FEMA must listen to Minot

Instead of announcing where a new Erik Ramstad Middle School will be built and discussing other changes within the Minot Public School District, Superintendent Mark Vollmer is spending his time building a case why Ramstad shouldn’t be rebuilt in its flooded location to present to Federal Emergency Management Agency officials next week.

Time is being wasted, and it’s FEMA’s fault.

Following this year’s Souris River flooding which inundated Ramstad and other district properties, FEMA has suggested that Ramstad be rebuilt in its old location to receive the full 90 percent reimbursement. The school, FEMA said, is not in the 100-year flood plain. If a new school is built on land elsewhere in Minot, as is the current plan, FEMA has indicated that it would become “an improved project” according to FEMA guidelines, making it ineligible for the 90 percent reimbursement.

The difference in reimbursement, Vollmer said, could cost the school district an extra $2.4 million.

Vollmer said this week he will appeal to FEMA’s common sense. We certainly hope he finds eager listeners, because this is a decision best made locally.

Ramstad has been flooded twice in 42 years, and even though the location would be protected under the current version of the city’s proposed flood protection plan, the district has already made the decision to build a new Ramstad elsewhere in Minot. A new Ramstad needs to be built now, and the process of designing, funding and building a flood protection system will take years to complete.

We urge FEMA to listen seriously to Vollmer’s message, and allow the district to build a new Ramstad somewhere in the city out of the flood zone. Minot needs to move forward as quickly as possible on replacing damaged schools.

Tags: opinion, editorials, flood, fema