FRANKLIN COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — Franklin County is offering to purchase homes damaged during this spring's flooding, but residents must meet specific eligibility requirements to qualify for the program.
"It's giving me the feeling that I can't win any longer. Living on the river, even though it's been my whole life with my family...it's not working out," said Scott Rogers, who owns two properties affected by the floods.
Rogers' properties, including his home and part of a family compound, were both damaged in the catastrophic spring flooding. One was completely destroyed.
"I had eight and a half feet of water and (in) one of them it was in the roof. So it was destroyed," Rogers said.
Many Franklin County residents in similar situations attended a town hall meeting at the Paul Sawyier Public Library Thursday night to learn about a buyout program through the Natural Resources Conservation Service, which is part of the Emergency Watershed Protection Program.
The program allows eligible residents to apply for the county to purchase their flood-damaged properties. To qualify, the property must be residential—including rentals or secondary homes—and must have had water inside the home.
Properties will be professionally appraised, typically by a local appraiser, based on their value one day prior to the flood damage. The county will then purchase the property, demolish the home, and convert the land into greenspace. No permanent structures will ever be built on these properties again.
Buyout offers for homes valued at $250,000 or less will not be taxed.
"It's just like buying a home. If they don't want to sign the paper at the end of the day they can walk away," said Franklin County Judge Executive Michael Mueller, who said Thursday's meeting was the first of many town halls.
Mueller said 514 homes were impacted by the floods in the county, and applications for the program have already started coming in.
However, some aspects of the program still need to be finalized. Currently, the program is only 75% funded by the USDA.
"The state—hopefully—has a grant program that we've talked to them about, we just need to get that approved, that will cover about 20%. Then Franklin County, or the city, will cover 5%. We're still covering all administrative fees, deed checks..there's a lot that goes into the whole buyout program," Mueller said.
If the state grant isn't approved, the county will cover the remaining 25%, which would be deducted from the offer amount at closing.
Mueller encourages interested residents to apply as soon as possible to demonstrate the need to state officials.
Even after the grant is approved, the buyout program is a lengthy process, taking anywhere from a year to two years.
The deadline to apply for the first round of applications is August 1.
If your Franklin County home was damaged or destroyed and you'd like to apply, contact the ER Assist Buyout Team at (606) 268-4228 or email buyout@erassist.com.
You can check the status of your buyout by going to erassist.com/buyout.
