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Metro Water Services describes hundreds of home buyouts, resulting open space and partnerships with parks
Summary
Metro Water Services assistant director Tom Palco summarized long-running buyout efforts that have acquired hundreds of flood-prone homes and converted them to open space, and said federal funding streams such as BRIC have changed.
Tom Palco, assistant director of Metro Water Services, told the commission that the agency has purchased hundreds of flood-prone homes and converted them to open space through partnerships, corps projects and Metro funding.
"As of today, we have purchased 476 houses, created 240 acres of open space," Palco said, describing projects on Mill Creek and Seven Mile Creek that included purchases in the Windpointe Drive area and elsewhere. Palco said Metro has completed projects with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, buying dozens of houses in flood-prone areas and packaging those properties into restored open space.
Palco described emotional moments that underline the work: family members revisiting a house where relatives drowned in a flood, and the agency's role in enabling owners to move to safer housing. He said some buyouts have been funded through federal programs and Corps partnerships, but that funding streams have shifted and certain programs have seen reduced federal support.
Metro Water Services said it continues to pursue both federal partner projects and 100% Metro-funded purchases when necessary; many of the acquired parcels are restricted by floodplain rules but can be used for passive open space and low-impact recreation in partnership with Metro Parks. No commission action was required; Palco's presentation was informational.
