5 flood home buyouts could come next year

Published 11:42 am Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Five property owners in the Ford Subdivision and Kings community whose homes were inundated by the spring flood could have their homes bought out by the city next year.

The Vicksburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen Monday authorized Mayor Paul Winfield to sign the application for a Federal Emergency Management Agency hazard mitigation grant totaling an estimated $150,000 to buy and demolish five homes in the Ford and Kings areas. FEMA will fund 75 percent of the project, with the city funding 25 percent.

City grants coordinator Marcia Weaver said the exact amount of the grant will be determined after homes are appraised. She said the grant application will be sent to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency for review, and then sent in January to FEMA for approval.

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Residents in Ford and Kings fled their homes in early May as the Mississippi River rose to record heights, cresting at 57.1 feet at Vicksburg, or 14.1 feet above flood stage and 0.9 foot above the Great Flood of 1927.

The buyout program, which began in September, is a voluntary program involving homes that were in the flood plain, known as the city’s 1 percent area, and consists of two phases.

Phase I involves homes in the 1 percent area determined by city building inspectors to have substantial damage, which is 50 percent or more of a home’s value. Phase II is for homes that did not qualify for first phase, either because they did not have substantial damage, or were not the owner’s primary home.

A total of 18 homeowners in the flood plain signed up for the buyout. Six people signed up for the first phase, which is expected to be funded in March; 12 signed up for Phase II, which begins in January.

Under the buyout, the city will make an offer to the property owner based on the home’s appraised value before the flood. Any assistance the homeowner received after the flood will be deducted from the settlement.

If the homeowner accepts the city’s offer, the house will be demolished and the land becomes public property which cannot be used for another home.

If the homeowner declines the settlement and the house has substantial damage, they must agree to repair and raise the home above the base flood elevation and purchase flood insurance.

If they decide not to follow the flood plain regulations, they must sign an agreement that they understand that they will not qualify for federal aid if they are flooded out again.