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City, N.D. Fewer sandbags will be needed if vulnerable areas of the city are bought out for permanent flood protection.
Valley City Flood Task Force committee member Ron Blaufuss says a new flood buyout proposal appears to have a lot of support from a majority of the landowners who own property in the priority one area of the city.
Property owner Tami Drake agrees. She owns 3 homes near Old Mill Dam. Drake says sandbags are the only way to protect her properties now during a flood fight.
Alan Komrosky owns property in the proposed buyout area. He talked about a frustrating FEMA rule in place that hampers the permanent flood protection process. FEMA won’t allow any permanent structures to be built on buyout property including the construction of dikes or levees.
Former Mayor Mary Lee Nielson says now is the time to ask the state for a few more dollars to help Valley City in its effort to pursue permanent flood protection.
City Flood Task Force Chairman Matt Pedersen says the committee will work to take the proposals still under consideration and submit a plan to the city commission for a vote in November.
He says the lion share of the buyout cost, $3.5 million, will come from federal and state funds. City officials will meet with the state water commission on October 10 to see if the state can cut the local 25 percent cost burden for the city.
Pedersen says the offer is based on 110 percent of city assessed value in 2009 (pre-flood) or city assessed value at time of buy-out whichever is greater.
He says if property owner isn’t comfortable with offer based on city assessed value, he/she can request an appraisal be done. The appraisal could be for a single family home or for an income-producing property. The offer would be 100 percent of appraised value or 110 percent of city assessed value whichever is greater. Pedersen says it’s still undetermined as to who would pay for the appraisal.
32 structures in 9 areas of the city are in the priority one proposed buyout in Valley City.
