Floods force home demolitions statewide in Wisconsin

Daily Reporter (Milwaukee), Jun 17, 2008 by Sean Ryan

When the flood waters recede and federal grants start pouring in, many Wisconsinites will ask the government to demolish their houses.

Even homeowners who might otherwise be reluctant to sell their waterfront land may change their minds if the right combination of federal and state dollars is available.

"It's really up to the property taxpayer as to whether they want to participate or not, then, of course, whether we have the money," said Roxanne Gray, state hazard mitigation officer for Wisconsin Emergency Management. "I think we're going to have a really high demand with this whole event because we have whole towns that have been inundated."

Local governments requested $16 million from Wisconsin Emergency Management in 2007, mostly for buying properties and demolishing the houses on them. The state only allocated $5.5 million to the program, she said. The program has paid for 350 property acquisitions since 1993.

People aren't asking for demolition services yet because businesses and homeowners are still recovering from last week's floods and waiting for the federal government to commit money, said Wenbin Yuan, chief executive of Dakota Intertek Corp, New Berlin, which works on commercial projects.

"We may be getting busy shortly because of the trickling-down process of how contracting works," said Yuan.

Kevin Thompson, president of Walters Wrecking Inc., Brookfield, said he doesn't expect floods to produce enough work to attract out- of-state demolition contractors, but said Walters will look into any opportunities that arise.

"The only basis or reference point would be the unfortunate problems in Katrina with the flooding there that led to wide-spread demolition of houses," Thompson said. "It's on the radar, but it's not to the level of Katrina."

Donna Haugom, director of emergency management for Jefferson County, had a list of 12 properties to acquire before the rains came, but said she expects that list to grow in the coming weeks. The county identified several properties to acquire in its Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan (PDF), and since 1996 has acquired 38 parcels (PDF) around Blackhawk Island Road near Lake Koshkonong, she said.

"Some people have told me this is the only place they've ever wanted to live and that's fine," Haugom said. "It doesn't flood all of the time.

"They've learned to live with that. They accept it. They understand it."

Even though governments can't force someone to sell, regulations can make it their only practical choice, Gray said. Houses in a flood path must be demolished if it would cost more than half of their value to repair them, and owners that want to rebuild in a flood plain must pay to bring in fill to elevate their new house above the water level.

But local officials have to consider the loss of property taxes from waterfront properties if governments buy the land, Gray said.

"You kind of have to look at weighing the public health and safety aspect versus do you want this on the tax rolls," she said.

Town assessor Ron Jacobson said he does not anticipate lost property taxes from the sale of such properties would present a problem.

"It's never really been raised as an issue for me," he said.

Haugom said she expected the Federal Emergency Management Agency to tour Jefferson County this week. She further expected the county would get a federal disaster declaration and the funding for property acquisition that goes with it. Then it's just a matter of seeing which homeowners will sell.

"Generally you can only put up with so much," she said. "This might be what puts them over the edge."