Community Corner

UPDATE: Austell Closing on Second Round of Buyouts

The city of Austell has closed on four homes in the second round of home acquisitions, and will close on another three today.

Austell has closed on four houses and will close on another three today in its second round of acquisitions of homes that were severely damaged during the September 2009 flood.

This second round of eight homes represents about $645,000, Duane Demeritt, operations manager for the city public works department, stated in an e-mail to South Cobb Patch.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will reimburse the city 75 percent of that, and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency will provide a reimbursement of 10 percent. The city is responsible for the remaining 15 percent.

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The eight homes in the second round of buyouts are located on Jones Road, Locust Lane, Owens Drive, Pine Grove Drive and Windy Lane, according to Demeritt.

The city recently received its first reimbursement of about $300,000 from the first round of eight homes the city bought.

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Austell Mayor Joe Jerkins said he was told that the reimbursement would be dispersed within 10 days, but took nearly seven weeks.

To pay for the homes, Jerkins said the city is using a contingency fund, “which if we didn’t have, we’d have been in some trouble.”

The city intends to purchase a total of 23 homes that were severely damaged in the flood of 2009, and have been identified as being within the 100-year flood plain.

The last and final round of buyouts for these 23 homes will take place once the homeowners have finalized any remaining issues with their mortgage companies, said Randy Bowens, director of the city's public works department.

"When they work out the details with their lending instituions and they give us a summary of what they worked out, then we'll set up a closing time," said Bowens.

During a December public meeting with owners of homes severely damaged by the September 2009 flood, city officials  announced the results of their new study that found more than 50 homes, not originally included in the 23 eligible for buyout, to also be within the 100-year flood plain.

In December, the city officials submitted applications from these homeowners for federal help from FEMA's hazard mitigation grant buyout.

Bowens said GEMA should have their finalized review of the revised flood plain by the end of this week. At that point, GEMA will submit their application to FEMA for review, Bowens explained.

"We should have an answer in two or three months," said Demeritt.


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