COUNTY DOUBTS FLOOD BUYOUT

JACKSON -- The state's buyout coordinator sent Cape Girardeau County an application for the buyout program, but commissioners aren't sure they want to fill it out.

Only seven people outside Cape Girardeau city expressed interest in a buyout, and six of them live in Dutchtown. Emergency Operations Coordinator Brian Miller said the total number of flooded homes in the county was less than a dozen, but there would have been more if emergency personnel hadn't sandbagged so quickly.

A letter dated July 18 from State Emergency Management Agency Director Jerry Uhlmann said Cape County is eligible for hazard mitigation assistance -- a buyout -- which would provide 75 percent of the cost of each project approved through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The remaining 25 percent would be matched by state and local funds. In the 1993 flood, some of the matching funds were provided through the state's Community Development Block Grant program.

Although a buyout may sound good to some, Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones has doubts. He said at Monday's commission meeting that he and the other two commissioners want a lot of questions answered before they sign up.

"Do we want to use public funds to buy someone out and then have a lot to mow in Dutchtown?" Jones said. "Can we say no at any point? I want some more investigation on this to see what our exposure will be."

Uhlmann said since the buyout program was voluntary, participants could back out whenever they want. Their best plan of action would be to send in an application and see what happens.

The availability of matching funds won't necessarily affect the selection. Uhlmann said the important thing was to take care of homes that will flood year after year, eliminating the perpetual cost of sandbagging and other services.

Even homes saved due to sandbagging this year qualify, and there may be some assistance available to people who want to move their homes rather than sell them.

Uhlmann said the commissioners would have an opportunity to review the buyout program before committing any funds.

The Cape Girardeau City Council voted a week ago to seek federal and state aid to possibly buy 80 flood-prone homes in the city -- 42 in Red Star, 22 in south Cape Girardeau, 14 in Meadowbrook and two along Highway 177.

Council members are studying how much they will have to pay for the program and whether Cape Girardeau's budget can handle it.

Aug. 25 is the deadline for both the county and city to apply.