Town Hall Meeting Tuesday 7/29 at Senior Center

TUESDAY, JULY 29 Senior Center
6:30p – 8:00p "Town Hall Meeting" with Federal & State Flood officials
Followed by Special Work Session – Flood matters
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ICgov.org Media Release: General City News

Contact: Marian KarrContact Phone: (319) 356-5041
Town Hall Meeting Tuesday, July 29
Posted by: City Clerk
Originally Posted 7/28/2008 8:06:15 AM

On Tuesday evening, July 29, the City will host a meeting of federal and state officials at the Senior Center, 28 S. Linn Street. The town hall meeting will be broadcast live on City Channel 4 from 6:30 to 8:00 PM. Panel members will include representatives from FEMA, Iowa Homeland Security and local City staffers. After short presentations the audience will have the opportunity to ask questions of the panel, and receive updated information on programs.
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QUESTIONS for Town Hall meeting

How did the FEMA map get updated in 2007?

Was the base flow for the 100 and 500 year floods refigured in the light of changes in upstream land use (urbanization, tiling of farmland etc.)?

Was the hydrology of the river valley in Iowa City reworked to account for post 1993 developments such as the laser center and the arts campus levee improvements?

Why do the FEMA flood boundaries bear such little relationship to the topography on the county GIS?

The FEMA base flood map draws boundaries that undulate up and down contour lines, as if the flood maps are based on very coarse topographic data.

Isn’t the question really about whether the ACTUAL flooded area can be used to define the area of needed mitigation?

The city can ask for a reclassification of land in the floodplain, from 500-year floodplain to 100-year floodplain, based on what we have learned from this flood. Would there be an advantage to us or to the city in asking for this?

What is the metric by which FEMA evaluates buyout plans? We understand that it is not as simple as whether the homes covered by the plan are in the 100 year flood plain or not. We have been led to understand that contiguity, likelihood of damage, and even willingness of the potential seller figure into the story.

What barriers are there to raising the normal peak outflow of the reservoir from 10,000 to 12,000 cfs. We note that this would have allowed the reservoir to be drawn down to a level that could have significantly reduced peak flood levels in the city. We understand that the elevation of North Dubuque Street may be one barrier, but are there others?

For FEMA and the corps, how can programs for flood mitigation and buyout be made to cooperate? It appears as things stand that the borderline between a buyout and a mitigation project must be drawn in advance of any project initiation, while a more realistic planning process might involve redrawing borders between properties to be protected by a levee (a mitigation project) and properties to outside the levee to be bought out after the willing property owners have been identified and after the total available funding has been determined.


The community must have a hazard mitigation plan as a condition for participation in the national flood insurance program. What is our plan? If we don't have a plan, how have we gotten by without one? If we do have a plan, what components of that plan have been implemented.-- What is the state's flood hazard mitigation plan?

All of the above questions apply there as well.

How will FEMA and or the state divide buyout money between communities when, for example, Oakville, Cedar Rapids and Iowa City and Palo all have big needs, but they are so different? Given identically risk-prone houses in each community, assuming comparable value and occupancy, which will get a buyout?

Does FEMA's budget drive their black-box formula for buyouts, or do they prioritize buyouts without regard to the available funding, and then spend what they can.

How do basements and half-basements (as in split foyer homes) factor into the determination of mitigation and buyout eligibility? Does the extent to which a basement was finished matter?

Is the corps contemplating a new review of dam management policies comparable to the review they released in 1997 after the flood of '93?

Does FEMA have the power to negotiate with states and/or state institutions to remove impediments to river flow? In this case, a water-chiller project at the U of I stalled, inactive, for over a year, but a coffer dam was left in the river significantly blocking flow. Damage at the U of I, as well as Park View Terrace and Idlewild, was increased by a flood crest made higher by this dam. Can, FEMA weigh in to help us make sure that dam is gone by next spring?

When FEMA-connected flood insurance covers "Increased Cost of Compliance" for flood mitigation measures, is there a time limit? If we are waiting to see the outcome of FEMA buyout applications, and that takes a year or two, and then falls through, can we still use that ICC coverage based on the flood of 2008? It'll be 2010 then (b) What if there's another flood before repairs are complete on this one? Can we start over on full flood coverage as per our policy's coverage amount?


The Corps of Engineers often favors dikes to protect homes before they recommend buyouts as a permanent solution that would mitigate damages up and down river by re-creating natural floodplains without impediments. In our case, because of the nature of the Coralville Reservoir's operation, we have slow-motion floods lasting months as
the small mud-retaining reservoir slowly and painfully comes down to safe levels. In this area, ground water rises behind dikes that might protect very well in flashfloods, or floods lasting only a week or so (like the Cedar River flood). Here, houses flood from their own sump pump tile systems because as the water rises in the river channel, it rises in the whole valley, and because of the long flood durations, it also rises through the soil behind sandbags or dikes (like filling a bathtub).
The duration of the floods in Iowa City casts doubt on any dike solution. Does FEMA take situations like this into account when making the choices for dike flood mitigation or buyout?

QUESTIONS FOR THE CITY:

Will Occupancy Permits be issued once houses pass routine building inspections, or will the City be expecting something more to mitigate future flood losses?



What are the steps that the City goes through before issuing a demolition permit? (WHY is FEMA involved?)



Will the City ask a representative of the Corps of Engineers to attend the Townhall meeting and answer questions?

Is the city going to sit down with the Corp (not the guys at the Rez...but their managers, I think in Rock Island or somewhere) and have a serious discussion with them about future flooding issues and what they REALLY plan to do to better manage this situation?

Is the city going to sit down with the University and have a hard line discussion with them about their coffer damn situation?

If we stabilize our houses and button them up for the winter to wait for the buyout possibility, do we re-insure at renewal time? How do you value a damaged house for insurance renewal? Or do you just renew as if it were pre-flood?






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