Text Box: RESIDENTS OBJECT (FROM PAGE 1) cheaper rates for those who wanted flood insurance. If the town declined to join the program, the annual cost for flood insurance for its residents would be approximately $2,000, but it would be cheaper if the town joined . The downside to joining the program was also dealt with at the August council meeting by resident (and Realtor) Eleanor Balaban. She had questioned whether the town's participation in the federal program would make it more difficult for residents to secure mortgages. Mayor Beers had said then that it was not likely because not a single house in Glen Echo lies on the flood plain. At the September meeting, Ms. Balaban supported the Council's decision to join the federal program. Ms. Carpenter said she was not reassured that the council's investigation had been thorough. She questioned Councilman Dan Macy’s statements that it was possible to purchase flood insurance without the town's participation in the federal program. Mr. Macy told her he had gotten his information from his own insurance carrier, Fireman's Fund. But some other insurance companies do offer the policies, at the higher price, Ms. Carpenter insisted. A heated argument arose between Ms. Carpenter and Mr. Macy about whether residents of non-participating towns really can buy flood insurance, and whether mortgages would be more expensive to obtain for property owners who decline to buy the insurance when the town has participated in the federal program. Councilman Macy said that virtually all other towns in Montgomery County participate in the program, along with Montgomery County itself (for unincorporated communities). He said mortgage lenders looked at whether the specific property itself was in a flood plain, not whether the property was in a town participating in the federal program. "It's down to the property level, it's not based on ZIPs," he said. But Ms. Carpenter said that some lenders "don't do it fine-grained," that “joining the program might raise residents’ exposure, which could affect town property values.” Ms Fordham agreed. Being in a town listed as in a flood plain "could affect lending underwriting", she said. "It could affect the amount of your mortgage interest." But Mr. Macy, who said he has worked for a mortgage lender, interjected several times that "that's absolutely false!" Ms. Fordham continued that interest rates "can be affected by so many things, including property title." In commercial real estate, she said, if there is "any hint that there could be some problem with the land underneath the property, property values would definitely be less." She said she feared that people looking into buying Glen Echo property might assume that the entire town was in a flood plain, although only a very small part is. No change in the August resolution on joining the federal flood program was adopted at the September meeting. However, Councilman Macy said the Council should address Text Box: GLEN ECHO ONE OF LAST TOWNS Joining NAT’l FLOOD PROGRAM If Glen Echo had not joined the National Flood Program is would have been practically a lone exception in Maryland. A Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) listing of all the towns and counties in Maryland participating in the National Flood Program found 122 jurisdictions in the program (not including Glen Echo) and only two which were not at the time of the listing. Maryland’s Flood Hazard Mitigation Program makes flood insurance available to property owners in participating communities. In return, local governments must adopt ordinances to manage development within 100-year floodplains to prevent increased flooding and minimize future flood damage. Floodway and Flood Insurance Rate Maps published by FEMA are used to delineate the 100-year floodplain and identify regulated land. Local watershed plans should address the location of 100-year floodplains or floodway zones, and the impacts of storm water management on 100-year floodplain elevation levels The National Flood Insurance Program administrator in Maryland, John Joyce, told Mayor Beers that among the Maryland jurisdictions that have joined the program there has been no discernable impact on property values that he was aware of, even though most people in jurisdictions that have joined the program do not buy flood insurance. Text Box: the issue of notifying and providing information to residents in a more timely manner. Publishing the meeting agenda on the website on the Thursday before the Monday meeting, with "full acknowledgement that it's subject to change," would be appropriate, he said. Another suggestion -- publishing the meeting minutes shortly after each meeting -- was not feasible because the minutes are not official until approved at the next meeting, he said. Ed. Note: Councilman Macy subsequently learned from Mr. Joyce that the town needs to participate in the NFIP to make flood insurance available to anyone who wants it in the town. In the past, people have been able to get flood insurance in towns through Montgomery County's participation, but FEMA is now requiring the each town join individually.