Citizens express frustration at CLB meeting

NEWPORT — About 40 citizens attended the Cocke County Legislative Body (CLB) special called meeting about the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) on Tuesday evening in the circuit courtroom. A few citizens addressed CLB in the public comment time prior to the meeting being called to order.

Consider those who must have insurance

The first person to speak, Roxanne Spasato, said she has two homes in the flood zone. She explained she is required to maintain flood insurance coverage by her mortgage servicer. Her homes were not damaged during the flooding, she said.

"If you guys decide to drop out because these rules and regulations in these resolutions have not been adhered to by this county, what happens to us?" she asked. She expressed concern about having to pay higher premiums through forced insurance, which would have a significant impact on the monthly mortgage payment. She encouraged CLB commissioners to consider those who must maintain flood insurance coverage.

'Whoever is in charge dropped the ball'

Sarah Moore, whose home was severely damaged in the flood, expressed her frustration over the entire situation. "What is going on?" she asked. Then referring to whether the county stays in the NFIP, those who have already started rebuilding may have to start over and how if the county opts out of the NFIP those in the floodplain can't get insurance coverage through the NFIP, she said, "One of us is getting screwed."

She questioned, "Why wasn't it even addressed when we started building our homes back that we had to have these regulations set in place? We were told to do what you gotta do — it's all right. We put thousands and thousands of dollars into our home. What's left? We're going to have to undo all of our work?"

She further stated that FEMA didn't help and if it weren't for her mother, she and her family would be living in her car.

"Whoever is in charge dropped the ball," she added. "There are 12 homes on my street alone and we are all in the same situation."

Later in the meeting, she commented from her seat saying that the only thing left to finish her home was to paint and hang the cabinets.

'No clue'

Bybee resident Ed Hardison said his home was destroyed during the flooding. "I have no clue as to what is going on," he said.

He said he plans to build back better than his home was before because his wife wants him to do so.

"I don't like the government telling me what to do. I am going to build back better, but not because the government is telling me to," Hardison said.

More comments

"I'm glad I don't have to make this decision," Lee Bonnifield told CLB. He made references to the 2012 ordinance and its objectives. He didn't indicate whether he supported staying in the NFIP or opting out of it, but he acknowledged it was a decision that shouldn't be taken lightly.

Lori Duckett of CWEET (Clean Water Expected in East Tennessee), a 501©3 organization that works for healthy environments, social, economic and environmental in East Tennessee, said the organization has been working diligently to help with flood relief.

"I recognize this is a really important topic and a difficult decision to make," Duckett said. She further said there were a lot of ramifications and a lot of complexities involved, and the decision made would affect the citizens of Cocke County for years to come.

Further discussion planned

No decision was made at the meeting on Tuesday. Commissioner Rick Vassar asked for a workshop to be set, and Chairman Norman Smith said he didn't want the NFIP discussion to occur during the regular meeting on Monday. Cocke County Mayor Rob Mathis said an informed decision cannot be made until there is an actual count of the number of homes that suffered substantial damage.

In the meantime, the county floodplain administrator Macie Reed is to proceed with matters as the NFIP requires. She was told to go ahead and work on hiring staff to help with damage assessments.

Fund 1206

At the November CLB meeting, Reed asked for approval of a Fund 1206 from FEMA. She explained damage estimates have to be done on every property in the floodplain in order for the county to remain part of the flood insurance program so residents can purchase coverage. She explained that the process involved a team going out and using a FEMA web-placed tool on a tablet to detail the damage.

"This is an urgent matter," Reed said at the November meeting. "We are at a standstill until all the damage estimates are done."

At the November meeting, she further explained that the fund would be used to hire six full-time employees, who would not receive county benefits, to handle the duties associated with the damage assessments. It would also include providing them with tablets to complete the job. The crew would work until the end of March. CLB voted unanimously to approve the fund at the November meeting.

Commissioners speak out

During the meeting on Tuesday, several commissioners asked questions or commented on the NFIP situation. One of those commissioners was Jason McMahan. He said he just had to voice his thoughts on the situation.

Referring to Sarah Moore who said her home was almost finished, he asked, "What are we going to do for her? I feel this county needs to take care of the people like this lady. We failed to notify her and we have to do something (to help)."