Callan Spellman, director of the Fairbanks North Star Borough Department of Community Planning, told the assembly on June 17 that a FEMA study to revise flood maps for the Tanana River will remove about 2,800 structures from mapped high‑risk flood zones while adding roughly 538 structures.

“This is, of all the projects I've worked on over my career, this is probably the most impactful project for the residents of our community,” Spellman said, introducing the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)–related map revision and a parallel review of borough Title 15 floodplain rules.

The presentation traced local flood history from the 1967 event, described how the Moose Creek Dam and levy system reduces mapped risk for many parcels, and explained FEMA’s use of base flood elevations — regulatory elevations that determine building standards and influence insurance rates. Adam Pruitt, the borough’s floodplain administrator, walked the assembly through an online story map that compares the current digital FEMA maps with the proposed revisions and showed cross sections and proposed base‑flood elevations for specific locations.

Planners said the remapping relied on decades of work and, for the Tanana River study in particular, high‑resolution LiDAR flown under a U.S. Geological Survey grant that produced elevation accuracy in the 10‑centimeter range for much of the populated borough. Spellman and Pruitt said the improved elevation modeling allowed FEMA to redraw channels and reduce broad, overbroad flood zone areas that dated to older contour data.

Pruitt summarized the expected net change in structures: about 2,800 structures removed from the high‑risk (regulatory) flood zone and about 538 added, a net reduction of roughly 2,300 structures. He provided a conservative estimate that those changes could save homeowners and businesses “millions of dollars” in flood‑insurance premiums over the life of a 15‑year mortgage, depending on property‑by‑property circumstances.

The presenters described the next steps and timelines: public open houses have concluded, the borough will enter a 90‑day appeal window for technical appeals (comments that challenge delineations or elevations require scientific documentation), and after FEMA issues a Letter of Final Determination the borough must adopt the new maps within six months or risk NFIP sanctions. Once adopted, the new maps will be hosted on FEMA’s Map Service Center and used by lenders, engineers and insurance carriers for regulatory determinations.

Assembly members asked technical and procedural questions. Dr. Haney asked whether groundwater or high water tables were part of the model; Spellman replied that the current FEMA maps model surface inundation from rivers and do not include groundwater flooding. Assemblymember Wilson asked whether property owners being added to the flood zone would receive a direct notice; Spellman said the borough sent an initial mailing of roughly 8,000 postcards and that staff will continue outreach, but there is no immediate second mailing scheduled "next week." Assemblymember Roterman pressed whether the borough could "do this sooner" to reduce costs for homeowners; planners said the borough cannot accelerate FEMA’s internal review but can be ready to adopt maps promptly once FEMA completes its steps.

The presenters emphasized that property owners who think the proposed delineations are incorrect may file appeals during the formal technical appeal period and that the borough staff will help guide residents through the appeal process. Pruitt noted the borough is available to answer property‑specific questions by phone or email and highlighted the story map and downloadable datasets for property owners and engineers.

The assembly took no final vote on the maps at the June 17 meeting. Spellman said the borough expects to return to the assembly for formal adoption of any final FEMA maps about 12 to 18 months from the presentation date, depending on FEMA’s schedule.

For property owners who want to review changes now, staff directed them to the borough’s story map and said staff will continue property‑level outreach during the FEMA appeals period.