HOLLY HILL, Fla. — Volusia County received $133.5 million to help those impacted by Hurricane Milton and is now asking residents for input on how to best do that.

What You Need To Know

  • Volusia County has received $133,515,000 in Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

  • Volusia County officials have announced a series of public meetings to get input from residents on how to best spend the money

  • The county held one of those meetings Friday in Holly Hill

  • In the next three weeks county officials say they will get all the information in and will then write an action plan

The money is part of the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery funds awarded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

County leaders are hosting a series of public meetings and surveys to get input from residents asking how they would like to see this money spent. 

On Friday evening, the county hosted one of those meetings in Holly Hill at 5 p.m.

Eleven residents attended the meeting, and they had a chance to ask questions to county staff, fill out a survey and learn about the different ways this money can help them recover from the damage left by Hurricane Milton.  

“And the whole purpose is to hear from the public about what their concerns are," said Dona Butler, the director of the Office of Recovery and Resiliency for Volusia County. "Many people are concerned about the flooding. Others need their homes repaired. So we're trying to figure out how we're going to spend this $133.5 million to best serve our community."

Butler said the county has to do an “unmet needs assessment” that will then turn into an action plan, which guides them how they will spend the money. They have to focus on four areas: housing, economic revitalization, infrastructure and mitigation.

“Of those, 15% does have to be spent on mitigation, which is work to our infrastructure to prevent future damage,” Butler said.

Residents were asked to fill out a comment card or a survey that helps the county gather what they think is the best use of these funds. 

Ormond Beach resident Tracey Nugent said that during Hurricane Milton, a pond on her property ended up flooding her home after it was not pumped prior to the storm.

“The sewers had backed up, so the area had already flooded," she said. "Then the pond was rising, and it was flooded. You couldn't tell street, grass, anything. It was all around my house."

She said the flooding caused mold to grow in her home, which forced her to find another place to stay. 

“I had to evacuate, and I had to repair everything on the inside," she said. "I did not have flood insurance. And now for three and a half, four months later, I’m almost done with the inside. But the rainy seasons come and so it stresses me out because I have to repair up to 4 to 5 feet of my entire outside of my house and I’m out of money."

In the next three weeks the county will get all the information in, and then officials say they will write their action plan. 

From February to March, they will post the action plan for public comment again, and then they will take it to council in April before submitting it to HUD for review and approval. 

The next two meetings are scheduled for next week. One will be taking place next Monday at the Deltona Regional Library, and another one will be Wednesday at the Daytona Beach Regional Library.