Council still working with flood map concerns

SIKESTON -- For those with concerns about new requirements to purchase flood insurance: city officials are still working on it.

Several citizens attended the regular City Council meeting Tuesday to voice concerns about the Federal Emergency Management Agency's new floodplain maps.

"According to FEMA, I'm now in a flood zone," said Bart Grant.

Grant asked Council members about the status of the city's efforts to address flood map concerns and about the city's plans for the future.

Mike Bohannon, mayor pro tem, said the city has contracted Amec, the engineering firm used by by FEMA for the flood map modernization project, to look over additional data which could possibly change flood zones in the city.

"Rest assured: we're going to do everything we possibly can to correct this situation," Bohannon said.

City Manager Doug Friend said the city has provided Amec with "significant amounts of data they didn't know existed" about drainage features in the city.

"It was very eye-opening for the technicians," he said.

Friend said they hope to hear something from the firm around Nov. 1.

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