Official: See map before repair

Reduced-rate loans and online applications are aimed at speeding the recovery.
& lt;a href=mailto:bjackson@vindy.com & gt;By BOB JACKSON & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mahoning County residents whose homes or businesses have been damaged by recent flooding should check the local flood plain map before moving ahead with repairs.
William Leskanic of the county planning commission said some communities have adopted a flood damage reduction code for substantially damaged or substantially improved structures within flood-hazard areas known as 100-year flood plains.
A 100-year flood has a 1 percent chance of happening in any given year, Leskanic said.
The local codes, which reflect minimum federal criteria for preventing flood damage, require that development permits be obtained before any building activity occurs in the special flood area.
Leskanic said a substantially damaged structure is one whose damage equals or exceeds 50 percent of its predamaged market value.
Substantially improved structures include those with repairs, alterations or additions that are equal to or greater than 50 percent of the market value before the changes.
Leskanic said residents who want to know whether their home is in a flood plain can check the community flood rate insurance map at the planning commission office on Westchester Drive in Austintown.
There is also a map available for review at the public library at Wick and Rayen avenues.
Those whose homes are in the flood plain can contact Leskanic at the planning commission for a permit or further information on the flood plain building standards.
Aid available
The Ohio Treasurer's Office announced this week that it is making $10 million available for the state's Flood Link Program. The program provides low interest loans to residents whose homes, businesses, farms or personal property was damaged by the flooding.
Treasurer Joseph T. Deters said individual participants can receive a loan of up to $100,000 from their local state depository bank. Once a loan is secured, participants can apply to the treasurer's office for an interest-rate reduction of 3 percent.
More information is available by calling Deters' office, (800) 228-1102.
Mahoning County Auditor George Tablack said county residents who want to apply to his office for a reduction in the taxable value of their storm-damaged property soon will be able to get an application online.
Tablack said application forms will be available on his office's Web site by the end of this week. Rather than having to go to the courthouse for a form, residents can download and print them out from their home computer.
Tablack said the forms then must be filled out and notarized before being submitted to his office. They also can be turned in at the Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster relief center at the county's South Side Annex, where the auditor's office has a staff member.
He said application can be made until Dec. 31, which will be helpful in cases where structural damage from the storms isn't immediately detected by the homeowners.
& lt;a href=mailto:bjackson@vindy.com & gt;bjackson@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;