New proposals intended to reduce flooding in two northern Bartholomew County neighborhoods would lengthen the time residents have to help pay for proposed improvements.
The Bartholomew County commissioners are looking into recent flooding issues in Armuth Acres and North Cliff subdivisions, after more than 40 residents crowded into a commissioner’s meeting on Feb. 25 seeking help.
After listening to the residents complaints, the commissioners cautioned that while they were concerned about the flooding issues, residents of the subdivisions had made a similar request in 2002, but backed out of an agreement for a fix after learning it would cost about $5,000 per person to install an internal drainage system in the two subdivisions.
Then, property owners were told that if they didn’t pay the entire amount within a year, they would be charged 10 percent interest, Commissioner Larry Kleinhenz said. Even with the interest, all homeowners would have been required to pay everything they owned within five years.
Homeowners in both subdivisions are in a tough situation because they are technically not located in a flood plain – and therefore not eligible for federal flood insurance, according to the group.
But some new alternatives emerged a few days later when the commissioners met with Bartholomew County hydrologist Tom Finke to discuss options, Kleinhenz said.
If the project is designed and classified as an urban drain, property owners would have 20 years to pay for the improvements, rather than just five years, Commissioner Carl Lienhoop said.
For more on this story, see Thursday’s Republic.
