By Annie Goeller, Daily Journal of Johnson County staff writer
More than 60 homes near downtown Franklin could be bulldozed, creating more than 13 acres of open land where driveways and rooftops used to be.
The city is looking into the process of using a federal grant to buy homes that were substantially damaged by the flood and are in the city's floodplain. They would be torn down, and the land would be an open area, possibly park land, that could flood without causing damage to homes.
Within the next two weeks, city officials plan to have a public meeting with homeowners, including those who already are asking about the option, and determine who is interested.
City officials are looking mainly at an area between Jackson Street and Nineveh Road and South Street and Franks Place but also could include some homes on South Main Street and South Home Avenue, city planner Joanna Myers said.
The planning department has estimated that, for more than 90 percent of the homes in that area, repairs would cost more than half of what the house is worth and some could need to be jacked up 6 to 8 feet to meet requirements for rebuilding in a floodplain.
Franklin Mayor Fred Paris wants the city to get the process moving after talking with residents who were interested in the buyout option.
He is conflicted about the buyout, since a part of him would like to see the homes rebuilt. But he also believes the area will flood again, though the waters may not get as high.
"If it came back and did that same damage, then we'd all feel like fools," he said.
And if the city decides to use the program, Paris wants it to happen as quickly as possible so people will know the future of their property and where they will live.
"People need to be able to move on with their lives. It's just such an unsettled place for these people to be in for a year or two," he said.
But the application process could take four to six months, the state could try to fight the demolition of historic homes in the community, and when the government will have all the money it needs for the buyout isn't known since the federal money trickles in with each statewide disaster.
A buyout in Decatur, a town in northern Indiana, took about three years to complete, said Manuela Johnson, who is chief of the state department of homeland security's section that oversees buyouts.
The state is expected to get about $5 million for buyouts from this year's flooding and tornadoes, which would barely be enough to buy 60 homes at $75,000 each and doesn't include what homes in other areas could cost.
Paris is telling residents they should look for temporary housing for at least three to six months.
In a meeting Monday, he questioned Johnson about how long the process would take and what it would mean for homeowners who can't go back to their flood-damaged home but still have to pay the mortgage.
Before the buyout is finalized, homeowners have the option of getting a low-interest federal loan and buying a new home.
Homeowners could combine the mortgage on their flood-damaged home with a new mortgage on another home, but that depends on what they can afford, U.S. Small Business Administration spokesman Mark Ihenacho said.
For example, a $200,000 loan over 30 years with a 2.687 percent interest rate would cost about $810 a month, and that doesn't include property taxes and homeowners insurance the resident still would have to pay.
Once the person's home was purchased in the government buyout, they could pay back the first mortgage and keep the low interest rate on the money they would still be paying on their new home, he said.
When the buyout would happen depends on more than one factor, including how much money the government has and how long the process takes to apply for the federal grant that would cover 75 percent of the costs.
Typically, the application process takes nine to 12 months, Johnson said.
But that can happen faster, a timeline she estimated could take four to six months in Franklin's case.
As for the money, the faster Franklin applies, the better chance the city has of getting the money to buy the homes quickly, she said.
The money comes in a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant, which is based on a percentage of how much federal money was spent in public and individual assistance in the state related to the disaster.
Rough estimates show that the recent flooding and tornadoes would bring in about $5 million for the buyout program, Johnson said.
And that money would need to be shared with any other community that wants to participate, including Columbus, Martinsville and other communities that were significantly damaged in the floods.
Other grants are available for the buyout and the office has some money left from recent disasters. Franklin's needs could be paid out of a past or future disaster, but they would need to apply as soon as possible to try to get the money quickly, she said.
That's why Paris wants to have a public meeting in the next seven to 10 days to figure out if residents are interested in the buyout program.
And city officials are compiling a list, with information about each property, that would get the application process started.
Paris wondered about other ways to speed up the process, such as borrowing from some of the city's funds, but Johnson told him there is no guarantee the city would be paid back.