CRISFIELD, MD - The city of Crisfield launched an online signature campaign to petition for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to reinstate the $36 million previously awarded to the Southern Crisfield Mitigation Project.
Mayor Darlene Taylor said there was an influx of interested investors after FEMA announced in July 2024 that Crisfield would benefit from the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program.
"People were really, really interested in our community and coming here," Taylor said. "Now that that's been taken away from us, it's really difficult."
In addition to their digital signature, the petition prompts community members to detail why they support the project.
"We came here four years ago from Arizona with all the prospects of having a business, and three months after we were here, we had a terrible flood," Bill Meyer said of what he shared when adding his name to the petition. "That just devastates the town and the fact that we are losing this funding it's really going to be detrimental to the city."
The project plan was designed with assistance from FEMA engineers through a nonfinancial grant program aimed at helping smaller communities like Crisfield write competitive grants and navigate the application process.
The initial phase would raise roads below Chesapeake Avenue. Before the cancellation was announced in April, the city also applied to fund a project that would address areas north of Chesapeake Avenue, aiming to create a continuous tidal barrier five feet above sea level.
"This isn't about wasteful spending, this is really about prevention," Mayor Taylor said. "There was a robust benefit analysis that was done for this, a cost-benefit analysis, and it was shown that this will definitely save us money in the long run, and that's why we think this is so important for us to continue."
Danny Nelson owns the Water's Edge Cafe near the Crisfield city dock. He said that while many community members know how to navigate the city when it floods. But for business owners like him, customers become hard to come by.
"I will sign it but I'm not sure the effectiveness of even what they're going to do, it's kind of hard to stop the tide in Crisfield," Nelson said. "We have a bright future and I think it's imperative for that future that we do curb some of the flooding."
Meyer said he, too, wants to see more businesses come to Crisfield and thinks a flood mitigation plan will be a deciding factor in whether or not the city can grow.
"We've got to get on social media and make people aware that this is critical," Meyer said. "We have to come together as one voice and make them realize that this is something that has to happen."
City officials tell WBOC that they are continuing to explore other avenues of funding while the petition is live.