FEMA BUYOUT DEBATED; COMMERCE CITIZENS ADDRESS CITY COUNCIL

COMMERCE -- Many residents of Commerce are tired of the floodwaters and just want to return to their homes, while others are not sure they really want to move back after the waters recede.

Monday night, about 40 residents attended the regular Commerce City Council meeting to voice their opinions about allowing the Federal Emergency Management Agency purchase the property of residents who want to leave the flood plain and start anew elsewhere.

The city council would have to vote to allow FEMA or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to purchase the land.

The agencies would buy the land of homeowners whose property has sustained extensive damage from the flooding, or who have been flooded out three or more times in the last five years.

"It's a big pain for people living with the water like this," said Councilman Roy Jones. "If there's a way out for people who are sick of the floods, then I'm in favor of it."

Mayor Ann Huck does not share Jones' enthusiasm for the FEMA buyout. If FEMA or the Corps of Engineers bought the land, she said, they would then turn the title over to the city, which would not be able to resell the property but would have to maintain it.

"You have to consider how much this would cost the city," Huck told the angry residents. "We can barely afford to take care of our city park, let alone 10 or 15 open lots that people have abandoned."

David Mayberry, a resident of Commerce for 12 years, told the council he is leaving with or without FEMA assistance.

"This town already has some abandoned houses; what's a few more?" he asked. "You're talking about costs to tear down houses and maintain the property how much does a book of matches cost?

"I was out of my house for all of April, and now I've been out for three weeks and it looks like it's going to be a couple weeks before I can move back in," Mayberry continued. "I'm young, my wife is young and we can still move on, which is exactly what we plan to do."

Councilwoman Tina Jackson said residents of Commerce knew what to expect when they moved into the flood plain.

But Jones countered, "People who haven't been flooded out should not be able to punish those who have by not allowing them a way out.

"They're going to leave with or without the money," Jones said. "We're going to have the abandoned houses anyway let's just allow them to be paid fairly for their property before they leave."

The mayor told the group she had consulted with Thebes, Ill., Mayor David McNeely about a buyout project. Thebes passed a buyout measure allowing residents to leave in 1983.

"He told me that it was a big pain for the city," Huck said.

Councilman Tooter Mayberry had other ideas about the buyout proposal.

"Why is it that the Corps or FEMA are willing to come in and spend all this money on property that they don't want, and they won't build a levee to protect it?" Mayberry asked.

The mayor said U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson recently promised her that another study would be done of the area to determine the feasibility of building a levee.

"He assured me that we would be given consideration," Huck said. "But with the assessed value of the area being so low, I don't see a strong possibility of a levee being built here anytime soon."

Huck made clear at the beginning of the meeting that the council would take no action on the matter for about a month, or until council members are able to talk to FEMA and Corps personnel at length. Representatives of neither agency were able to attend Monday's meeting.

"I expect that it's going to take about a month or more before we reach a decision," Huck said. "We want to cooperate with the people and do what's best for everyone, but we have obligations, too."