Months after the county’s application to join the National Flood Insurance Program was rejected, Lincoln County supervisors are once again considering the subject.

     Representatives with the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency approached supervisors during their Monday meeting and discussed the program, which would allow homeowners in flood zones the ability to purchase flood insurance at cheaper rates. However, certain building code and other standards would have to be implemented and followed by the county.

     Supervisors listened to the presentation and asked numerous questions before eventually electing to take the matter under advisement.

     Joining the NFIP would force the county to look into every structure being built to see if it is located in a flood zone. If the potential building is located in a flood plain, then steps will have to be taken to ensure it is built high enough off the ground to keep it safe from a 100-year flood.

     Structures would also have to meet certain building codes. Currently no such codes exist in the county.

     This applies to homes, businesses, barns, sheds or anything else being built. Existing homes would be grandfathered in.

     Getting into the program would also allow the county to get certain federal grants that it cannot get without being in the program.

     Supervisors submitted an application to join the program in 2011, but it was denied. Lincoln and Franklin counties are the only two of Mississippi’s 82 counties not in the NFIP.

     At Monday’s meeting, MEMA’s Stacey Ricks agreed to take another look at the previous application and get back with the board. Board Attorney Bob Allen said he thought that proposal was sufficient.

     District Three Supervisor Nolan Earl Williamson was the most outspoken board member on the matter.

     “Why create more government,” said Williamson, laying out numerous concerns he had about the county getting involved in the program.

     Ricks said the decision to join the program was not a light one.

     “If you do this, you have to be willing to enforce the rules,” he said.

     Brookhaven has been in a member of the program since 1977, so the new guidelines would apply only to the county.

      Federal Emergency Management Agency maps that became effective in 2010 put 53.87 square miles of the county in a flood plain, which makes up about 9.1 percent.

      The 2010 maps also placed areas of Lincoln County in a flood plain that had never been marked as in a flood plain before. The maps identified Bear Creek, Big Creek, West Topisaw Creek and the Bogue Chitto River and its forks as the county’s four main flood plains.

     In other business Monday, there was a bid opening for 40.642 miles of roadwork that included sealing, patching, leveling and striping, according to Lincoln County Engineer Jeff Dungan of Dungan Engineering.

     The winning bidder was T.L. Wallace Construction Co. of Columbia, at $1,808,111.39.

     “It’s a large amount of money, but keeping the roads up is important,” said Dungan.

     Roadwork will be done on all or part of Jackson-Liberty Drive, Mallalieu Drive, Zetus Road, Mormon Trail, New Sight Drive, Nola Road and Heucks Retreat Road, among others.

     The work should start some time in the early part of 2013.