By John Kiesewetter
Enquirer staff writer

FAIRFIELD - One woman has her boxes packed in the garage ready to move out. A man down the street has sandbags stacked against his garage to keep water out.

Such is life on flood-prone Banker and Crystal drives, where 23 residents near Pleasant Run Creek are beginning to receive buyout offers from the city under a $2.5 million federal grant.

"I can't wait to move. I'm half packed," said Kathy Burton, who on Friday became the first of the homeowners to sell to the city. She and her husband, Jim, are moving to West Chester Township.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency awarded the city a grant in April to buy and tear down the 23 homes as part of a new $26 million pre-disaster mitigation program. The city has allocated $859,615 to the project for a total of $3.4 million.

The government money arrived 10 months after the Father's Day 2003 weekend flood that damaged the 1970s brick ranches and tri-levels built in a flood plain west of Fairfield Middle School. In the past 25 years, nine floods here have resulted in $280,000 in insurance claims, according to the Ohio Emergency Management Agency.

The Burtons and neighbor Tami Todd - the local flood victims' group leader - are among the first five to receive buyout offers.

Others who had June appraisals haven't seen an offer, which is why Cliff Smith was sandbagging his Crystal Drive home last week.

"Who knows what might happen? That's how paranoid we are, and that's the kind of thing we want to get away from," Smith said. At least three homeowners have already moved out in anticipation of the buyout, he said.

Burton calls her settlement fair. The city offered what she paid for the house last year, she said. Butler County records show she bought the house for $140,000.

Todd called the city's deal "not exactly what we wanted, but it's not bad. It's OK.

"We're just happy we could get out of the house without losing our shirt," said Todd, who has owned a home along the creek for 17 years. She and her husband, Mark, are building a house in Fairfield Township.

More offers will be made later this month, said City Engineer Jim Turner. The city is waiting for the Ohio Emergency Management Agency to approve more appraisals. The city's grant was for 23 properties - 21 on Banker and Crystal, plus one each on Bandelier Court and King Arthur Court.

Not all of the 23 have agreed to appraisals. Turner would not say how many; neighbors say the number could be counted on one hand.

"A few homeowners haven't been particularly cooperative. They're not out of the program, and we haven't given up," Turner said.

Said City Manager Art Pizzano: "It's always going to be an anxious time when people are giving up homes they have lived in for many years. It's going as well as can be, under these circumstances."

Todd, president of the Fairfield Flood Victims 6/14 advocacy group, says "85 to 95 percent" will accept the deal and move out.

The first homes could be razed in late October or early November, though some could remain until spring, Turner said. City Council will vote today on awarding a $136,300 demolition contract to Wayne Contractors Inc. of Cleves.

"We're willing to delay closings for six to nine months to give people time to get a house built," Turner said.

After 24 years on Crystal Drive, Smith has mixed emotions.

"We're excited. We're scared," he said. "It's not something we wanted to do. It's being imposed on us. We're going to take a (financial) hit. I can understand that being in a flood plain can be a detriment. At the same time, we're optimistic this will solve some of our problems so we can get on with life."

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E-mail jkiesewetter@enquirer.com