Comment deadline is May 14 for study

WILSON CREEK - Wilson Creek Mayor Kathy Bohnet said the results of a FEMA flood map insurance study that doubled the town's no-build zone are "devastating."

The town of about 240 residents has an annual budget of about $60,000 and can't afford to hire an attorney just to conduct a separate professional study, she said.

Bohnet said her next step is to appeal to Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. and 12th District state representatives.

If Wilson Creek doesn't comply with the study once it's finalized, the town can't apply for federal grants it relies on, she said.

The FEMA study results mean no building would be allowed in a large portion of the downtown area.

The no-build zone includes all of Main Street and two-thirds of the town's platted area, Bohnet said. Elevated building isn't allowed in the no-build zone.

It's also possible the town's population would drop because people couldn't sell their homes, she said.

Maintaining the town's school that also serves the surrounding rural communities of Stratford and Marlin would be difficult if people left, she added.

Bohnet said a meeting about the study on April 22 lasted about four hours and the town's residents ended up leaving out of frustration.

She claimed a computer model that added an artificial encroachment and widened the floodway caused the problem.

The encroachment was done because of guidelines and the previous floodway was too narrow, according to Kenneth Brettmann, a hydraulic engineer with the Corps of Engineers.

"It's arbitrary and not in line with facts about what is here," Bohnet said. "It was just like being punched in the gut. It's devastating and it's unfair."

Bohnet said she wrote FEMA a letter of appeal about the things she didn't believe the federal agency considered.

The period to submit public comment about the study started Feb. 14 and ends May 14, said Mark Carey, a FEMA mitigation division director.

FEMA's regulations require that appeals are based on technical merits as opposed to pure anecdotal information, he said. But the agency will consider all of the submitted information, Carey said.

The nationwide mapping effort started before Hurricane Katrina, Carey said.

Comments can be mailed to RMC No. 10, 999 Third Ave., Suite 3800, Seattle, WA 98104, e-mailed to [email protected] or faxed to 206-344-3901.