Mayor Thomas M. McDermott, Jr. and the City of Hammond are thrilled to announce that our appeal to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been granted for additional flood relief in the Robertsdale section of Hammond. While a public comment period remains, residents in the Robertsdale area should expect to see flood insurance relief on or about May 4, 2018. This means that the remaining 138 primary structures and 89 secondary structures in Robertsdale have been removed from the Special Flood Hazard Area. Primary structures are considered homes, where secondary structures are detached garages and outbuildings. Removal is a direct result of hydrologic modeling and a convincing report by Hammond’s consultant, Christopher B. Burke Engineering, LLC, led by its Principal Engineer, Siavash Beik.
“Once again, I cannot tell you how excited I am to announce more flood relief for our residents,” said Mayor McDermott. “This has not come easy and has taken a long time to achieve this goal.”
The announcement comes just days before the retirement of Mr. Don Novak, Hammond’s Flood Plain and Zoning Administrator. “I’m happy to finally have my remaining neighbors out of the flood plain at the end of my career,” said Mr. Novak.
In January 2012, Hammond initially received flood insurance relief to 946 primary and 743 secondary structures in Robertsdale as a result of a revised lake level elevation for Lake Michigan at Calumet Harbor, but that modification did not provide relief to many of the structures remaining in Robertsdale area west of Calumet Avenue.
In all, Hammond has removed 4871 primary structures and 4310 secondary structures during Mayor McDermott’s tenure resulting in an estimated $6 Million per year in savings to Hammond residents.
