Regulators reduce some flood plain areas in county

The federal government has reduced some flood plain areas in Red Willow County, and is proposing that Lebanon Danbury and Bartley join the program that provides homeowners' flood insurance.

Gary Dicenta, the county's flood plain coordinator, told county commissioners Monday morning that FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) has removed:

* Most of a subdivision of about 10-12 houses west of McCook and north of Highway 6&34 and,

* A house, but not the shop, on the county line south of Highway 6&34 near Cambridge.

It has also narrowed the flood plain along the Republican River in some places, Dicenta said.

Technically, most of Indianola (except properties on the hill) is in the flood plain of the Republican River and Coon Creek, Dicenta said, but a protective dike that traces the western city limits excludes most of the community from the flood plain program.

With FEMA revisions, residences south of the railroad tracks and businesses in eastern Indianola north of the highway have been removed from the flood plain, Dicenta said. Two or three homes south of the Republican River at Indianola remain in the flood plain.

Lebanon and Danbury lie within flooding range of the Beaver Creek.

The revisions have been made, Dicenta said, because FEMA has access to improved data and water flow records and to satellite mapping and aerial photographs that were not available when Red Willow County joined the federal flood plain program in 1977.

McCook and Indianola are the only government entities in the county that participate in the flood plain program and the National Flood Insurance Program, which is part of FEMA.

Dicenta said he will send a few road number changes to FEMA, and then FEMA will schedule a public hearing to accept public comment on flood plain map changes. Six to 12 months after the public hearing, revised maps will be available, and the county will adopt the new maps by resolution.

Dicenta told commissioners that trees and overgrowth would need to be removed and "humps and valleys" in a 2,400-foot ditch scraped to prevent water flooding out of the Republican River from draining across two properties south of the Perry elevator and on the north bank of the river.

Dicenta said this is a good time to explain the importance of building standards required of all properties built in a flood plain. He said he suspects that the properties in question were built after Red Willow County joined the national flood plain program in 1977, but without flood plain building permits. "If the (properties) had met flood plain requirements, they might not have had this problem," he said.

Phenomenal flood events "can still happen," he said, not often, "but they still do happen." And property owners still need to follow regulations for building in flood plains, he said.

In other action:

* Commissioners adopted the 2007-2008 budget for $18,397,116.98, approved a tax levy of 35 cents and increased the base of restricted funds by an additional 1 percent.

Rural McCook resident Roberta Felker questioned the need for a county fair budget of $583,969, upset that the budget has increased steadily for the past several years. McNutt told Felker that they worked with the fair board and with fair manager Deb Lafferty in an effort to reduce the budget. "These people need to realize they don't need to spend every dime," McNutt said.

Felker also questioned who paid for the two steel silhouettes of a cowboy and a horse that appear to be rusting and unused behind the community building. McNutt said the fair board -- and ultimately the tax payers -- paid for the silhouettes that were to be a tribute to McCook-area farmer-rancher Tom Kiplinger, who donated funds for the Kiplinger Arena, its addition and stalls.

McNutt said he is unsure what the fair board plans to do with the silhouettes.

McNutt explained that what looked like a substantial increase in roads/bridges budget includes the $600,000 the county anticipates it will receive from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Nebraska Emergency Management Agency for repairs to roads damaged by winter storms and heavy spring rains. The actual budget did not increase by $600,000, he explained; anticipated revenue must be included in the budget or it cannot be spent until the following budget year.

Commissioners were pleased that, because of an increase in the county's valuation, they were able to keep the tax levy at 35 cents. An additional penny would have raised about $61,000, McNutt said. "But we would like to control (spending of that amount) through internal spending, rather than asking for more tax money," he said.

Fellow commissioner Leigh Hoyt agreed, saying he hated to increase the levy by a penny. "We just have to cut back," he said.

* County treasurer Marl-een Garcia reported to commissioners that Pawnee Aviation is behind eight months on one loan to the county revolving loan program and owes $20,096. It is behind one month on another loan and owes $1,012.45.

Other companies -- Pet Pros, Silverstone Inc., Accents Etc., apimages, McCook Eye Clinic and Mo Dough LLC -- are current on their loan payments.

* Garcia reported tax roll additions of $226.98 and $197.06 to commissioners.

* Commissioners approved contracts with the Citizen Corps Council, a community-based organization to give citizens the opportunity to work with local first responders in preparation/training and volunteering to make communities safer.

* Commissioners ap-proved a one-year contract with the Village of Danbury to provide a sheriff's deputy to enforce municipal codes for $150 a month, through September 2008.