City of Cassville continues flood insurance program discussion
Pictured above, Cassville’s Main Street was covered in water at a variety of points during the massive July 2015 flood.
March 23, 2016
Charlea Estes
The Cassville City Council is still in discussion regarding whether the city will opt to enroll in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) after last year’s devastating floods. At the council meeting on Monday, March 14, Dale Schmutzler, a state coordinator for the program, answered the council’s questions to help them make an educated decision.
Controversy surrounds the decision on whether the city should enroll in the NFIP, which would make most residents and business owners with homes and businesses on the designated flood plain required to purchase flood insurance by their lending institutions, which can be a pricey endeavor for many. Beyond that, buildings constructed after 1977 would have to pass flood inspections, as well, which means that those buildings would either have to be flood proofed or raised on stilts to be in compliance.
Cassville’s City Council is looking at the decision very carefully because of the ramifications to individuals and businesses alike. However, the main issue is that without enrollment in the NFIP, the city will not qualify for grants or special funding to work on improvements that will preemptively deal with the flooding of the seven valleys.
In 1977, Cassville suspended from the program, and in order to be re-enrolled, the city would have to complete the application, bring buildings constructed after 1977 into compliance and approve a flood ordinance.
Alderman Terry Hines said, “It would be in our interest to see how many buildings we are talking about.”
Without enrollment, the city’s plan to try to dig retention basins to mitigate flooding would be impossible to fund.
When discussing the retention basins, Alderman Jon Horner stated, “I agree it would be a great way to mitigate the flooding, and we need to think it through. We essentially cannot get any funding, which is millions of dollars, without being in the flood insurance program.”
However, the impact on homes and businesses within the flood plain would be significant. According to Schmutzler, average flood insurance policies run around $700 per year. On top of that, any homes built post-1977 would have to be brought into compliance, which could be thousands of dollars per building that the owner would be responsible for.
No decisions were made at the council meeting, but the aldermen continue to discuss the issue to make a plan regarding flooding episodes throughout the city.
Charlea Estes
The Cassville City Council is still in discussion regarding whether the city will opt to enroll in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) after last year’s devastating floods. At the council meeting on Monday, March 14, Dale Schmutzler, a state coordinator for the program, answered the council’s questions to help them make an educated decision.
Controversy surrounds the decision on whether the city should enroll in the NFIP, which would make most residents and business owners with homes and businesses on the designated flood plain required to purchase flood insurance by their lending institutions, which can be a pricey endeavor for many. Beyond that, buildings constructed after 1977 would have to pass flood inspections, as well, which means that those buildings would either have to be flood proofed or raised on stilts to be in compliance.
Cassville’s City Council is looking at the decision very carefully because of the ramifications to individuals and businesses alike. However, the main issue is that without enrollment in the NFIP, the city will not qualify for grants or special funding to work on improvements that will preemptively deal with the flooding of the seven valleys.
In 1977, Cassville suspended from the program, and in order to be re-enrolled, the city would have to complete the application, bring buildings constructed after 1977 into compliance and approve a flood ordinance.
Alderman Terry Hines said, “It would be in our interest to see how many buildings we are talking about.”
Without enrollment, the city’s plan to try to dig retention basins to mitigate flooding would be impossible to fund.
When discussing the retention basins, Alderman Jon Horner stated, “I agree it would be a great way to mitigate the flooding, and we need to think it through. We essentially cannot get any funding, which is millions of dollars, without being in the flood insurance program.”
However, the impact on homes and businesses within the flood plain would be significant. According to Schmutzler, average flood insurance policies run around $700 per year. On top of that, any homes built post-1977 would have to be brought into compliance, which could be thousands of dollars per building that the owner would be responsible for.
No decisions were made at the council meeting, but the aldermen continue to discuss the issue to make a plan regarding flooding episodes throughout the city.