Fairhope, Alabama
705 CEDAR AVENUE
After hearing a report from building inspector Eric Cortinas, the city council informally authorized moving forward with an application to FEMA that could result in the purchase and demolition of of the notoriously flood-prone house on Cedar Ave, in the Volanta watershed.
(A similar attempt last year missed a deadline -- click.)
Completing a "cost benefit analysis" is is the next step.
Cortinas told the council the home has flooded 16 times since it was constructed back in the 1970s, and 11 times since the current owners, the Barnetts, moved there in the 80s.
He said since the house cant be elevated (slab construction), demolition is the only alternative allowed by the federal hazard mitigation grant being sought.
Since the house was recently appraised for $245,000, the city would eventually be required to chip in
about $61, 000 on the 75/25% matching grant.
The city's application will be competing with other mitigation requests from throughout the state for a fixed amount available from FEMA this year.
Repairs caused by the two most recent April floods have already been made (they do have flood insurance).
PAST LITIGATION
Mayor Kant said the city has been sued twice; the second time a settlement was reached out of court by the city's insurer.
He said an engineering study was done about 15 years ago that determined a new 40" storm-water pipe down Cedar street was needed; but the city council at that time decided not to proceed because of the high cost ($100K) and potential of dumping the water onto others downstream.
Kant: "It doesn't cost us anything (now) to submit the paperwork."
The two adjacent houses upstream and one across the street also are affected; the mayor wants to demolish the home and make a "retention area" for the whole neighborhood.
POOR MAINTENANCE UPSTREAM TO BLAME?
The mayor pointed a finger at the lack of maintenance of a retention pond upstream as a contributing factor, at the Glen Hardie subdivision (south of Volanta Ave.).
Kant: "Its a mess ... owners haven't done anything since it was built ... causing problems downstream."
He then directed Cortinas to stop any new construction there until the problem is fixed.
Kant: "They need to do what they are supposed to do."
Doris and Robert Mitchell of Fairhope own the Glen Hardie Farms subdivision, according to online county land records. There is no owner's association.
(The common area there is so overgrown, the Times' Environmental reporter sustained minor injuries accessing the site. A concrete culvert, from the city's Volanta Park, also drains into the same basin. New drainage basins were added in the park in 2012, to reduce/slow water flow.)
Mayor Kant has frequently complained about the lack of proper maintenance at subdivision retention ponds around the city; and has specifically mentioned problems at D'Estrehan, River Oaks, and Spring Lake. Another city official says a basin in the Idlewild subdivision is not being maintained.
Later, Kant told the Times the city's only options were to sue the owner (or Owners' Association) -- or the city do the maintenance after doing a tax assessment of all property in the subdivisions.
705 CEDAR AVENUE
After hearing a report from building inspector Eric Cortinas, the city council informally authorized moving forward with an application to FEMA that could result in the purchase and demolition of of the notoriously flood-prone house on Cedar Ave, in the Volanta watershed.
(A similar attempt last year missed a deadline -- click.)
Completing a "cost benefit analysis" is is the next step.
Cortinas told the council the home has flooded 16 times since it was constructed back in the 1970s, and 11 times since the current owners, the Barnetts, moved there in the 80s.
He said since the house cant be elevated (slab construction), demolition is the only alternative allowed by the federal hazard mitigation grant being sought.
Since the house was recently appraised for $245,000, the city would eventually be required to chip in
 |
| Cortinas |
The city's application will be competing with other mitigation requests from throughout the state for a fixed amount available from FEMA this year.
Repairs caused by the two most recent April floods have already been made (they do have flood insurance).
PAST LITIGATION
Mayor Kant said the city has been sued twice; the second time a settlement was reached out of court by the city's insurer.
He said an engineering study was done about 15 years ago that determined a new 40" storm-water pipe down Cedar street was needed; but the city council at that time decided not to proceed because of the high cost ($100K) and potential of dumping the water onto others downstream.
Kant: "It doesn't cost us anything (now) to submit the paperwork."
The two adjacent houses upstream and one across the street also are affected; the mayor wants to demolish the home and make a "retention area" for the whole neighborhood.
POOR MAINTENANCE UPSTREAM TO BLAME?
The mayor pointed a finger at the lack of maintenance of a retention pond upstream as a contributing factor, at the Glen Hardie subdivision (south of Volanta Ave.).
Kant: "Its a mess ... owners haven't done anything since it was built ... causing problems downstream."
He then directed Cortinas to stop any new construction there until the problem is fixed.
Kant: "They need to do what they are supposed to do."
Doris and Robert Mitchell of Fairhope own the Glen Hardie Farms subdivision, according to online county land records. There is no owner's association.
(The common area there is so overgrown, the Times' Environmental reporter sustained minor injuries accessing the site. A concrete culvert, from the city's Volanta Park, also drains into the same basin. New drainage basins were added in the park in 2012, to reduce/slow water flow.)
Mayor Kant has frequently complained about the lack of proper maintenance at subdivision retention ponds around the city; and has specifically mentioned problems at D'Estrehan, River Oaks, and Spring Lake. Another city official says a basin in the Idlewild subdivision is not being maintained.
Later, Kant told the Times the city's only options were to sue the owner (or Owners' Association) -- or the city do the maintenance after doing a tax assessment of all property in the subdivisions.
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| Glenn Hardie Subdivision Retention Basin |
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