CITY TO MAKE ALL BUYOUT OFFERS BY JAN. 1; SOME WANT TO MOVE, SOME STAY IN FLOODPLAIN

Jimmie Fischer says he loves the house he has called home for 57 years, but the sooner he can leave it the better.

"It'll be hard to move," Fischer said. "I love it here, but I don't want to find a place to stay every year when the water gets high."

Fischer, 60, lives on North Main Street, about a half-block south of Red Star Baptist Church. Each summer he and his neighbors worry when faced with the possibility that floodwaters of the Mighty Mississippi River might invade their homes.

It happens almost every spring, he said, citing the 1993 and 1995 floods as especially bad ones. Despite their good luck this year, most of the homeowners would rather live without the worry.

Those who do want to sell their homes -- and it isn't everyone -- are awaiting a buyout offer from the city, which has been given $1.9 million in federal and state money to do just that.

"We'd like to just get as far away from this river as we can," said Mike Maglone, who lives a door down from Fischer. His family has had to move three times from flood-prone areas in Cape Girardeau.

"We hope to get enough to get us a house in the country," Maglone said.

The Maglones and Fischer have been holding yard sales to get rid of some of the unnecessary items they don't want to take with them when they move.

"We're just waiting for the offers," Fischer said. He said he already has picked out a new home on higher ground that he hopes to buy with the money.

Ken Eftink, the city's development-services coordinator, said he hopes to have all the offers made by the first of the year.

"We want to move as many people that want to move out of the flood-hazard area as possible," Eftink said.

Buyout offers are being made to about 100 property owners in Red Star and the South Sprigg and Meadowbrook areas.

Originally, there were only enough funds from federal and state emergency management agencies to make offers to all but those in the Meadowbrook area. But as more homeowners there expressed interests in selling, requests to FEMA and SEMA for more funds were granted.

Offers are being made in order of priority, Eftink said. The first house most likely to get flooded was made an offer first.

City officials must appraise the remaining homes before making any offers. They will offer to pay the homeowners the appraised value minus the amount of flood benefits FEMA gave them following the 1993 and 1995 floods that they didn't reinvest in their homes.

Eftink gave an example: If a home is valued at $15,000, and FEMA gave that homeowner $5,000 but only $2,000 of it was used to repair flood damage, the offer will be $13,000. "That way they won't be getting paid twice," he said.

The requirements mandate that bought-out homes be destroyed and the property remain open space, Eftink said. But there are plans to build a neighborhood park along Main Street, he said.

They have bought 29 homes to date, but there are more closings every week, he said. The houses they have purchased are being freed of asbestos before being torn down. He said there are many federal and state regulations that must be followed.

Eftink anticipates buying a total of 65 homes since not everyone has expressed an interest in selling. It is a voluntary program and the city has gotten 100 percent participation from owner-occupied homes, Eftink said. Some who rent their houses have declined to sell.