SOUTH AMBOY — The City Council discussed some of the complicating factors residents are facing after Hurricane Sandy during the Feb. 6 council meeting.
Business Administrator Camille Tooker said she was working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to have representatives come in for a meeting to talk with residents about whether they would need to elevate their homes before rebuilding, as well as other issues.
She said information on such a meeting would be available once it were set up, and all residents whose homes fall into the “substantially damaged” category would receive a letter about the meeting. Homes in this category, according to FEMA, incurred damage that totals more than 50 percent of market value before the storm. After the meeting, Tooker said there are between 20 and 30 homes in the city that fall into this category.
During the meeting, City Engineer Mark Rasimowicz said that when he spoke with Karl Kleeberg, the county’s recovery and mitigation coordinator, he was advised that the city should not hand out building permits if there is a possibility that the residence falls into that substantially damaged category. The concern is that the city hands out permits, people spend money on fixing their homes, and then FEMA requires that the home be elevated.
Tooker also stressed that if people make additional improvements beyond the areas of the home that are storm-impacted, that could put the home inadvertently in the substantially damaged category. She said every case is different, so it’s important to direct people to FEMA. She said officials could advise that people do cleanup, but repairs are a case-bycase issue.
However, Rasimowicz said, he was hearing from residents that they just wanted to rebuild and get back in their homes.
Councilman Mickey Gross asked how installing mitigating components at the waterfront could affect the potential burden of higher flood insurance premiums.
Mayor Fred Henry said the city was looking at such projects, such as dune replacement, but that it would be impossible to say what impact that could have regarding flood insurance. Rasimowicz also said the city was looking to make improvements to the waterfront walkway, which was damaged during the storm.
Gross also suggested something like a rock jetty in the water.
“Is that something that’s feasible or possible?” he asked.
Rasimowicz said such a project could be done, but it could create a levee-like situation, and wouldn’t necessarily help low-lying areas.
“The elevation is still lower behind it,” he said.
Many council members said they had noticed homes that had minor storm damage but had yet to be cleaned up — these homes, they stressed, were not in danger of being classified as substantially damaged.
How that might be handled, however, was not resolved. That led to a discussion about whether the city needed, and could afford, a full-time code enforcement official. Tooker said that was up to the council, which could make a determination after looking at what she and Henry come up with for the budget.