MEADOWBROOK WANTS BUYOUT, NOT SEWER

Seven families in the Meadowbrook area, 1995 flood victims, want the State Emergency Management Agency to buy their homes.

But SEMA state hazard mitigation officer Buck Katt said it takes more than a signed petition to get the job done.

"Sometimes people are under the impression that they just need to apply for a buyout and that's it," Katt said after receiving a petition signed by 12 residents of the Meadowbrook area. The families live on Larry Drive and Meadowbrook Drive.

Katt said it takes a voluntary partnership between the citizens and the local government before the application process can be completed.

The families know they need the city's help to move from the flood plain.

The problem is a sewer and water project is planned for the 1996-1997 fiscal year at a cost of $72,350.

"I feel like I'm running into a lot of dead ends," said Joe Simmons, 71, who lives on Meadowbrook Drive. "It makes more sense to buy all of us out, for probably less than $300,000, than to spend money on a water and sewer project. I've gone through two sandbaggings in the last three years. I don't think I can go through any more."

Ken Eftink, city development services coordinator, has told Meadowbrook residents the city hasn't set aside money to participate in flood buyouts. The most likely scenario would be a block grant program.

The city would be responsible for buying the property and demolishing the structures, and the land couldn't be developed later.

The state would pay for 75 percent of the cost for properties covered by flood insurance and 50 percent for those not covered. The city would have to assume the remainder of the cost, unless federal block grant money is made available.

City officials estimate a federal buyout could cost as much as $250,000 to $300,000 to match state money to demolish 40 structures in four areas of the city.

Those areas include Red Star, Smelterville, Meadowbrook and Highway 177. The city council would have to approve the buyouts.

Because of the devastation of the 1993 flood, the amount of federal money available to deal with this year's flood has dropped significantly. Katt said about $4 million will be used to buy out flood victims this year. In 1993, $100 million was used to buy out 3,300 individual properties in Missouri.

Katt said money for development block grants has also plummeted.

"We're still trying to figure out just how much money will be available because we're just finishing up with the buyout program from 1993," Katt said. "It will probably be about $4 million, though."

The city of Commerce is also seeking a buyout. Katt said he will send the official application in the next day or so to the Commerce board of trustees.

Katt said the 1993 buyout program kept thousands of people from suffering the same hardship that befell flood victims in 1995.

St. Charles County is a prime example. Data gathered since the spring floods indicate that virtually all of the county's 1,373 structures flooded in 1993 would have been flooded again this year had they not been purchased and removed from the flood zone.

After the 1993 flood, St. Charles County residents received more than $86 million in disaster relief, including nearly $62 million in flood insurance claims administered through the National Flood Insurance Program.

The cost of the St. Charles County buyout program will be about $14 million, or almost $10,000 per property.

"Missouri has had the biggest and best buyout program in the nation," Katt said. "It's a model for the rest of the country and we're proud of it."

He added, "Too much is focused on the dollar amount. I think you have to think of the disruption to individual families."

Katt said Arnold, just south of St. Louis, was able to "virtually eliminate any flood-related problems" with homeowners in 1995 because of its 1993 buyout program.