The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Flood zone FEMA buyout to begin soon
All homes and most commercial properties have been appraised, but residents can back out until the last minute
The City of Oneida is ready to start writing checks for the FEMA buyout.
At Tuesday night’s Common Council meetin, councilors unanimous agreed to begin preparing vouchers and drafting checks for those participants scheduled to close on their properties. Though FEMA will cover the entirety of the $21 million buyout, the city must pay for expenses before being reimbursed by the disaster relief agency.
When the city closes on a property, it must submit the paperwork trail leading up to the closing with copies of checks and vouchers written from the $1 million in the City of Oneida’s fund balance specifically earmarked for the project. Once FEMA receives all the paperwork, officials expect a two-to-three-week wait before FEMA reimburses the city .
Ward 4 Councilor Helen Acker said that the appraisals for the residential properties participating in the buyout have been completed but there are still a few commercial properties whose appraisals are not finalized. In total 147 of 152 eligible properties indicated interest in participating in the buyout.
Acker said the city is first focusing on closing and demolishing properties vacant properties for two major reasons.
First, the city does not want people who have moved out to be “in limbo any longer.”
Secondly, owners of the vacant properties are those most likely to participate in the buyout. Participants can back out of the FEMA buyout until the last minute before closing, making it difficult to target properties to close on and demolish by section of the city or block because the city cannot predict whether or not participants will back out of the Buyout just prior to closing.
“We’re trying to get properties that are vacant done, so long as all the paperwork is in,” she said.
Currently, the city has FEMA’s approval to close on six properties. Once the city closes on the property, it will draw from the $1 million set aside to front the costs. Then, the property has to be completely demolished and made forever green per FEMA requirements. The turnaround time from closing to demolition is a FEMA-mandated 90 days.
According to City Attor- ney Nadine Bell, vacancy is required at the time of closing and property owners will walk away from the closing with a check from the city. If a property owner has a mortgage or lien, the city will write a check for the mortgage holder, and the remainder will go to the participant. Any outstanding school or property taxes will be deducted from the assessed amount. Owed water and sewer fees will also be taken off the top of the assessment.
Matzke said he was touched by the fact that buyout participants who are currently renting their properties have asked the city to delay closing until after the winter so their tenants are not displaced during the harshest season.
On March 16, council approved moving $1 million from the city’s general fund to help expedite the property buyouts.
After the Flood of 2013, when residents of the Flats were forced to leave their homes and belongings behind, they submitted requests to FEMA to have their homes purchased, demolished, and turned into open space where further development could not occur. FEMA did not indicate its intent to buy out the properties in flood-ravaged areas until two years later in December of 2015.
Other council news
•Roughly ten neighbors from the Oneida Heights attended the council meeting, thanking the Matzke and the councilors for their efforts in working with groSolar to move the solar farm once planned for Baker’s reservoir. At the last council meeting, Matzke announced the site would be moved to Hubbard’s Place, behind the Oneida Lowe’s.
In a moment of brevity, Matzke thanked the neighbors for their sentiments before admitting he was worried when they first walked into the meeting.
“When I first saw you all, I thought ‘uh-oh’!” Matzke said, drawing a laugh from the audience.
• Oneida supervisors John Reinhardt and Joe Magliocca were at the Tuesday meeting, and Reinhardt reminded residents of the upcoming emergency preparedness forum that will be hosted at the Kallet Civic Center on Oct. 12 beginning at 7 p.m. The event is free to attend, but registration is required. Each family who comes will receive an emergency preparedness backpack.
“We can no longer say it’s a case of, ‘it never happens here,’ ” Reinhardt said, citing the Flood of 2013 and Eaton tornado. “We just have to be prepared if and when the time comes.”
To register, visit: prepare. ny.gov
•After an undisclosed illness and a lengthy stay at the hospital and rehabilitation facility, Oneida City Police Chief Dave Meeker was recently welcomed home by his family and members of the Police Department, Matzke said.