From left, Sea Isle Floodplain Manager Neil Byrne and Sea Isle Mayor Leonard Desiderio accept the award from FEMA representative Scott Duell.
During the New Jersey Association of Floodplain Management’s 14th Annual Conference and Exhibition on October 24, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) presented an award to Sea Isle City for reaching “Class 3” status in FEMA’s Community Rating System.
Compliant policyholders in Class 3 communities receive a 35 percent discount on flood insurance premiums. Sea Isle City is the only community in New Jersey to reach Class 3 status – and one of only a handful in the nation with that honor.
The award, an engraved plaque, was presented to Sea Isle by FEMA Emergency Management Specialist Scott Duell on behalf of FEMA Federal Insurance and Mitigation Deputy Associate Administrator Roy E. Wright.
The plaque stated that Sea Isle “has undertaken a series of meaningful activities to protect its citizens from losses caused by flooding and has significantly exceeded the requirements for National Flood Insurance Program participation and effective floodplain management.”
The plaque also was embossed with the National Flood Insurance Program/Community Rating Service’s “Class 3” seal.
Sea Isle Mayor Leonard Desiderio was on hand to receive the award, as was Sea Isle Floodplain Manager Neil Byrne, who hosted an educational session during the three-day conference at Bally’s Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, which had over 400 floodplain officials from across the state in attendance.
“I was more than happy to accept the award on behalf of our entire community,” Desiderio said. “I am very grateful to all of our local property owners for working with our Administration during the past 25 years as we strived to improve Sea Isle’s flood standards and became one of our nation’s most respected flood resilient communities in FEMA’s eyes. Clearly, this is something we can all be proud of, and it is quite the feather in our cap."
To learn more about flood protection efforts, go to www.seaislecitynj.us and click the “FEMA Flood Info” link on the home page or phone 609-263-1166.
