At its Nov. 25 meeting, the Warren County Fiscal Court tabled two proposed property purchases intended for flood mitigation, including a property at 145 Hearthstone Circle offered at an appraised value plus closing costs of $377,095.01.

Judge presented the purchase as part of a multi‑subdivision mitigation plan after the April floods. He said the two Stonecrest Subdivision homes have been flooded more than five times in the last 15 years and described one house as having taken “7 feet of water” in the last event.

Squire Cummings asked whether it was fair for the county to pay appraised value when homeowners had also received insurance settlements. The judge replied that the insurance payments were “considerably less” and that, while appraised value is the maximum the county can pay, the court could work with homeowners and their insurance companies to determine offsets. “We can do that…we sure can talk with the homeowner’s insurance company to find out what that was,” the judge said.

Court members expressed concern about setting a precedent for buying repeatedly flooded homes; the judge said the purchases at issue were “strategically placed” to enable stormwater basin and area‑wide mitigation work, not a general policy of purchasing every flooded home. The court agreed to table Items 9 and 10 to allow staff to gather insurance information and to meet in closed session to deliberate on future acquisition or sale of real property pursuant to KRS 61.810(1)(b). No final action on the two purchases was taken when the court returned to open session.

Next steps: staff will consult homeowners’ insurance information and report back; the court indicated it will pursue additional study and a follow‑up report before any purchase is finalized.