Monday evening during the Plymouth Common Council meeting, City Attorney Sean Surrisi gave members information on a FEMA grant opportunity the state is applying for and Plymouth will participate in. Indiana Homeland Security is applying for FEMA funds to purchase flood prone properties across the state and Plymouth has four properties identified for participating in the program .
The properties identified include:
402 South Plum Street and the owner has already signed an agreement that they are willing to participate in the program.
222 Shalley Drive, the former Bill & Lynn Gee home at the north side of Magnetic Park. The property had been obtained by the Dept. of Urban Housing and Development. Surrisi said they were having trouble selling the home because of the cost of flood insurance. The home has since been purchased by a local owner and they are interested in discussing the program. The city attorney was going to meet with them on Tuesday.
219 Garro Street is the final residential property in the area of River Park Square area. They have signed to participate in the program.
The final parcel is 300 East Jefferson Street, the former law office of Easterday Houin LLP who have also signed to participate.
The City Attorney presented budgetary information using data from the Marshall County GIS tax assessments and the former costs for demolition, grant administration and other costs to estimate costs. Surrisi said actual figures would come after appraisals were completed on the properties. He estimated the preliminary budget to be $361,600 for all four properties but noted, several times in the past FEMA has not accepted all the properties presented. Participating in the program requires a 25% matching so the city’s share was estimated to be about $90,000.
No action was needed at this point. Surrisi said he believes by the end of the year the city would know if the grant was successful.
