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Des Moines city council approves buyout plan

September 15, 2010 - The Des Moines, Iowa, city council has approved the purchase and relocation of two flood-prone mobile home parks in Des Moines.

The Country Estate Village and Grandview Village mobile home parks will be bought out as part of a $7.1 million agreement between the city and the Iowa Department of Economic Development, reported the Des Moines Register. Residents will begin receiving letters within the next two weeks, which will detail the buyout and relocation process, said the report.

Both parks are located in the Four Mile Creek floodplain, and have experienced frequent evacuations because of rising floodwaters. Most recently, three nights of heavy rain on August 11 forced 275 households to evacuate. In the past two years, residents of about 19 properties in the area have been moved.

"Given the fact that these properties have both experienced significant flooding, including the worst flooding in the history of Four Mile just a month ago, there aren't a lot of great options for this land," city manager Rick Clark told the paper. "It seems to me this buyout option is in residents' best interest, as well."

Flooding in Nashville, Tennessee, also spurred relocation in that area. The local Red Cross chapter was forced into moving because its prior headquarters was flooded out in May, reported the Leaf-Chronicle.

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