F.E.M.A. FAILS TO LISTEN TO MIDDLETOWN RESIDENTS

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Publication

July 18, 2008

F.E.M.A. FAILS TO LISTEN

TO MIDDLETOWN RESIDENTS

Middletown Township (Monmouth County, NJ): “F.E.M.A. has failed Middletown residents categorically,” Middletown Democrat for Township Committee Jim Grenafege said.

F.E.M.A. offered an informational session to the public on July 16 at Croydon Hall. In a conversation with a F.E.M.A. representative, Grenafege discovered there would not be a question-and-answer portion, similar to the kind held during an identical event in Keansburg. “I was told it wasn’t necessary,” Grenafege said. “So I said that, very often in a public forum, questions are asked that can be very helpful to the entire group. So it sounds to me like the people in Middletown are not as important to F.E.M.A. as residents in neighboring towns.”

“I was disappointed at the event, because the public did not have the opportunity to speak,” Middletown Democrat for Township Committee Patricia A. Walsh said. “I think F.E.M.A. needs to reconsider this format as it moves forward. I have often found that new ideas and creative solutions can come out of constructive dialogue.”

“As a member of the committee, I would strongly consider exploring legal options in connection with the F.E.M.A. flood map issue,” Walsh said.

“I agree that all options must be left open where it involves the Middletown governing body’s actions,” Grenafege said.

“The homeowner is paying additional money for the bank’s insurance where it involves heightened flood rates. For every three years when there is no flood, a homeowner should receive a percentage rebate on their insurance,” Walsh said.

“It’s like car insurance, if someone doesn’t have an accident for three years the insurer lowers premiums,” Grenafege said.

Grenafege said that options like exploring insurance cooperatives should be looked at within the municipality, and all the towns involved with the F.E.M.A. flood maps. “Part of what we are trying to do here is engage the community in a conversation about this issue in town,” Grenafege said. “To me, this action by the Federal Government in our area looks capricious and arbitrary. Yet, this action directly impacts home values and the quality of life from residents, insofar as this action will take more money out of the pockets for about 3,000 Middletown residents.”

In addition to local efforts, Walsh and Grenafege said they intend to lobby Rep. Frank Pallone for the creation of a Federal tax credit program for impacted Bayshore residents. “It is time to work with elected officials from every level of government, regardless of party or politics, to receive real-world benefits for our residents,” Walsh concluded.

Grenafege said that F.E.M.A. is a Federal agency that has been staffed entirely by the Bush Administration in Washington, DC. “This expensive error that F.E.M.A. is planning in the Bayshore with re-issuance of the new flood maps represents a new and local failure of the Bush Administration and the Republican Party in this country,” Grenafege concluded.

###