The City of New Bern has been awarded a $10,000 grant by the National Trust for Historic Preservation from its Preservation Fund. This grant will be used to create a flood resiliency plan for New Bern including its historic assets and historic districts.
Flood resiliency planning will help New Bern reduce vulnerability to flooding during severe weather and help improve and support long-term disaster recovery. When hurricane Florence hit in September 2018, commercial and residential damage totaled $100 million inside the city limits alone. Infrastructure suffered devastating losses, ruining homes, businesses, and lives. Florence was the costliest storm the city had seen in decades. A flood resiliency plan will allow New Bern to develop effective risk and resilience strategies and improve our community’s equity and sustainability.
“We are thankful to the National Trust for investing in New Bern through the award of this grant,” said Mark Stephens, City Manager. “This is the first step in a long process for our city that will ultimately create a stronger, safer community that is more flood resilient. By looking at data and storm insights, and studying New Bern’s propensity for severe weather, we can deliver actionable items for building flood resilience in an integrated way.” Development of the flood resiliency plan is estimated to cost about $90,000. After the planning phase, the city will move forward with funding an implementation phase.
Grants from the National Trust Preservation Funds range from $2,500-$10,000 and have provided more than $15 million since 2003. These matching grants are awarded to nonprofit organizations and public agencies across the country to support wide-ranging activities, including consultant services for rehabilitating buildings, technical assistance for tourism that promotes historic resources, and the development of materials for education and outreach campaigns.
For more information on National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Preservation Fund grants, visit: Forum.SavingPlaces.org/funding.
About the National Trust for Historic Preservation The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately-funded nonprofit organization that works to save America’s historic places to enrich our future. The National Trust for Historic Preservation is committed to protecting America’s rich cultural legacy an helping build vibrant, sustainable communities that reflect our nation’s diversity. Follow us on Twitter @savingplaces.
Submitted by: Colleen Roberts, Public Information Officer, City of New Bern