Crawfordsville officials plan to apply again for federal grant funding to continue voluntary buyouts of homes threatened by erosion along Sugar Creek, after the program was reinstated following a court order.
The city will pursue funding through the Federal Emergency Management Agency Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, known as BRIC, which reopened its application period March 26. The move follows a March 6 ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns of Massachusetts, who ordered FEMA to issue a new Notice of Funding Opportunity for fiscal year 2024, restoring access to mitigation funding for communities.
On Wednesday, the Crawfordsville Board of Works and Public Safety approved an agreement with Christopher B. Burke Engineering, LLC to assist with preparing a new BRIC grant proposal.
The city is seeking funding to complete Phases 2 and 3 of its plan to address erosion along Sugar Creek by purchasing at-risk properties and converting the land to green space. Twelve properties remain in the proposed project area along Wayne Avenue and Sugar Cliff Drive, with 11 homeowners previously indicating they would voluntarily participate.
Mayor Todd Barton has said the effort is intended to prevent a natural disaster before it happens, as erosion continues to threaten homes along the creek’s bluffs.
The city’s progress was halted in April 2025 when FEMA canceled the BRIC program and all pending applications from fiscal years 2020 through 2023, leaving Crawfordsville without a path forward for the remaining phases. The program had previously funded Phase 1, which included the voluntary purchase and demolition of four homes.
City officials said the reinstatement of BRIC provides another opportunity to move forward, though the process remains uncertain.
“We don’t have a lot of information yet,” said Brandy Allen, the city’s director of operations and community development. “We apply to the State of Indiana, and then the state decides which communities to include in their application to the federal government.”
Allen said the initial application is due in May, but timelines beyond that are unclear.
If the grant is awarded, the city would have up to three years to complete the project, she said.
Allen reiterated that participation remains voluntary.
A 2019 city-funded study identified property acquisition as the most effective long-term solution to the erosion, allowing the creek bank to stabilize naturally once structures are removed.
When the program was previously canceled, city officials said few alternatives existed for erosion-related buyouts because the affected properties are not located within a floodplain and do not qualify for many other federal programs.
With the program now available again, Crawfordsville officials are moving forward with a new application in hopes of continuing the project and reducing risk for residents along Sugar Creek.
