BY JENN McDOWELL
Town officials have jumped the first hurdle in buying up homes in the Suncook River floodplain in Allenstown, getting $2.1 million in federal assistance, but there is still a way to go before the town can purchase the homes.
“People are going to be lucky if they can make it to the buyout before they’re foreclosed on,” said Marcia Abbott, whose Riverside Drive home was included on a list of 14 homes the town hopes to purchase in what they are calling “phase one” of the buyout project.
Of the 14 homes the town intends to buy, 11 are on Riverside Drive, one is on JillErik Road and two are on Albin Avenue. The federal grant is for 75 percent of the total amount of the cost to purchase the 14 homes. The town is charged with coming up with the rest, and officials hope to secure state funding in the amount of $650,000 through a special appropriation bill currently going through the state Legislature.
Selectman Tom Gilligan said the hope is to get a draft of the bill before the special appropriations committee at their October meeting.
“We’re confident that it has the support it’s going to need,” said Gilligan.
During a public informational meeting on the buyout program on Thursday, Sept. 11, many residents in areas affected by the flooding of 2006 and 2007 expressed concerns that their homes were not included in this round of buyouts.
Police Chief Shaun Mulholland said the town will pursue more grants in the coming years to buy more homes in the flood plain. Getting this federal assistance and following through with the buyouts will help their cause in the future, he said. “Every year, we have a stronger and stronger argument to get to phase two and phase three. We want to see if there’s enough people interested in doing that,” Mulholland said. “We’re not going to stop helping our citizens out.”
Others expressed a need to get out from under their mortgages before foreclosure strikes.
Russell Mailhot of 14 Riverside Drive said the town needs to buy his home before Oct. 14, when his bank has said they will foreclose on his mortgage. “I’m this far from losing everything I ever had because of these floods. I’m a single parent trying to survive,” said Mailhot, whose home was on the list.
Mailhot had to take out thousands in loans to pay for home improvements after the floods. The town, he said after speaking one-on-one with town and state officials after the meeting, is willing to offer him $154,000 for his home.
At that rate, Mailhot said, he’s not sure if he can even afford to take the buyout. Mailhot said he had to take all of the money out of his 401k to fund his home improvements. “I’m 47 years old and I don’t have a retirement fund anymore. I don’t have anything anymore,” Mailhot said.
Keith Donovan’s 24 Riverside home was not included on the list, but the homes on either side of him were.
“Eighteen houses on Riverside applied for that grant, and 12 were accepted. Why were the other six not accepted?” Donovan asked.
Donovan said he had to redo the first floor of his home after the floods, and said that wasn’t the case with some of the other homes who were being bought. “I got eliminated from this and I don’t understand why I got eliminated,” Donovan said. “Granted, everybody deserves it who applied for (the grant), and the houses that didn’t get it, I just don’t understand why two-thirds get it and the other third did not.”
Richard Verville, preparedness planner for the New Hampshire Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said the homes on the list had to meet a cost-benefit ratio to qualify.
“The benefits of purchasing that home have to outweigh the costs,” said Verville, adding each home was considered on a caseby- case basis.
Those who were not included on the list can apply for grants in the future, or sell their homes on their own, something that isn’t a likely scenario, given the frequency of the flooding in the area.
The 26 Riverside Drive home of Paul and Evelyn Bernard was also not included on the list, although their home was raised 10 years ago, they said.
Paul, 66, and Evelyn, 60, are both retired and are on a fixed income. They’re paying about $1,300 per year for flood insurance, they said.
“We can’t put it on the market. No one’s going to buy it,” said Paul Bernard. “So if we don’t get bought out, we’re stuck.”
Kurt St. Germain of 7 Albin Ave. said he and his family had a purchase and sale agreement on their home in place before moving out to Kansas. The deal fell through when the bank would not give the buyers a loan after learning about the floods, Germain said.
The town plans to start the purchasing process next summer, after meeting with each homeowner individually. The purchase prices are based on the April 2007 tax assessment, Mulholland said. “This is going to be new to us,” said Mulholland. “I’m a police chief, not a hazard mitigation expert, but we’re going to do the best we can here.”