NEW VINEYARD – Selectmen will hold a public hearing on the implementation of a proposed flood plain management ordinance on Monday, Aug. 6.

Adoption of the ordinance is necessary for the town to be eligible for federal flood insurance and Federal Emergency Management Agency funds for water and flood damage in the community, Selectman Frank Forster said Tuesday.

The hearing is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. at Smith Hall on Route 27. A special town meeting on the ordinance will be held at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 20, at Smith Hall.

“We are the only town in Franklin County not in the flood insurance program,” he said.

The town decided not to join the National Flood Insurance Program in 1990, he added.

Flood plain management is the operation of a community program of corrective and preventative measures for reducing flood damage, according to FEMA’s Web site.

Measures take various forms and generally include requirements for zoning, subdivision or building, and special-purpose flood plain ordinances, it states.

A community’s agreement to adopt and enforce flood plain management ordinances, particularly with respect to new construction, is an important element in making flood insurance available to home and businesses owners, the site explains.

If residents adopt the measure, Forster said, the town, businesses and residences would be eligible for flood insurance.

The ordinance designates a flood plain using the county flood plain map, he said. It requires the implementation of zoning and construction ordinances in a flood plain area, he added.

The flood plain area would be basically along Lemon Street, near Route 27.

Selectmen Chairwoman Fay Adams said if voters decide to adopt the ordinance, there would be virtually no cost to the town because there is already a flood plain map done, which might need some updating.

There is no charge to the town to join the National Flood Insurance Program, said Lou Sidell, Maine flood plain management coordinator.

Once a town joins the program, it is eligible to apply for FEMA grants.

Ninety-three percent of Maine’s communities have joined the program, Sidell said.

Forster said if the town doesn’t adopt the ordinance and join the program, the town won’t be eligible for future FEMA funds for damages done by rains to the roads, such as during the Patriot’s Day storm this year that damaged several roads in town.

“They told us this is it,” Forster said. “If we don’t get in this, we’re out of luck.”