IGOV Press Release
| For Immediate Release | Media Contact : |
| November 6, 2009 | Troy Price, Governor’s Office Erin Seidler, Iowa Dept. of Economic Development |
GOVERNOR CULVER ANNOUNCES $150 MILLION FOR FLOOD-DAMAGED HOME BUYOUTS
Funding to cover purchase of 1,352 homes
(DES MOINES) – Governor Chet Culver announced today that $150 million in federal funds will be made available for the purchase of 1,352 homes damaged in last year’s historic floods, including 852 in the City of Cedar Rapids alone. This is the first round of awards made to 20 cities and counties to cover homes not eligible for the FEMA buyouts. The funding is allocated from the $516.7 million Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Disaster Recovery Funds.
“The announcement of funding for home buyouts is a critically important step forward in the flood recovery process,” said Governor Culver. “However, this is just the beginning of the buyout process. The state looks forward to working with the cities and counties to ensure Iowans can move forward with buyouts in an efficient manner.”
The first round announced covers homes that are in the 100-year flood plain, or pose a health and safety concern to the community, or have been determined to be substantially damaged. The remaining properties will need to provide further justification for buyout if they are in the 500-year flood plain and do not pose a health and safety concern or have not been substantially damaged. That process will begin as soon as possible and is a requirement of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which administers CDBG funding.
The Iowa Department of Economic Development accepted applications from the cities and counties to assess which homes are eligible for home buyouts. Award letters were sent to the city and county governments today with contracts expected to be issued in the coming week. The local governments will administer the buyout program.
The $516.7 million CDBG action plan was approved by HUD on Oct. 2, 2009. The plan was the result of months of work by state officials, and reflects the input of Iowans. With Secretary Donovan’s approval, state officials, Councils of Government, and Entitlement Cities are in the process of contracting for the allocation of the funds.
A list of awards is below:
Cedar Rapids
Number of properties approved: 852
Funds approved: $95,474,137
Oakville (Zone X)
Number of properties approved: 124
Funds approved: $7,929,015
Cedar Falls
Number of properties approved: 101
Funds approved: $10,259,180
Mason City
Number of properties approved: 71
Funds approved: $8,517,455
Iowa City
Number of properties approved: 52
Funds approved: $11,665,530
Louisa County (Rural Oakville)
Number of properties approved: 32
Funds approved: $3,322,951
Waverly
Number of properties approved: 28
Funds approved: $3,757,234
Des Moines
Number of properties approved: 19
Funds approved: $815,460
Davenport
Number of properties approved: 18
Funds approved: $2,213,380
Des Moines County
Number of properties approved: 16
Funds approved: $1,953,030
Dyersville
Number of properties approved: 10
Funds approved: $1,100,000
Johnson County
Number of properties approved: 8
Funds approved: $1,413,308
Olin
Number of properties approved: 7
Funds approved: $490,924
Waterloo
Number of properties approved: 4
Funds approved: $261,180
Coralville
Number of properties approved: 3
Funds approved: $320,958
Blackhawk County
Number of properties approved: 2
Funds approved: $323,719
Cedar County
Number of properties approved: 2
Funds approved: $104,579
Muscatine County
Number of properties approved: 1
Funds approved: $228,769
LaPorte City
Number of properties approved: 1
Funds approved: $125,060
Eddyville
Number of properties approved: 1
Funds approved: $40,453
Total number of properties approved: 1,352
Total funds approved: $150,316,322
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