SEMA: BUYOUT `HAPPY EVENT'

COMMERCE -- A ceremony intended to mark the transfer of privately-owned flood plains into the city's hands fell flat Thursday when Community Buyout checks from the State Emergency Management Agency failed to arrive on time and four residents walked out, claiming the government wasn't offering them a fair price.

At least 10 Commerce property owners still hope to escape the next Mississippi River flood by participating in the Community Buyout program.

Although the first property closing won't take place until today, about 20 people attended the media-oriented event Thursday afternoon at the St. Paul United Methodist Church in Commerce. Mayor Roy Jones, who is recovering from surgery, was unable to attend.

Four residents left the meeting early, claiming that the government's offer wasn't fair. One man said he wasn't being offered enough to buy a used car, let alone a house and five acres.

But Jerry Uhlmann, director of SEMA, called Thursday's ceremony "a happy event for Commerce." Uhlmann paid his first visit to the town of 173 Thursday.

The Village of Commerce will receive $1.7 million in federal and state monies to assist flood victims who participate in the buyout program. The village board of trustees unanimously approved the buyout in August and the federal government accepted the application in November.

Tommy Cox and his wife Joyce have been unhappy since they discovered a $27,000 difference between the city-hired appraisal and the final offer SEMA made.

Their five-bedroom, blond brick home was first appraised at $89,000 but the final offer from SEMA was around $57,000. Almost every property in town was re-appraised twice after SEMA officials decided the first figures were too high.

"Obviously it's not a new situation when people aren't happy with the prices," said Buck Katt, assistant SEMA director. "You need to remember that they are based on the pre-flood fair market value."

But the pre-flood values should be higher, residents say.

"It's not just us," Tommy Cox said. "About 90 percent of the people in Commerce are not happy."

The Coxes are not accepting the buyout offer but have until Feb. 27 to decide, according to the SEMA contracts. Once an offer is made, property owners have 14 days to accept or refuse it. The program is entirely voluntary.

Ann Huck, 81, was one of the first residents to accept a buyout offer from SEMA. Huck, who was mayor of Commerce for 25 years and has been a resident for 57 years, accepted $15,000 in relocation money to move her home five blocks. It now sits on a hill amid 160 acres of her land.

"I've been in the floods since I was a little girl," Huck said. "But if it gets us now, then we're all in trouble. We should have done this years ago."

However, Huck did not accept a complete buyout. She still owns the lots where her house once stood, but only the basement and garage remain.

"It's sad for the others who were directly down in it," she said. "But Commerce will come back."

Many people were concerned that this river town would become a ghost town after the buyouts. Many residents have moved out of the flood plain but remain in town.

Commerce was founded in 1790, according to a sign posted near the city limits. It is the oldest town in Scott County and has flooded nine times in the past 15 years.

Tina Jackson was just tired of the water so she gladly accepted the buyout offer. As Jackson handed over her deed, she held Grant Administrator Laurel Moldenhauer's hand then thanked her for her help and patience.

Jackson moved out of her home during the Flood of 1993 and buried her husband in 1994. After the 1995 flood, she decided to leave for good.

"I'm glad it's over," she said. "I'm sorry for the neighbors that are upset but you have to go through it to understand."