Public meeting to discuss decertification of dike in Point Place tonight
This in via e-mail from the office of Mayor Mike Bell:
Councilwoman Webb & Department of Public Service Hold Meeting on Point Place Dike
City continues to work to have dike recertified by federal agencies
Councilwoman Lindsay Webb and the City of Toledo Department of Public Service will host a meeting for Point Place residents affected by the Flood Control Dike on the Ottawa River, Mudjaw Creek and Maumee Bay. The meeting will be from 6:30-7:30 p.m. on Monday, July 26, 2010 at the Friendship Park Senior Center.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) notified the City of Toledo in 2009 that the dike would be decertified due to changes to the flood control guidelines after Hurricane Katrina. Without significant changes and improvements to the dike, nearly 1,400 residents in Point Place will be required to purchase costly flood insurance for their property.
In response, the Department of Public Service has developed an action plan to ensure that the dike is again certified. Councilwoman Webb will be on hand with Department of Public Service staff to present the proposed action plan and answer questions. Representatives from the Army Corps of Engineers and FEMA are also expected to attend. Residents in the affected area have been notified of the meeting by letters to their home and are encouraged to attend.
What: Public Meeting for Point Place dike
When: Monday, July 26, 2010; 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Where: Friendship Park Senior Center
2930 131st Street
Available: Councilwoman Lindsay Webb
David Welch, Director of Public Service
Representatives of FEMA
Representatives of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
So there are 1400 residents who live an area that if the dike failed would suffer flood damage, however, because there is a governmental certification of the dike they are not required? I guess then if the dike fails it will be such an unexpected sob story for 1400 residents that we will need all kinds of taxpayer assistance to help. I mean really, wasn’t that oil rig in the gulf government certified just the year before?
July 26th, 2010 at 12:06 pmDoug – most Point Place residents already carry flood insurance. The problem is that post-katrina, the Corps of Engineers decided on new standards for ‘flood control measures’ and the Point Place dike is something like 12 inches too short.
Never mind that we don’t get storm surge like they do on the coasts or that the Point Place dike used to have ‘rock boxes’ on top of the existing dirt/stone structure (roughly 4-6 ft high) that they removed years ago because the dike didn’t need to be ‘that high.’
I’m with you in terms of providing your own insurance when you live in areas that are prone to natural disasters. That’s just common sense.
What’s not ‘common sense’ is when your flood control measure is decertified due to arbitrary changes by government bureaucrats or ‘one-size-fits-all’ regulations that really don’t apply to some areas….
July 26th, 2010 at 4:14 pm