By Angeljean Chiaramida
SALISBURY — Town officials are taking extra steps to ensure those affected by the proposed updated flood risk insurance maps know about them and the impact they can have on local property.
Three flood risk map-reading help sessions are planned over the next week at Town Hall, and a flier will be mailed out in Monday's tax bills to ensure all property owners know about the impending map changes and potential effects.
"As often happens, with everything we do and say at (public) meetings and in the papers, some people just won't know about it," Town Manager Neil Harrington said yesterday. "Also, in Salisbury, at the end of summer, some beach property owners close up their beach houses and leave the area. They may not hear about this."
Putting an insert in tax bills reaches out to every property owner in town, he said. The hope is taxpayers will read the information that's sent.
The one-page information sheet won't be in-depth, but is meant to provide basic information. Included will be links to Web sites that provide more expertise on the matter, Harrington said. The insertion will also direct property owners to the printed information provided by officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency when they presented the newly updated flood risk insurance map to town officials two weeks ago.
The updated maps of areas of town with flood risk are used by the National Flood Insurance Program when writing flood insurance policies.
The newly proposed maps are the first total update of the maps in more than 20 years, according to FEMA experts. About 270 properties had their flood risk zone changed, most to zones of higher risk, but 30 to zones of lower risk. The changes may also change the premiums property owners will pay on their flood insurance policies. Many banks insist on flood insurance on properties on which they hold mortgages.
The maps are easier to read than former maps, but still not very understandable to property owners who have never worked with them before, according to Selectman Donald Beaulieu. After meeting with many people at Town Hall over the past weeks who were having problems deciphering the maps and how they impact their property, Beaulieu decided he'd lend a hand.
Beaulieu will be at Town Hall today from 2 to 4 p.m., on Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. and on Monday from 7 to 9 p.m. to help property owners read the maps, find their properties, understand the potential impact and direct them to the proper channels if necessary.
"I'm not an expert by any means, but I work with these maps more than the average person," Beaulieu said. "The purpose for these sessions is to help people in Salisbury read the maps and understand how the changes can affect them."
Beaulieu said since the town has the maps on disk, he'll be able to project them on the larger screen in Town Hall's meeting room, which can help make everything easier to see.
In addition, the flood maps are available to view through the town's Web site. Visit www.salisburyma.gov, then click on "links" on the menu on the home page, then click on Salisbury Community TV and Media Center. Once there, follow directions.
