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Area officials discuss flood plain in D.C.
Published 4/8/2010 in Local News
By SHAJIA AHMAD
Area officials who've returned from an annual trip to the nation's capital said they feel they've made some headway on the ongoing and contentious flood plain map issue, though neither they nor Federal Emergency Management Agency officials know yet how or when any lines will be drawn.
For the fourth consecutive year, Garden City and Finney County commissioners and administrators brought their concerns over the placement of two drainage ditches that run through the heart of town and outlying areas within a redefined, 100-year flood plain, during the congressional delegation's trip to Washington, D.C. on March 22 and 23.
Area officials also were joined by delegates from Holcomb, Dodge City and Liberal on the trip, which was organized by the Garden City Area Chamber of Commerce.
City Manager Matt Allen said at this week's commission meeting that he and others expressed a sense of urgency to staffers at Sens. Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts' offices to intervene and "call a time-out."
"The letters and the questions are nice, but meanwhile (over the last three years) the agency which they are supposed to oversee is steam-rolling us and other communities," Allen said in an e-mail Wednesday.
In late February, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit over a FEMA plan to designate additional properties in Finney County as flood-prone, a challenge filed in federal district court last August by Garden City, Finney County, and three landowners concerned about the federal agency's mapping techniques.
The local government entities refused to withdraw the lawsuit despite FEMA's request that it be dismissed, preferring to keep it open in case they objected to a new flood plain map that FEMA may now be preparing; instead, the judge ruled the legal challenge was "moot" because the federal agency rescinded a plan more than six months ago and because FEMA has specifically provided for a 90-day appeal period upon any subsequent final decision, according to U.S. District Court documents.
Now local officials are anticipating a visit from FEMA VII Regional Director Beth Freeman on April 19, a move Allen said Tuesday he feels is a "step in the right direction."
"A rational person examining this on the ground level will realize including the ditches is absolutely absurd," Allen said Tuesday.
Finney County Commission Chairman Cliff Mayo, who also attended, agreed that FEMA and the flood plain debate dominated the Washington, D.C. conversation and was optimistic that a trip from the agency's regional director may bode well for the community.
"We don't have any more idea now about where we stand, except they're taking it serious enough to take a closer look," Mayo said.
Merideth Parrish, a FEMA spokeswoman for the region, confirmed the director's planned April visit and said Wednesday that the federal agency is waiting for direction from its national headquarters and cannot anticipate their next move concerning new flood plain parameters.
"We're going in there with an open mind and no agenda," Parrish said. "This is more of a personal visit, to hear the voice of local officials."
Another issue Garden City officials said they spoke candidly about in the nation's capital is the need for federal immigration resources in this region of the state.
Elected officials from the Southwest Kansas Coalition — member cities include Dodge City, Liberal and Garden City — outlined their efforts to bring federal immigration services to the region as one of their legislative priorities this year.
Commissioner Reynaldo Mesa said Tuesday that the need for a federal office or officers is dire in this region given the number of documented refugees and other alien residents, some of whom must often drive to Wichita and Kansas City, Kan., to complete sometimes procedural matters at federal offices.
City Manager Allen agreed.
"We're making some headway on that issue. It's a slow grind, and it gets frustrating that people have to tell the same stories every year," Allen said Tuesday. "But Jennie Barker and the (Kansas Highway) 156 is a perfect example of what we thought was insurmountable, but we made headway on it."
The Jennie Barker Road/Mary Street/Kansas Highway 156 realignment and four-lane intersection project, estimated at $6 million, is a major project this year and a top priority for the remainder of 2010 because of traffic concerns at the busy intersection, especially with the construction of the new high school west of the location, city officials have said.
The project has received about half a million dollars in federal appropriation funds, and the city and county are expected to match the $6 million Kansas Department of Transportation construction project at an estimated $750,000 each.
Other discussion topics included Garden City's continued efforts with the SWK Coalition for a renewed highway transportation plan, and Garden City Regional Airport's Essential Air Service funding through the Federal Aviation Administration.
Each year, the municipal airport must reach a 10,000 passenger threshold to collect $1 million in federal funding, funds that benefit continued commercial flights and airport improvement projects.
Holcomb councilor Gary Newman, who also attended, was not available for comment today.
Holcomb's city administrator, Robin Peña, said today that the biggest issue Holcomb delegates brought attention to during the March trip is their expected increase in truck traffic — a result of the ongoing U.S. Highway 50 four-lane project and Sunflower's expansion efforts at its coal plant site, a permitting process for which is now under review by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
Holcomb delegates requested assistance in doing a feasibility study to find an alternative route for both large trucks and vehicles, as a way to avoid the school zone in the area and which may be convenient for the residents of Holcomb who need to cross north to south or go toward Garden City, Peña said in an e-mail Wednesday.
In addition, Holcomb officials continue to work on creating more awareness for school zone safety. Peña said in an e-mail that city officials are hoping to work with Sens. Roberts and Brownback's staff to secure potential funding to help offset the costs of increased signage for pedestrian crossings, which could include a pedestrian crossing light on Main Street in Holcomb, a long-standing request by city councilors.
During a March 29 town hall meeting of the county commission, Mayo described the two-day trip as "somewhat of a social affair" to his fellow county commissioners — appropriations are getting harder to get as federal earmarks receive more criticism — but qualified his statement Wednesday.
"I don't want to leave the feeling that it's not worthwhile (to make the trip) because it's always worthwhile to maintain these relationships," he said. "You need to get to know your representatives, because that always bodes well when there are funds available."
Finney County Administrator Pete Olson, Assistant County Administrator Randy Partington, and the following Garden City officials also attended: Rachelle Powell, city's aviation director, Commissioners David Crase and J.R. Behan, and Garden City Mayor Nancy Harness.
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