COMMERCE COUNCIL REJECTS BUYOUT OPTION

COMMERCE -- The Commerce City Council defeated a measure Monday which would have put the bureaucratic wheels in motion for a possible federal buyout of residents' property.

Now, flood-weary residents who were interested in the buyout proposed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency last week must either sell or abandon their homes in order to leave Commerce.

The council defeated the measure by a 3-2 vote. If it had been approved, the city would have filed an application with the state to begin the process for individual buyout consideration.

"There really weren't that many people interested in the buyout in the first place," Commerce Mayor Ann Huck said after the council's vote. "Only three or four homes in the city would actually qualify under the FEMA terms."

Last week, more than a dozen Commerce residents asked several questions of FEMA representatives about the buyout, which hinged on the council's approval Monday.

FEMA representatives told the citizens bluntly that if their elected officials did not abide by their wishes and pass the buyout, that they should vote the council members and mayor out of office.

"I don't know what those people will do now," Huck said. "They can repair their homes or move -- I would hope that they would stay in the area, but it's all up to them.

"(The council) had been studying this for about two months," Huck continued. "I myself voted for what I thought would be in the best interests of this community." She was one of those who voted against the buyout.

One of the reasons cited for turning down the proposal was that there was not money in the city budget for upkeep of the abandoned lots, which would have been deeded over to the city after the federal buyout.