Hazard mitigation grant meetings ongoing
Oct. 12—Oak Hill and Gauley Bridge residents can participate in hazard mitigation grant meetings this month.
According to Lesley Taylor, senior project specialist for the Region 4 Planning & Development Council, upcoming Hazard Mitigation Grant Program meetings in Fayette County are set for 2 p.m. on Oct. 19 in Gauley Bridge and 2 p.m. on Oct. 26 in Oak Hill.
Taylor addressed the Fayette County Commission at its Oct. 4 meeting to discuss the ongoing HMGP, a Federal Emergency Management Agency program that features a 75 percent federal, 25 percent non-federal cost share. It would "acquire and demolish the homes ... of people that would like to have their homes acquired because they live in a flood plain, and it would provide them with a fair market value of their dwelling," Taylor said.
According to www.oakhillwv.gov, the City of Oak Hill's hazard mitigation meeting on Oct. 26 will be staged at City Hall (100 Kelly Ave.).
All citizens residing in the city's municipal limits who have received substantial damage in the past due to flooding are encouraged to attend the meeting, city officials say.
State representatives of the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) will be in attendance to explain the program and eligibility for inclusion in the City of Oak Hill's HMGP application. Anyone interested in participating in a state/FEMA buyout program is urged to attend the meeting.
The deadline for submitting applications to the City of Oak Hill is 5 p.m. on Nov. 9.
A HMGP public meeting was held in Montgomery two weeks ago for the unincorporated areas of the county, Taylor said late last week. That gathering attracted little participation, and only four applications had been received from that just hours before last week's deadline. The grant program is not geared toward any specific flood, Taylor said, but for families that have suffered "repetitive damages" due to flooding events.
"Anybody that would be interested in participating in that program, we encourage them to attend the meetings," she said.
As of last week, four HMGP requests had been received from unincorporated areas of the county and five from within the Smithers city limits, said Taylor.
An individual who is interested in getting involved in the program via a governmental agency "is not obligated to go all the way through" the process if they deem it's not in their best interests, Taylor noted.
If a unit of local government decides to participate in the program, property owners will not be forced or pressured to sell, she said. "By law, the community can only participate if property owners voluntarily agree to be a part of the project."
Aside from Gauley Bridge and Oak Hill, there are no additional HMGP meetings scheduled for Fayette County or the Region 4 PDC area. Meetings were previously held for the City of Smithers and unincorporated areas of Fayette County.
For the Gauley Bridge and Oak Hill meetings, applications will be due 14 days after each respective meeting. Taylor said interested parties are encouraged to attend the meetings, if for no other reason than to gather information about the program.
The HMGP is a combined effort of citizens, the local government unit, and state and federal government to reduce the cycle of repetitive disasters due to flooding, Taylor said. The program is very competitive, as the amount of funding needed typically exceeds the amount available in the program.
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