Buyout plan off to council
Floodplain properties
Wisconsin Emergency Management has authorized the city of Janesville to make the following offers to owners of the below floodplain properties damaged in the 2008 flood:
-- 1815 Joseph St. —$97,435
-- 809 S. Jackson —$84,426
-- 1903 Joseph St.— $82,674*
-- 1921 Joseph St. —$77,000
-- 1715 Joseph St. —$53,799
-- 1109 Elgin Ave. —$43,636
-- 1821 Joseph St. —$43,266
-- 1809 Joseph St. —$37,299
-- 1722 Charles St. —$29,054
* The owners of the property at 1903 Joseph St. intend to appeal the approval. The actual amount offered will be determined by Wisconsin Emergency Management at a price not to exceed $82,674, which city officials said is a conservative estimate based on the first appraisal and information provided by the property owners.
Source: City of Janesville
JANESVILLE — A proposal to buy nine floodplain properties damaged in the 2008 flood advances to the Janesville City Council on Oct. 26.
The plan commission gave the proposal a positive recommendation Monday night.
The cost is $548,590, but no local tax money will be used.
Eight of the properties are in the Mole & Sadler's subdivision along Charles and Joseph streets. A ninth is at 809 S. Jackson St.
The city received money from the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program and from the state. Janesville will not have to chip in a local match because of additional federal emergency money received.
Once purchased, the homes will be demolished, and the properties will remain green space, said Jennifer Petruzzello, neighborhood services director.
The nine owners have agreed to sell their properties.
Some could have been rebuilt using expensive flood-construction standards. But several of the properties also required that the city develop an emergency plan because the homes can be accessed only by Joseph Street, which was under water in 2008. The city council declined to do so.
Originally, 12 properties were included in the buy-out program, but three have been temporarily removed because the Federal Emergency Management Agency found groundwater contamination. The contamination is from the former Riverside Plating, Petruzzello said.
The three properties are at 1708 Charles St., 1110 Hamilton Ave. and 1709 Joseph St. The city is waiting for a final decision from FEMA on those properties and likely would appeal if necessary, Petruzzello said. The city also could explore other funding sources.
The home offers are based on pre-flood property values and done through appraisals. Any insurance settlements or assistance the owners might have received through FEMA are deducted from the amount offered.
If approved by the council, the properties probably will be cleared sometime this winter, Petruzzello said.
Oct 21, 2009 at 4:04 p.m.
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Has the city looked into dredging the river in those areas, to make it deeper to lessen flooding? Is this a viable possiblity?
Oct 21, 2009 at 2:14 p.m.
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It seems theyre not going to get much if they have already gotten ins money or fema money so the city will get this land for dirt cheap. If I were the homeowner I would tell them NO I will not sell and tear down the home myself. The only problem here is I dont think theyre allowed to rebuild at all cause the city decided this FOR THEM. You could still maybe keep the land and camp on it.
Oct 21, 2009 at 2:03 p.m.
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For all of those whom are assuming about the residents of this subdivision, all of the residents of this area, me being a life long resident of the area, are not lucky. This has been a terrible event for all of us. This neighborhood has had the same residents for over 50 years, many of us second and third generations raised here. Pete, we are not making out great! Our life long homes are going to be destroyed, no amount of money can replace the memories that exist. And many don't know that my family is related the family mentioned by bobwood. Our lives have been turned upside down and because the city wants this area back for the park, we are all forced to live else where. Thanks to the greed of this town, I will not be able to share my childhood home with my children.
Oct 21, 2009 at 8 a.m.
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What ever happened to the residents that were upset with having to move .There was an storie on the family a few weeks ago They didnt want to move , and they were very vocal about it .They must have had a change of heart .
Oct 21, 2009 at 6:32 a.m.
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I'm sure the 8 Riverside park property owners are relieved that this nightmare may finally be coming to an end but I can only wonder what will happen to the 3 property owners whose property happens to be contaminated from the old Riverside Plating company. Their nightmare may have actually gotten worse.
Oct 21, 2009 at 12:16 a.m.
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No local tax money? But tax money regardless. The government for the City of Janesville needs to pull its' head out!
Oct 20, 2009 at 9:55 p.m.
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Pete - who doesn't know how the real world works outside of the internet? Looks like you were proven wrong again.
Gazettefan - Has hell frozen over? We both have a mutual dislike of Pete. Who knew.
Oct 20, 2009 at 9:42 p.m.
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Pete, read the quote below. It's from the story which you didn't bother to read. Or if you did read it, your poor comprehension skills are cause for concern.
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"The home offers are based on pre-flood property values and done through appraisals. Any insurance settlements or assistance the owners might have received through FEMA are deducted from the amount offered."
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How wrong you are about this matter is typical of how wrong you are about everything.
Oct 20, 2009 at 9:17 p.m.
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vetman - Your house is destroyed by a flood and you're considered lucky? Really? What an ignorant statement. Also, where's this magical city that has all of these jobs available?
Oct 20, 2009 at 8:44 p.m.
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9 lucky people get to move to an area with jobs. without having to wait for the housing market to comeback.
Oct 20, 2009 at 6:46 p.m.
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Janesville does not have high taxes by comparison with other Wisconsin cities (we rank in the lowest 1/3). I don't know what this derail has to do with the interest of public safety that is also served by governments. In this case, the safety of emergency responders as well as residents was a prime consideration.
Oct 20, 2009 at 4:33 p.m.
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Bad trade policies and outsourcing jobs out of the country leads to high unemployment rates.
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