‘WORTHLESS PROPERTY’
FRUSTRATIONS MOUNT FOR CANMORE FLOOD VICTIMS WHO DON’T QUALIFY FOR FULL PROVINCIAL COMPENSATION
Just give us some money, we’ll tear it down. We do not want to live here ... why would they force me to do that?”
COLLEEN VUKADINOVIC, ON PROVINCIAL DENIALS FOR DISASTER RELIEF FOR THEIR HEAVILY DAMAGED HOME IN CANMORE
CANMORE — At the height of the June flooding, when Cougar Creek turned into a raging river, retirees Paul and Marion Kutzer thought their home would wash away as the water tore off chunks of the foundation, ripped away the floor and emptied some of the rooms inside.
What’s left of the house teetered over the creek’s widened banks for weeks — until a local crew came in and propped it up with some lumber.
“Our huge concern is our house is worthless now,” Marion says. “If we want to rebuild or relocate or whatever, it’s going to be very difficult to get a mortgage. A pensioner getting a mortgage? I don’t think it’s going to work.
“So we’re waiting for some type of compensation.”
The Kutzers had some hope in the early days when the premier said the province would take care of flood victims, but it’s eroding after their claim under the disaster assistance program was denied — despite letters from several experts suggesting it cannot be fixed.
The home, which many expected would fall into Cougar Creek during the worst disaster in Alberta’s history, is one of four or five Canmore homes considered an extreme case after dozens were damaged along the creek’s widened banks.
Yet, the province says Canmore homeowners only qualify for funding to shore up their eroded properties and fix the foundations on their homes.
“Through the (disaster recovery program), if the land was eroded from the river up to their foundations, DRP will pay for backfills to shore up their foundations,” says Kathleen Range, a spokeswoman for the department.
In addition, she says the province’s $20-million erosion fund will work with the Town of Canmore to rebuild the creek’s banks.
The town has requested $7 million from a provincial $20-million fund to deal with damage due to erosion that’s not covered under the disasterrecovery program.
Much of the money will go toward work in and around Cougar Creek, but it won’t be fixed in time for spring 2014.
For residents who live along the creek, which has now flooded twice in two years, the experience has left them fearful and frustrated.
Some just got back into their homes last week after two months of living in hotels or with friends, and the costs are rising.
“It’s extremely frustrating,” says John Marriott, a wildlife photographer who lives along Cougar Creek. “We sent in our first set of receipts six weeks ago and ... we still haven’t seen a cent toward hotels or being out of home, food costs or tearing out the drywall or tearing off the deck for safety reasons.”
Of the $54,000 in costs he and his wife have paid, they only received a $10,000 cheque last week for the foundation repairs.
In addition to the lack of money coming from the province for immediate costs, up to 19 families still can’t return home.
Dan and Colleen Vukadinovic can’t even set foot into their house on Grotto Road, which is another of the extreme cases.
“You can’t live in it, you can’t sell it and you can’t rent it,” says Dan Vukadinovic. “It’s worthless property.”
To make matters worse, the bills are piling up as the Canmore residents pay a mortgage and the insurance on the house.
“Just give us some money, we’ll tear it down,” says Colleen, as they point out the damage on the home, which is half missing, other than its outer shell hanging over the rocky creek bed that was once their backyard. “We do not want to live here. We just want to move.
“It would be mentally unhealthy for me to live here, so why would they force me to do that?”
The situation for the Canmore homeowners is similar to those who live in High River’s Hampton Hills, where tensions are growing.
“They are neither on the flood plain nor in the flood fringe, so the same policies would ap- ply,” Range explains. “However, in Canmore, they will receive funds to make sure their foundations are safe.
“They are not going to be relocated.”
Range says they do have an option to appeal if they feel the disaster recovery program erred in its assessment.
Both families received the same letter from the program, suggesting the homes are repairable. However, the province has been unable to provide any engineering reports that counter the opinion of their independent experts — including a foundation specialist that suggested it’s too dangerous to even do an assessment on how much it would cost to fix the Kutzer’s home.
“I don’t know what DRP is basing their conclusion on,” says Paul Kutzer, noting they’ve asked for clarification and haven’t received any response. “I don’t know if I am going to live long enough to see the finish of this.
“I am 72 years old and I’ve got health issues.”