’s 120 counties were declared federal disasters in 2011 due to severe storms, tornadoes, and devastating flooding that led to over $200 million in crop damage. The project includes the development of a GIS Agricultural Database to identify disaster prone facilities, potential sites for agricultural development, aggregation/distribution facilities, and other assets that can be used to update the Kentucky Economic Development Information System with agricultural related information. This collaborative effort will more effectively realize the potential of the State’s agricultural economy while increasing disaster resiliency and mitigation. This investment is part of a $1 million project.
$367,956 to Custer County, the Custer County Water and Sewer District #2, and the Southeastern Montana Development Corporation, Miles City, Montana, to support construction of a new water main to extend water service to a growing commercial/industrial area along Highway 12 to Interstate 94 in southeastern Montana that does not currently have water service. This project will have substantial economic development impact on the regional economy by greatly enhancing the value of the land and positioning the area to capitalize on the opportunities presented by the emerging energy industry. In addition, the project will foster long term economic development that will serve to stem the tide of population out-migration and increase per capita income for residents in the region, help diversify the regional economy, and reduce the overall dependence on the agricultural industry. This investment is part of a $974,900 project that the grantees estimate will create 30 jobs and leverage $6.32 million in private investment.
$205,000 in FY 2012 Disaster Relief Opportunity funds to the Magoffin County Fiscal Court, Salyersville, Kentucky, to support the development of a disaster resiliency strategy and master plan for the City of Salyersville and Magoffin County, which experienced a significant flooding event in 2011. The plan will focus on best-use strategies for disaster vulnerable sites and provide an assessment of the region's industrial and commercial business opportunities relative to their proximity to transportation, other infrastructure, quality of life factors, in order to determine business recruitment and/or expansion strategies. Implementation of this strategy will lead to the diversification of the region's economy, job creation, and a stronger tax base. This investment is part of a $205,000 project.
$136,000 in FY 2012 Disaster Relief Opportunity funds to the Rural Economic Development Center, Inc., Raleigh, North Carolina, to support training and technical assistance activities in communities along North Carolina’s eastern coast, which is recovering from damage received from Hurricane Irene, and Bladen and Robeson counties, which sustained damage from tornado activity in 2011. This project provides leadership training and technical assistance to community and economic development leaders, and business owners to increase each community’s capacity to prepare, respond and recover more quickly reducing the impact and disruption of economic systems and recovery costs for future natural disasters. This investment is part of a $170,450 project.