County authorities have met with 70 property owners so far about using grant money to relocate them outside floodplain areas.

Tuesday, January 11, 2000

County authorities have met with 70 property owners so far about using grant money to relocate them outside floodplain areas.

Seven "flood mitigation" projects were submitted to state and federal authorities in 1998 – to offer residents of River Acres, Plantation Estates and other subdivisions in eastern Lawrence County the chance to sell their homes to the government and move.

There are 109 properties on the grant list that qualify for the buyout program, said Doug Cade of the Lawrence County Floodplain Management Program.

"The whole purpose is to stop the repetitive loss from flooding and give people an opportunity to not be flooded again," Cade said.

"It is a voluntary program, no one is forced to do it, although if an individual chooses not to participate, they could be responsible for paying to bring their structure up to code," he said.

The county became eligible for the mitigation grant money – now totaling $6.5 million – shortly after the March 1997 flood. The county held informational meetings throughout 1998. The grant was awarded in January 1999.

There were some delays due to issues with the federal Uniform Relocation Act and regulators’ interpretation of the grant agreement, Cade said.

"We did not have an implementation meeting until May or June," he said.

For the last year, the county has been setting up the grant program and contacting property owners, Cade said.

Now, an appraiser has been assigned to 30 properties. Those appraisals should be finished by the end of the month, then offers can be made, he said.

The program will take some time to complete, because the $6.5 million grant is not like grants that are just money in the bank, Cade said.

Homeowners must meet requirements and each home is an individual case, he said.

"We have to do a pre-flood appraisal, meet with the owner, they have to accept, and then the state has to review all those documents," he added. "It’s an in-depth program."

Of the 109 structures qualified, owners of nine have chosen not to participate.

The county expects to complete the grant projects by February 2001, Cade said.

Federal law requires the projects be completed within four years of the disaster declaration, which is March 2001.

Once buyouts are complete, the property can become greenspace or park areas, although county commissioners have said the state might also allow the property to be used for Little League ballfields.