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The Downingtown Flood Commission will present potential projects it has developed for the sub-catchment area, including projects submitted by Calne and East Calne townships. (File photo)
DOWNINGTOWN — The Downingtown Resilience Foundation, which represents property owners and residents in Calne, Downingtown and East Calne, has scheduled a community meeting to launch a flood preparedness and avoidance plan. Postcode postcards will soon arrive in the mail to all homes and businesses.
The nonprofit organization has been working since October to develop a plan to help residents affected by floods and other disasters, and will announce a community meeting on April 18, 2024, at 410 Clover Mill Road in Exton. The plan will be presented to residents of the three political zones. The location is the local office of BELFOR Property Restoration, the foundation’s community partner, providing technical assistance and guidance.
The Chester County Flood Study Committee will continue to define flooding issues and develop/update mitigation and flood prevention plans. The Downingtown Flood Commission will present potential projects it has developed for the sub-catchment area, including projects submitted by Calne and East Calne townships.
Fund Chairman Barry Cassidy will then outline the plan, which includes recruiting volunteer case managers and how Floodplain Amendment Notifications (LOMA) will be applied systematically. The fund will also serve as a repository for post-flood donations, which will be distributed as cash grants to disaster victims.
“This is strictly a volunteer organization, and 100% of the public’s donations will be used as cash grants in the event of a disaster,” Cassidy said. “We’re being a little innovative with LOMA and soliciting group applications. Those applications would like to utilize pending Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Relief (CDBG-DR) funding, or ‘design-build funding.’ That’s what I think. We believe we can do this all for zero dollars to property owners while providing flood protection for areas like Mary Avenue. ”
Cassidy also noted that key elements of the plan are to help neighbors by recruiting volunteers to learn about FEMA programs and provide a smoother application process when seeking funding through the Individual Assistance Program. . “I fill out funding applications for a living, and I have never seen anything as complicated as FEMA’s process. We had two minutes to tear up in a meeting and explain our predicament to get through the system. I saw people trying to talk about things that they can’t manage…We’re going to change that.”
The Fund has registered with the federal government as a contractor and launched a new grant application and management portal, the FEMA -GO Downingtown Portal.
Cassidy noted that 100-year floods typically affect low-income people living in floodplain homes due to movement and migration patterns determined by past real estate practices.
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