Lt. Gov. Coleman Announces $880,000 To Mitigate Persistent Flooding in Mercer County
Funds better protect homes, churches and businesses
BURGIN, Ky. (Oct. 17, 2023)?? Today, Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman joined local leaders to announce federal and state funding to the city of Burgin that will mitigate persistent flood damage in Mercer County. The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will provide $562,500, and the Kentucky Department for Local Government will provide $317,500 from the Flood Assistance Program. Burgin, particularly along Water Street, has been plagued by flooding for decades.
?I grew up in Burgin, and flooding in this area has caused our people to suffer for far too long,? said?Lt. Gov. Coleman. ?Homes, churches and businesses have been adversely affected, and this overdue funding will fix the problem. I would like to thank Congressman Brett Guthrie, who secured funding at the federal level, as well as officials from the state and from Burgin who worked tirelessly on this project.?
FEMA funding comes through the pre-disaster mitigation grant program, which makes federal funds available to state, local, tribal and territorial governments to plan for and implement sustainable, cost-effective measures designed to reduce the risk to individuals and property from future natural hazards, while also reducing reliance on federal funding from future disasters.
?The community would like to thank the state and Lt. Gov. Coleman for helping Burgin get the remaining funding for a long-awaited project,? said Burgin Mayor Joseph Monroe.
?The Flood Control Local Match Program makes Kentuckians safer while relieving a financial burden off local communities,? said Commissioner of the Department for Local Government Dennis Keene. ?This was a much-needed project for Burgin, and we were happy to help get it across the finish line. These are the kinds of projects that show what we can do when we work together on the state, local and federal levels.?
?Emergency management has four pillars: preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation. Over the last three years in this role, I have come to understand how critical mitigation is in all we do,? said Kentucky Division of Emergency Management Director Jeremy Slinker. ?The devastating impact we have seen from flooding in the commonwealth demands funding like this. When we mitigate, we are better prepared. When we mitigate, we can respond more proficiently. When we mitigate, communities like Burgin can recover more quickly. Everything we do, in essence, is a call to become more mitigation-minded, and it is funding like this that truly saves lives.?
?This final solution to the flooding problem in Burgin is an exact model of how all aspects of government should work together: of the people, by the people, for the people,? said Rev. Phil Yates, pastor of Little Zion Baptist Church, which has been affected by flooding.
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