Tuesday, October 05, 1999

Flood-prone homes may be bought in East End

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City says 60 river dwellers in harm's way

BY PHILLIP PINA
The Cincinnati Enquirer

        Cincinnati and state officials may expand a buyout to include the rest of an East End neighborhood devasted by the Flood of '97.

        Already, about 32 landowners are taking part in a Federal Emergency Management Agency buyout after their homes were damaged by the Ohio River flood. About half have received their checks.

        Now, the state and city are working on a proposal that would buy out another 60 property owners from the flood-prone neighborhood, an 8¹/₂-block area along the Ohio River between Schmidt and Turkey Ridge parks.

        No cost estimates have been made. The original buyout cost about $1 million.

        “The focus is to get the residents out of harm's way,” said Donald Mercer, assistant director of Cincinnati's Department of Buildings and Inspections.

        The entire neighborhood was flooded in 1997, but the original buyout was directed at the homes most heavily damaged throughout the city. This year, the Ohio Emergency Management Agency (OEMA) approached Cincinnati officials about the East End neighborhood, most of which sits in the flood plain, Mr. Mercer said.

        There are about 60 homes and one business that would be affected by an expanded voluntary buyout. The land likely would be turned over to Cincinnati's recreation department for an extension of the two parks that surround the neighborhood, he said.

        The buyout is very much in the planning stages still, OEMA spokesman Dick Kimmins said. But the state is concentrating on working with Cincinnati to move the project forward.

        Charles Docter has lived in the East End for 20 years. The flood devastated his neighborhood, and left 38 inches of water standing in the living room of his Setchell Street home.

        After clearing the mud left behind, he had to put in new floors and replace the drywall.

        Now the city is saying he may have to move. After watching a few of his neighbors go through the process as part of the original buyout, he knows what to expect.

        “I'll do it — if the price is right,” he said.

        The original buyout angered residents because it took more than two years before they got their money. The expanded proposal likely will take a lot less time. To receive the money, the state must meet a Dec. 1, 2000, deadline.

        The Flood of '97 saw the Ohio River crest at 64 feet 7 inches, swamping parts of downtown Cincinnati and nearby river towns. Flooding on the Ohio and its tributaries led to 24 deaths in Kentucky and Ohio, left hundreds homeless and caused more than $400 million in damage.

       

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