Bob McLaughlin is back in local government.

The City of Pensacola has contracted with former Escambia County Administrator Bob McLaughlin to oversee projects related to the April 2014 flood event.

According to the contract, dated Aug. 26, McLaughlin, an engineer by trade, will help Mayor Ashton Hayward or his designee identify and secure state and federal funds to address infrastructure deficiencies related to the April 29-30 rain event.

Tamara Fountain, the city’s chief of operations, said McLaughlin’s professional expertise (including time with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers), and his time in Escambia County government, were factors in his hiring.

She also said that Hayward was impressed with McLaughlin’s track record of finding funding for mitigation projects.

McLaughlin will be paid a flat monthly rate of $2,000 for 20 hours of work. Any hours beyond that require prior approval, the contract says. The contract is for one year.

The April rain event saw the entire Pensacola metro area inundated with rain — including 15.55 inches of rain on April 29 alone, according to the National Weather Service in Mobile.

A forensic analysis of the storm-induced collapse of Piedmont Road by Hatch Mott McDonald found that more than 86 percent of the rain from this storm fell in a 12-hour time frame, “it is believed that this event represented a storm...greater than a 500-year event and likely approaching a 1,000-year event,” the report concludes.

The storm also laid bare the limitations of the entire two-county area’s stormwater infrastructure.

The City of Pensacola also commissioned a similar forensic analysis of the Aragon Court drainage basin, this one conducted by Atkins. It has been posted to the city’s website.

Reports on flooding in the Longhollow drainage basin, and a study on downtown overall (from Cervantes Street south to Pensacola Bay and east to west from Alcaniz to Spring streets) also are pending, according to city engineer Derrik Owens.

McLaughlin served as county administrator after George Touart left the job in 2007 amid ethics questions raised by his personal business dealings. McLaughlin’s contract was not renewed by commissioners in December of 2009.

Fountain said McLaughlin will be an important voice as the county and city collaboratively look at how to improve stormwater infrastructure, given his experience in county government.

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