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Last Updated: Mar 31, 2009 - 2:29:20 PM |
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Iowa County Supervisor Chairman of the Board Ric Gerard. Mitch Traphagen Photo
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MARENGO - The Iowa County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution towards participation in the National Flood Insurance Program during their meeting on April 25.
Flood insurance for the county became a pressing issue recently when officials from Riverbend Industries discovered they were required to carry flood insurance on the recently acquired Victor Plastics plant near the intersection of I-80 and exit 201. As Iowa County does not currently participate in the National Flood Insurance Program, private insurance premiums would cost tens of thousands of dollars more than federal insurance.
The topic was also brought before the board of supervisors in February when Marengo realtor Tom Sandersfeld learned that a pending home sale in unincorporated Iowa County fell through due to the lack of affordable flood insurance.
The resolution passed by the board of supervisors authorizes the assistant county attorney to proceed with the Flood Plain Management Ordinance. A public hearing for the proposed ordinance has tentatively been scheduled for May 16.
“This being passed will save our company around $30,000 annually so you can see the huge impact to us,” said Bill Collins, general manager for Riverbend Industries.
The process, however, may take too long to help the company. With the public hearing two weeks away, should the ordinance be passed, the application process could take as long as two months. For Riverbend Industries, the clock has already started ticking.
“Taking two months will be problem for us,” Collins said. “We have 30 days before we get hit with this premium.”
According to Bill Cappuccio at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the options for the company may be few - but there may also be a ray of hope.
“We will do what we can to expedite it,” Cappucciuo said. “The problem is right now, FEMA is tied up with a disaster declaration in Missouri - they are working with a partial staff up here. Will they be back in two weeks? I don't know. Will they make any accommodations for this? I don't know. We can tell them this is an urgent situation and to do what they can. But this all takes time.
We've seen it go through in as fast as two weeks but we can't make promises - we can't make promises on behalf of FEMA.”
Cappuccio, however, discovered the issue of flood insurance at the plastics plant may not be as dire as it first appeared. Based on a very quick look - and not officially - he thought only a portion of the plant was actually in a flood hazard area.
“If a lender says you need to buy flood insurance, the first thing you need to do is to check to see if your house is actually in a flood zone,” he said. “If you have 100 acres and five acres are in a flood zone, a [lending analyst] in Houston doesn't know where your house is, they'll tell you that you need flood insurance.”
Cappuccio suggested the property be surveyed with the results superimposed over a flood map to determine the extent of exposure to the flood hazard area.
“Depending on the lender, it may be an effort in futility or it may save thousands of dollars,” he said.
In other business, the board of supervisors approved a motion to allow New Century FS, Inc. add additional storage for anhydrous ammonia at 1633 Hwy. F52 Trail in Millersburg.
The board also authorized a letter of support to all six school districts in Iowa County in support of the Voluntary Preschool Program. The motion came after an update on the program by Tammy Wetjen-Kesterson.
Finally, the board approved bids for gravel totaling more than 39,000 tons and nearly $440,000.
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Skies: CloudyTemperature: 37F 3CDewpoint: 28F -2CRelative Humidity: 70%Wind: N at 7m - 11kBarometric Pressure: 30.25SUpdated: 11:26:33 PM