Deadline for Lacey FEMA Hazard Mitigation Program Extended

The deadline for Lacey resdients to participate in FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Program has been extended from Feb. 5 to Friday, March 15.

Lacey Township will participate in FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Program to benefit residents interested in elevating their homes after Hurricane Sandy, according to a news release on the township’s website.

Township representatives attended a briefing session conducted by FEMA concerning the assistance program on Jan. 7. The township will be submitting a letter of intent to Ocean County by Friday, March 22, as required by FEMA, advising the county, state Office of Emergency Management and FEMA, of the township’s intention to participate in the program.

If homeowners wish to participate in the program, they are advised to complete the form on the township web page and include all the required information by March 15.

"The way it works is that the money for residents to elevate their homes would come to the township," Township Administrator and Municipal Clerk Veronica Laureigh said.

The average cost to raise a home to FEMA's base flood elevation is approximately $30,000, Laureigh said.

"There is no guarantee that we will get any money but I wanted to get a close to accurate accounting of what I believe we need to request," she said.

Once the form is completed by residents and accepted, it will be automatically sent to the appropriate program managers and homeowners will receive a confirmation email with contact information in it. Prior to completing the form, homeowners need to be aware of the following, officials say:

• This is a “competitive” program and funds for the entire program will be limited to a statewide maximum amount, which has not yet been determined.
• No criteria have been established thus far to determine funding priorities either.
• There is no individual maximum amount you can apply for; however, the reality is that funding will be limited for the program, and it is likely that a large percentage of residents will not be able to receive funding once the money runs out statewide. 

For homeowners considering raising their homes, FEMA has advised that, in order to qualify, you would have to raise your home to the base flood elevation (BFE) shown in the FEMA “Advisory” Base Flood Elevation maps issued in December.

Under the current FEMA guidelines, funds are not available for demolition/rebuilding of homes. 

Property owners are not eligible for reimbursement for work already performed. Approval must be granted in advance of any construction.

Grants are limited to 75 percent and homeowners will be responsible for a 25 percent match. Homeowners are eligible to apply for funding even if they’ve received assistance under the FEMA National Flood Insurance Program and funds received under the ICC program can be used as part of the required match. 

Assistance under this program is not limited to primary residences. 

“FEMA has not set a definitive timeframe for the program,” Laureigh said in the release. “Based on what we have been told, it is likely that it will be six months before funds are available. The Township will update the schedule as it becomes known to us.”

For more information, please see www.laceytownship.org in the Hurricane Sandy Information Section on the upper left hand side of the page and click on ‘Hazard Mitigation Program.”