There will be a Town Hall Meeting for Owego homeowners that want to participate in a Village-sponsored Hazard Mitigation Grant Project (HMGP) to elevate your structure to mitigate for and reduce potential future flood losses. The meeting will be held on Jan. 26, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Hubbard Auditorium located at 56 Main St. in Owego.

The Village is pursuing a 75/25 cost share grant for structural elevation on behalf of Village residents. The maximum FEMA share for HMGP projects is 75 percent to elevate each qualifying structure. Homeowners are responsible for paying the other 25 percent. However, this cost may be offset by:

- Increased Cost of Compliance (ICC) for homeowners that had an NFIP flood insurance policy in place prior to the recent flooding. ICC provides up to $30,000 to elevate, relocate or remove a flood-damaged structure.

- SBA Loans at low-interest rates

- In-Kind Services: In some cases, the requesting entity (Village) may contribute cash or other tangible assets to fulfill the non-federal match such as hourly value of time associated with labor provided on behalf of the project. This may include salaries of staff directly working on grant related matters, volunteer hours, or other unreimbursed expenses accrued by project participants. This amount may be divided among homeowners participating in the project. At this time, the amount is undetermined.

Sign-up forms for the structural elevation project are available at the Village of Owego Clerk’s Office located at 178 Main St. in Owego. For more information call the Village Clerk at 687-3555 or Deputy Mayor Kevin Millar at 687-3263. These forms will be accepted at the meeting and up until February 1, 2012. No forms will be accepted after this date.