Residents hoping to escape from twiceflooded homes near the Piscataquog River won’t be getting any help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The town has learned that homeowners are not eligible for buyouts from FEMA, according to Sue Desruisseaux, the town administrator.

The decision affects about 24 homeowners in Goffstown, according to Jim Bingham, the assistant town administrator.

Residents of the following streets were among those who had applied: Danis Park Road, Dumont Park Road, Cove Street, Lynchville Park Road, Beaudoin Street, Bay Street, Water Street, Russell Avenue, Channel Lane, Sonny Avenue and Andre Street.

The homeowners had all applied through the town for buyouts from a FEMA program intended to avert future disasters.

After purchasing homes damaged by flooding, FEMA would have torn them down and barred any future development of the sites.

The town application, which asked for a total $3.6 million, was reviewed and denied by a state coordinator for FEMA. Desruisseaux announced the news at the weekly Board of Selectmen meeting on Monday, Feb. 11.

An analysis of the Goffstown properties included in the town application showed that the benefit was not worth the cost of purchasing the homes. The town had to reach certain individual homeowner and overall benchmarks, according to Bingham.

“Based on the data that we had, we were not able to reach some of those benchmarks,” he said.

Bingham said the town is scheduling a meeting in the near future among the selectmen, affected homeowners and the state coordinator.

The FEMA official will explain the reasoning behind the decision. That will be helpful to the town, because there may be an opportunity to re-apply, Bingham said.

The town first considered participating in the FEMA program in 2006, but ended up not submitting an application. After a second 100-year flood devastated many low-lying homes again in spring 2007, Bingham said there was a greater interest in the program.

Other business
Public Works Director Carl Quiram has told selectmen that the first phase of the rebuilding of Mountain Road has not been completed. All of the bridges have been installed, but the paving of the last section will happen when the frost breaks in the spring, according to Quiram.

Quiram said the installation of the Pollard Road bridge had been delayed due to the weather, water levels and some problems with the manufacturer meeting the specifications. He said the contractor has not determined whether the work can be completed this winter or will have to wait until the summer.

Also, selectmen have accepted $500 from Wal-Mart for fire rescue equipment, $450 in drug forfeiture money to replace a laptop, and $1,500 from Volunteer NH! for the director of the Community Emergency Response Team, or CERT.