U.F. pressed to finish plan to ensure FEMA funding Public input needed for hazard mitigation BY JANE MEGGITT Staff Writer UPPER FREEHOLD - The township's Office of Emergency Management (OEM) has asked the governing body for help with the Monmouth County Multi- Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Planning Project. The OEM approached the Township Committee at its March 27 meeting. Upper Freehold Township decided to participate in the planning project through a match-in-kind grant in October 2006, according to Bill Wentzien, the township's OEM coordinator. Wentzien said that since that date, no members of the governing body have accompanied him to related meetings with the county to learn what is involved. Wentzien said that the township's OEM cannot proceed any further in fulfilling the municipality's obligation without input from the committee and the township engineer. If the work is not completed, the township will not be able to get any money for disasters from the Federal EmergencyManagementAgency (FEMA), he said. The committee must provide a mitigation questionnaire for public involvement, he said. TownshipAdministrator Barbara Bascom said the questionnaire would go out in July with the tax bills. Wentzien said the committee must also fulfill the previously submitted OEM wish list, develop a mitigation plan, identify maintenance procedures for the plan, integrate the plan and prioritize actions by April 30. "We are two months behind," he said. "I can't do it alone anymore." Wentzien said the township only pays him to work for two hours per week, although he puts in many more hours. During the meeting, Mayor Steve Alexander said the township would identify an OEMrepresentative from the committee by the next day. Committeewoman Lori Horsnall Mount was later chosen to serve as the committee's OEM liaison. Wentzien said his office is trying to get the public involved. "We know the conditions but different homeowners may be aware of problems that we should know of," he said. Wentzien also said the state needs a registry of all special needs residents. According to Wentzien, flood areas in the township have already been identified but the engineer must look at the areas and come up with an emergency plan. Wentzien said that when flooding occurs, roads erode and must be blocked and have their banks stabilized. "We need a mitigation plan to mitigate disasters on roads," he said. He noted that serious flooding conditions occur at the school on Route 539 due to improperly sized piping connected to the retention basin.Mitigation would be a joint venture with Monmouth County because the pipe under Route 539 is in the county's jurisdiction, he said. "It's right at the exit route to the school," he said. "It's a mess." Barbara Isaac, founder of the Handicapped High Riders Club at Riding High Farm on Route 526, noted that her facility flooded a number of years ago. "If not for FEMA, who contributed $1,800, we could not have continued our operation," she said.