CAPE GIRARDEAU WILL SEEK FLOOD BUYOUT FUNDS AFTER ALL

The city of Cape Girardeau will seek federal and state aid to buy flood-prone homes, the City Council said Monday night.

But the City Council still must decide if it can afford its share of such a program before it makes a final decision, Mayor Al Spradling III said.

City officials don't know how much the city will have to spend, although estimates place the cost at $160,000 or more.

They said the city would have to use reserve funds or cut other parts of the city budget to pay for the buyout.

Ken Eftink, development services coordinator, said there are 80 homes that are in flood-prone areas. Forty-two of them are in the Red Star neighborhood, 22 in Smelterville, 14 in the Meadowbrook area and two along Highway 177.

Thirty property owners are interested in the buyout, including several in the Meadowbrook area, Eftink said.

City officials previously doubted the city could afford a buyout.

But that view changed when Gov. Mel Carnahan announced that the state will help some towns pay for local buyout costs.

The federal government typically pays 75 percent of the cost, with the local share covering the rest.

Eftink said it would cost more than $666,000 to buy 40 structures and tear them down. Of that total, the Federal Emergency Management Agency could pick up $345,000 of the cost.

The state and city could end up paying about $160,000 each.

The council told the city staff to draw up a buyout plan, which the council will review at its first meeting in August.

Spradling said the council plans to apply for state money by the Aug. 25 deadline.

The council hasn't decided whether to include all four flood-prone areas in the buyout plan. Councilman Richard Eggimann said all flood victims should get equal treatment.

City Manager J. Ronald Fischer said flood-prone land in the Red Star area could be used for a park and boat dock.

Under the buyout program, the city would have to maintain the land. That could leave the city with small, scattered lots to mow.

But Meadowbrook residents on the city's south side said it would cost the city less to buy their land than to install water and sewer lines in the area.

"The flood is not a new thing. The problem is not going away," said Harvey Henry, who owns property on Meadowbrook.

The area has flooded since it was brought into the city limits 37 years ago, he said.

Eggimann said the city should have extended city water and sewer to the neighborhood years ago.