BUYOUTS APPEAR TO BE ACCOMPLISHING PURPOSE

Floodwaters rise and fall every year in Southeast Missouri, but fewer people are being affected because of property buyout programs in Commerce and Cape Girardeau, officials say.

"As the water has crept up, the wisdom of the buyout has been amplified," said Buck Katt, assistant director of the State Emergency Management Agency.

The program began in 1994 in Missouri.

Buyouts have been offered to property owners in flood-prone regions like the Red Star and Smelterville areas of Cape Girardeau and the 206-year-old village of Commerce in Scott County.

Commerce will close its buyout program at the end of the week. All property owners interested in a buyout have until 5 p.m. Friday to express an interest.

Joyce and Tommy Cox rejected a buyout offer from SEMA but have no regrets.

"They didn't change their offer and we couldn't take that little amount," Joyce said, explaining that their home will be paid for by June 1997.

Sixteen Commerce residents rejected offers and 19 weren't interested in the program. About 42 property owners accepted a buyout there.

Commerce residents earlier said the buyout program wasn't fair because it didn't allow for accurate property appraisals. But Katt said appraisals and offers are based on pre-flood fair market value.

The Cox family has flood insurance and hopes it will cover all damages. "God takes care of you," Joyce Cox said.

If residents do not accept a buyout and are flooded again, the only reimbursements they receive will come through insurance.

The buyout is a voluntary program and will not be offered again unless the president declares another disaster, which is unlikely anytime soon. The Mississippi River is expected to crest Friday at 37.5 feet on the Cape Girardeau gauge.

Without severe, widespread damage there won't likely be a disaster declaration, Katt said.

Once a buyout offer is made, residents have two weeks to accept or decline it. All offers to Commerce residents must be accepted or rejected by May 30.

"There will be some exceptions for legal entanglements," Katt said, but the goal is to close the project by month's end.

The buyout began in Commerce in November with congressional approval for $2,437,237 to fund the project. Most of the money came from federal funds; the remaining $680,530 was a state match. Cape Girardeau received $742,000.

However, those figures were only estimates, Katt said. The actual amount of federal funding, as of Wednesday, was $1,102,801 in Commerce. The state's share of the program is $367,600.

"The applications are based on an estimate," Katt said. "We only write checks based on the actual transactions."

If the residents don't agree to a buyout, the money can't be distributed to another disaster; however, it can be shifted to other projects like the one in Cape Girardeau, Katt said.

Cape Girardeau's buyout program is about half complete. Thirty-three formal offers have been made so far, said Ken Eftink, development services coordinator for the city. About 50 properties were eligible for the program.

Sixteen property owners accepted the buyout offers; 11 deals have been finalized and only one declined.

The city ranked the 50 flood-prone properties based on the lowest elevations in the 100-year floodplain. Property with the lowest elevations received the first offers.

"We will continue until we get done," Eftink said. "We are still pursuing some properties."

There is no final deadline for the Cape Girardeau buyout program because some information hasn't been returned from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Eftink said.

For more information about the Commerce buyout, call 1-800-569-0999. For details about the Cape Girardeau buyout, call 1-800-444-4984.

FLOOD BUYOUT UPDATE

Commerce

Friday is the last day for people to express an interest in a buyout offer. Offers in the works will continue according to the pre-arranged schedule.

Total funds available: $1.4 million

Federal: $1.1 million

State: $367,000

Eligible properties: 79

Completed sales: 15

Awaiting formal closing: 16

Declined offer: 16

Considering offer: 11

Cape Girardeau

The buyout process is about halfway complete

Total funds available: $1.2 million

Federal and state: $742,000

State block grant: $458,000

Eligible properties: 50

Formal offers 33

of those

Completed sales: 11

Accepted offer: 16

Declined offer: 1

Considering offer: 11