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Residents learn about the need for flood insurance

Date: 2/2/2010

Feb. 3, 2010.

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor



CHICOPEE -- The message from Ward Three City Councilor John Vieau and Mayor Michael Bissonnette was clear to residents of the neighborhood: call your insurance agents about flood insurance.

The residents living near the Connecticut River who have mortgages on their properties are being advised to seek the best price on government-backed flood insurance before their banks force them to buy it.

Although the city has complied with repairs and maintenance on the dikes protecting the sections of the city next to the river mandated by the Army Corps of Engineers, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has not changed the status of the city. Until FEMA issues revised flood maps, Chicopee and 3,000 other communities across the nation will be considered without protection even if they have complied with the Army Corps of Engineers requirements.

Complicating matters, according to Bissonnette, is that FEMA does not have the funding to issue the new maps. That means the status will not change for insurance purposes until the maps are published.

"It's one of the most enormous wastes of time I've seen in my life," the mayor said.

The city is currently appealing the situation and Bissonnette said that he expects to hear in March if FEMA will take one of three steps: convene a public meeting, bring in an outside authority or consult with local officials on the current set of maps.

Bissonnette believes that due to congressional pressure the last step will be most likely the one FEMA takes.

The city spent nearly $6 million making sure the dikes and water-pumping system first installed in 1940 was completely operational, Bissonnette said. The work on the flood control system was ordered in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

About 30 residents attended the meeting conducted at the Chicopee Boys and Girls Club and may had questions about insurance rates and prices. Bissonnette, who said he was no expert in insurance, advised residents to call their agents. Flood insurance, he explained, is available only through the government that sets the prices. A lending institution holding a mortgage in a flood plain can force a property owner to buy the insurance, but it can come at a mark-up.

Vieau promised his constituents to keep them advised of any development.

"It's a big complicated mess," he added.