Fairgrounds and FEMA

Two issues are of great consequence to the southern part of Butte County: the future of the Butte County Fairgrounds and the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s new floodplain maps. Here’s an update on both:

South County cities have been talking with the county of Butte about the possibility of placing the Butte County Tourism Center at the fairgrounds in Gridley. The 39-acre venue offers various buildings that could house the center.

Tourism dollars play a large role here in Butte County, and that economic infusion into the cities of Gridley, Biggs and Oroville would be welcome. Giving our visitors a warm welcome and an abundance of information will be a key component in the success of this business. We are surrounded by history, hiking trails, wildlife and world-renowned sites.

Adding the visitors’ center to the fairgrounds would add to the viability of the county fair. We are getting that much closer to having a truly year-round venue. The ideas are limitless and the opportunity immeasurable.

If you have any questions or comments, please call the Butte County District 4 office at (530) 538-2516 or drop us an e-mail message at <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">{ document.write(String.fromCharCode(60,97,32,104,114,101,102,61,34,109,97,105,108,116,111,58,100,105,115,116,52,64,98,117,116,116,101,99,111,117,110,116,121,46,110,101,116,34,62,100,105,115,116,52,64,98,117,116,116,101,99,111,117,110,116,121,46,110,101,116,60,47,97,62)) } </script> and we will add you to our mailing list.

FEMA has introduced its revised national flood-insurance maps. The new digital system will allow faster access and editing abilities than on the paper maps. A 60-day previewing process will provide time to verify accuracy of the system. Sometimes going from paper to digital, street names and lines shift and don’t remain correct; therefore the reviewing process is necessary.

The purpose of the flood-insurance rate maps is to show the areas in a community that are subject to flooding and the risk associated with flood hazards. One of the areas shown on the maps is a special flood-hazard area (SFHA). The SFHA is the area that has a 1 percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year; this area is also referred to as the base floodplain, or 100-year floodplain.

To review the maps, please visit www.map9-m.com. I have invited experts from the Sutter-Butte Flood Control Agency to discuss new plans that could restore levees and provide better protection for lives and property in the region. Local property owners will vote early next year on whether to pay for this plan for more flood protection.

Join us at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 23, at the Manzanita School Gym in Gridley to find out more.