LAMBERTVILLE: Hazard mitigation plan OK’d

Approval will open door to a variety of grant funds

By Linda Seida, Staff Writer
   LAMBERTVILLE — The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the state of New Jersey have given final approval to the city’s hazard mitigation plan, aimed at preventing flood damage in the flat heart of the city, most of which lies in the historic district.
   The approval is important to the city because it will open the door to a variety of grant funds, according to Mayor David Del Vecchio.
   ”I’m very pleased with it,” the mayor said. “It will open up some avenues of federal funding for us that we previously couldn’t obtain.”
   Mayor Del Vecchio said Lambertville is only the fifth or sixth municipality in the state to obtain hazard mitigation plan approval.
   ”It puts us in a smaller universe competing for federal dollars,” he said.
   Some of the pots of grant money would require a 25 percent city match, with FEMA paying 75 percent.
   The pots of federal grant money could be particularly important to residents of Lambert Lane, who were among the homeowners who experienced flooding three times in recent years. A flood remedy for Lambert Lane could require elevation of the houses, which can be very expensive.
   The road to the plan’s completion has been a long one. The city thought it had an acceptable hazard mitigation plan back in July 2006, but FEMA rejected it and asked for revisions.
   The city submitted its latest version last fall.
   Some communities rely on a large staff of professionals or big budgets to get them through the process of putting a plan together, but Lambertville relied completely on volunteers.
   Some city employees worked on the plan, but they did not draw payment for doing so, according to the mayor. They include City Clerk Lori Buckelew and Public Works Director Paul Cronce.
   Also involved were Planning Board member John Miller, Local Assistance Board Director Helen “Bambi” Kuhl and Emergency Management Council Coordinator David Burd.
   Since 1996, 280 private claims for flood damage totaled more than $4 million.
   In 2004, 60 claims totaled $900,329. The following year, 103 claims totaled $1,528,326. In 2006, 89 claims totaled $1,581,500.