Riley County to maintain its Class 9 certification

Mar. 17—Riley County renewed its National Flood Insurance program certification Monday. Riley County is classified as a Class 9 community and must fill out the forms to maintain this classification by April 1.

"That is due to several activities that we perform," said Amanda Webb, the county planning and development director. "In order to maintain our Class 9 certification, which does save residents of unincorporated Riley County 5 percent on their flood insurance premiums. We just have to recertify every year."

The activities that qualify Riley County for Class 9 classification are involvement in community outreach, mapping and regulations, as well as warnings and response.

As part of the recertification process, the county must include the number of structures it has within the floodplain, especially if there are any new ones built since the previous year.

The county commissioners unanimously approved to have the board chairman sign the recertification letter.

In other business, replacing the windows on the Courthouse Plaza east building will cost more than expected. Riley County officials approved the new bid, for $750,000. The project was originally approved on February 27 at the project estimate of $500,000 and a base bid of $690,000 from BHS Construction.