CORRECTED: Austell Official Now Certified Floodplain Manager

Duane Demeritt, operations manager for Austell’s Public Works Department, was honored at Monday’s city council meeting. There, he was formally recognized as a Certified Floodplain Manager and was presented with a certificate and a pin.

"That designation allows citizens to have faith in knowing that there's a certified floodplain manager who knows what they're doing and can help in assisting with any issues they may have," Demeritt told South Cobb Patch after the meeting.

Collis Brown, project manager for the Georgia Environmental Protection Division’s floodplain management, presented Demeritt with the certificate at the meeting.

Demeritt has been employed with the city for 14 years, assisting with the overseeing of the daily operations of the Public Works Department.

He also manages the city’s Stormwater Management Division.

He was a first responder during the city’s September 2009 flood and worked closely with the community in the clean-up after the flood. He also performed Public Damage Assessments for more than 700 properties after the flood.

Demeritt also worked closely with the project manager consultant during the city’s acquisition of flood-damaged homes, as part of FEMA’s Hazardous Mitigation Program.

Demeritt is working towards his certification as a stormwater manager (Association of Public Works Association.) In March, he was elected as the Metro Atlanta Region Representative for the Georgia Association of Floodplain Management.

He said his goals as representative are to focus on watersheds, create a central stromwater management taskforce with multi-county participation and to educate the region about floodplain management.

Correction: This article originally stated that at Monday's Austell City Council meeting, Demeritt had been presented a certificate for being elected as Metro Atlanta Region Representative for the Georgia Association of Floodplain Management. However, Demeritt was presented the certificate for being a Certified Floodplain Manager. He was elected as Metro Atlanta Region Representative for the Georgia Association of Floodplain Management in March. The article reflects these changes.