Here’s how you can give input on Hillsborough’s Disaster Recovery Program grant

Hillsborough County has been awarded a $709 million federal grant for disaster recovery after recent hurricanes.

The Hillsborough Affordable Energy Coalition is hosting a town hall this Saturday, to get feedback on how to spend the money.

The Disaster Recovery Program grant will be used for climate resilience measures and disaster resilience.

Brooke Ward, the senior Florida organizer with Food and Water Watch, says that this is a preventative measure. 

“We don’t want this to happen again, we don’t want to see the type of flooding that we saw, and the massive disaster that we saw county-wide. That’s why we have been advocating to the Hillsborough County Commission, to include some really important aspects into their action plan,” Ward said. 

70 percent of this grant money will be directed to low- or middle-income neighborhoods or communities.  

The Hillsborough Affordable Energy Coalition could focus on energy efficiency in homes and prioritizing green spaces and solar.

Ashton Maddox is the campus organizer with the Cleo Institute and also a part of the Affordable Energy Coalition. He says the state’s rapid construction requires a more controlled approach.

 “The natural flooding mitigation, we just want that to be prioritized and kept because Florida is getting urban sprawl and is being developed so fast,” Maddox said.

The Hillsborough Affordable Energy Coalition’s town hall is this Saturday at 3:30 in the afternoon at the Seminole Heights Public Library.  

The county is collecting public feedback through July 4th.

Here is a listing of educational meetings as well as public comment meetings. They also have a page to submit comments to the county.