Newspaper Page Text
December 31, 2008
PAGE 7A
Flood
^Reporter
continued from the front page
Jones said he got a letter
from his mortgage compa
ny, GMAC, on Nov. 17
informing him that his
property is now in a flood
zone. The company said he
must purchase flood insur
ance by Jan. 1, 2009 or the
company would assign him
coverage and take the pre
mium out of his escrow
account. Jones said he
knows of five or six other
neighbors who've gotten
similar notices.
Another homeowner in
the Jones' Harbor Shores
subdivision, Sonny
Bartlett, said flood insur
ance can cost anywhere
from $2,400-$12,000 per
year. A policy on his home
would cost $2,700 per year,
but would only cover up to
$250,000 in losses.
The new mandate comes
after FEMA, the Federal
Emergency Management
Agency, approved an
expanded new flood plain
map for Monroe County on
Sept. 26. Monroe County
residents can see the coun
ty's new flood map at
www.georgiadfirm.com.
Click on Mapping Project
Status and select Monroe
County. The county is bro
ken into 15 sections so
click on "index" to find
which one you want to
view.
Before approving a map,
FEMA requires a flood
map to go through a
lengthy process that
includes public hearings
hosted by the local govern
ment. County zoning
administrator John
Kutscher said no one
attended the advertised
public hearing and open
house in Forsyth related to
the map in the fall of 2007.
Collis Brown, Georgia’s
state flood plain manage
ment coordinator, said
homeowners could have
saved a lot of money if they
had followed the process. If
they had bought flood
insurance before the new
Officer
protests
loss of city
insurance
BY JOLEE VAUGHN
An “inactive” Forsyth
police officer isn’t happy
about changes to the city’s
health insurance.
In November, council
members adopted a new
healthcare insurance plan
for city employees aimed at
keeping costs down. It kept
the cash-strapped city’s
increase in costs at just .57
percent for 2009. The city
also amended its personnel
policy to comply with fed
eral regulations. The
amendment says after an
employee is on leave for 12
weeks, their health insur
ance is suspended until
they return to work.
Police officer Larry
Jamison told council at its
Dec. 16 meeting that he’s
losing his health insurance
because of the change.
Jamison is currently a city
employee, but his status is
inactive. Due to the
amendment, he is no
longer eligible to receive
benefits. Jamison, who
worked in the patrol divi
sion and was injured in an
altercation while on duty,
says, “I have been through
a couple of surgeries, and
my career is over at 43. I
hope that the city appreci
ates me, and that they
know I gave my life for the
city. At least give me 6
months.”
Mayor Tye Howard
responded that the city
isn’t allowed to continue
benefits due to a federal
law, and city clerk Janice
Hall said that’s correct.
She said the city’s insur
ance representative is
working on getting a copy
of the law to Jamison.
maps put them in the flood
zone, it would have been
much cheaper. Now, said
Brown, homeowners who
believe they’ve been put in
the flood zone in error
must apply to FEMA for a
letter of map amendment.
The application is free but
must include elevation
information from an engi
neer or surveyor.
Homeowners should check
with their lender before
hiring a surveyor though,
said Brown. Even if FEMA
approves a letter of amend
ment for homeowners, it’s
no gaurantee they won’t
have to buy flood insur
ance. Homeowners need to
check with their lenders
first, because not all banks
automatically waive the
requirement with a letter
of amendment, said Brown.
Surveyor Andy Williams
of Jackson said he got
about four calls in one
week from High Falls
homeowners who’d been
moved into the flood plain.
“It’s got people screaming
and hollering,” said
Williams. He said the flood
maps mark elevation at
20-foot contours so it’s not
a precise map.
Jones said they can’t fig
ure out how FEMA deter
mined where to mark the
flood zone. The flood zone
is supposed to cover prop
erties in the Special Flood
Hazard Area, those likely
to be inundated by a flood
once every 100 years. It's
also called the 100-year
flood mark. There's also
the Moderate Flood
Hazard Area for those
properties likely to be
inundated by a flood once
every 500 years.
The massive 1994 floods
was deemed to be a 500-
year flood, or the worst
flood in a 500-year period.
However, Jones said the
1994 flood pushed water
levels to an elevation of
595 feet, nine feet short of
the elevation of his base
ment, 604 feet. Regardless,
lake-front property owners
said mortgage companies
are requiring them to have
flood insurance if the flood
zone touches any part of
their property, even if the
home is not in the flood
zone. Monroe County sur
veyor Hugh Mercer said
flood maps are educated
guesses that leave a lot of
room for error. But he said
if a home survived the
1994 flood then it should
be safe from any future
floods.
Jones has had a survey
done and sent FEMA the
new information about his
property. He's hoping to
have his home exempted
from the flood plain. FEMA
has a procedure for such a
move that can be found on
its website at
www.msc.fema.gov.
However, Jones said it'll
take FEMA two months to
respond to his request, so
he'll probably have to get
the flood insurance.
Geologist Alan Giles of
the state Environmental
Protection Division, which
works with FEMA on flood
issues, said the golden
opportunity has already
passed for when residents
can request changes to the
map.
"It's very difficult to show
an error in the map," said
Giles.
Harbor Shores' Sonny
Bartlett said he's been
researching the issue for
several weeks and is hav
ing a hard time getting
clear answers.
"Nobody knows half the
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truth on this thing," said
Bartlett. "It's a big mess.
Everybody (in government)
is closed mouth about it.
Every time I find out some
thing, I talk to someone
else and find out some
thing the opposite."
Bartlett said he doesn't
think anyone looked at the
map closely before they
were approved. He said
FEMA should be required
to have the affected prop
erty owners sign off on the
new map before it's adopt
ed.
Bartlett said even those
who've paid off their home
may be required to have
flood coverage by their
insurance companies.
The High Falls Civic Club
and High Falls Watershed
Alliance are expected to
take up the flood insurance
issue soon.
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