Alexander council unanimously approves FEMA ordinance

In about ten minutes the Alexander City Council was able to accomplish at a second Special Meeting what it couldn’t at the first. The four aldermen who voted against an ordinance that updated the city’s participation in the National Flood Insurance Program decided to vote for it at the July 6 meeting.

At the June 29 Special Meeting aldermen Louis E. Hobbs, Andy Mullins, Andrea Bearden, and Lonny Chapman voted “No” on three separate motions needed to pass the ordinance.  Aldermen Jeffery S. Watson, Stephanie Beck, Dan Church, and Melissa Ratliff voted “Yes.” Mayor Paul Mitchell was allowed to vote on one of the motions to break the tie.

This time around all eight voted “Yes.” In order for the ordinance to go into effect the night of the July 6 meeting the council needed a two-thirds majority to suspend the requirement the ordinance be read three times at three different public meetings. That would be six of the eight aldermen voting “Yes.” The first reading was at the June 29 meeting. It also required a two-thirds vote on an “Emergency Clause” suspending the 90-day waiting period allowing the ordinance to go into effect immediately. The usual majority vote of five was needed to actually pass the ordinance.

According to city officials, after learning of the failed vote FEMA sent the city a warning notice on yellow paper addressed to Alexander residents. The fliers were posted around town.  According to the flier if the city hadn’t met the July 6 deadline it would have meant residents would not be able to buy or renew flood insurance policies; Federal disaster assistance will not be provided; no Federal grants, loans, or loan guarantees; and no Federal mortgage insurance.

Attending the July 6 meeting was Trevor Timberlake, the FEMA coordinator for Arkansas. Timberlake’s presence was requested by Mitchell so he would be able to answer questions from council members.

Bearden, who did most of the talking and was instrumental in postponing approval of the ordinance during the June 29 meeting, no longer had questions. She said her questions were answered when she spoke to someone at Timberlake’s earlier in the day. The only issue she had was still not seeing the flood maps for the Saline County portion of Alexander.

Alderman Church asked, “How often are these maps updated?”

“The rule of thumb, about every four or five years,” Timberlake said. “It depends on FEMA’s budget. … Then they take that budget and decide on a yearly basis which areas to try and update.”

He also said all of Arkansas has usually been updated after four or five years.

According to the ordinance the only change to the flood map is adding a portion of the area in Pulaski County from the Dollar General Store towards I-30. Until now only portions of Saline County were listed as potential flood hazards.

Bearden said she’s seen the Pulaski County map but not Saline County. She requested copies of the flood maps for the Saline County portion of Alexander. Timberlake said he would provide digital files.

The next regular meeting of the Alexander City Council is Monday, July 20. The meetings are held in the City Hall courtroom at 6 PM. The public is invited to attend.