GRASS VALLEY, Calif. February 12, 2025 – During yesterday’s meeting the Grass Valley City Council unanimously approved the submission of a Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) Grant in collaboration with the Fire Safe Council of Nevada County.

The item was presented by City Manager Tim Kiser, and his staff report outlined some of the funding allocations:

  • Infrastructure Hardening of Critical Facilities – $7,500,000
    • Strengthening hospitals, schools, assisted living facilities, utility infrastructure, and emergency shelters.
    • Improving emergency preparedness and enhancing Temporary Refuge Areas (TRAs).
    • Evaluating evacuation strategies and alternative routes in case major roadways are impassable.
  • Hazard Fuels Reduction with Nature-Based Solutions – $12,000,000
    • Treating 2,000 acres through a multi-method approach, including prescribed grazing.
    • Creating defensible perimeters around structures and critical infrastructure.
    • Allocating $4 million to workforce development in prescribed herbivory for longterm maintenance.
  • Hazard Tree Removal Assistance – $3,000,000
    • Removing hazardous trees from private properties to enhance defensible space.
    • Prioritizing at-risk communities to protect lives, property, and critical facilities.
  • Home Hardening Retrofit & Defensible Space Program – $10,000,000
    • Allocating $6 million to retrofit at least 600 homes with up to $10,000 per home for fire-resistant upgrades, prioritizing income-qualified residents.
    • Investing $4 million in defensible space treatments for at least 400 properties.
  • Green Waste Program & Processing – $4,500,000
    • Operating a three-year citywide green waste collection and processing program.
    • Identifying viable environmentally friendly wood debris reduction and conversion systems.
  • Education, Outreach & Demonstration Site – $2,500,000
    • Conducting public outreach, evacuation planning workshops, and training sessions.
    • Developing tailored evacuation plans for schools, hospitals, and assisted living facilities.
    • Establishing a demonstration site to showcase fuels treatment methods, including prescribed herbivory and herbicide applications.

Total: $39,500,000

Who does what and where do the matching funds come from?

Kiser stated the City will apply for the grant in collaboration with the Fire Safe Council, without specifying what the collaboration entails. No City Councilmember had the intellectual curiosity to ask for details.

Kiser also stated these grants require matching funds, ranging from 10% to 25%. This equates to $4-$10 million. Measure B funds could be utilized for the matching funds, according to Kiser. “By just enacting the projects under Measure B, we can use that as a match for these dollars.”

Some Measure B funds already allocated

In 2024, Grass Valley voters approved a general tax of 3/8 cent (0.375%) sales tax to fund additional firefighting personnel, wildfire risk land management, other fire safety related measures. The measure’s expenditure plan, approved in February of 2024, splits the anticipated revenue (approx. $2.75 million) equally between resilience and vegetation mitigation. The tax took effect in October of 2024, resulting in the City receiving approximately 75% of the estimated annual revenue, or about $2 million, for FY 24/25. [source: Measure B Oversight Committee webpage]

The Oversight Committee’s expenditure plan for 24/25 allocated the funding as follows:

  • Resiliency – 50% of $2.00 M or $1.0+/- M for FY 24/25
    • Priority R.1 (60%)- Increasing from two to three Firefighters per engine ($530K) 1-Fire Fighter now and 6 – Fire Fighters in January 2025
    • Priority R.2 (60%) $300K total to hire a consultant to implement a vegetation inspection program and partially fund a masticator operator.
    • TBD (40%) Annual Fire Vegetation / Green Waste Pickup/Drop-off
  • Vegetation Mitigation – 50% of $2.00 M or $1.0+/- M for FY 24/25
    • Priority VM.1 (60%)- $100K to start the environmental process for Fuel Reduction around the City.
    • TBD (40%) Creating Grants for residences/ businesses for assistance in Fuel Reductions (Priority on hardships and low income)
    • Priority VM.2 (60%) $70K evaluating for long-term green waste solutions.

With the addition of new firefighters earlier this year and the City’s newly-hired Risk Reduction Manager Duane Strawser, some of the available Measure B funding has already been allocated as planned.

Non-substantive council discussion

Councilmembers agreed that getting federal funding for projects of this nature is a good idea. They were interested in knowing if the grazing would be done by goats, with Kiser responding goats or sheep, maybe even cattle.

In response to a question about Temporary Evacuation Points like schools or irrigated fields, Kiser said they’ve had preliminary discussions about key areas like parking lots at schools or larger shopping centers.

With three members of the public voicing support, the council unanimously authorized the submission of the application.

Nationwide, FEMA expects to disburse $750,000,000 through 800 awards. The application period is open from Jan. 6, 2025 – April 18, 2025. [source: FEMA]