The Mills County Attorney’s Office reports that on Tuesday, October 15th, during the regularly scheduled public meeting, the Mills County Board of Supervisors agreed to proceed with FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program property buyouts for a large number of properties located in the flood-affected areas of unincorporated Mills County (Iowa). On a formal motion by Mills County Supervisor Richard Crouch, the Board unanimously voted to pursue residential property buyouts for those eligible landowners whose properties are located in the area West of 180th Street between the Pottawattamie-Mills County line to the North and Lambert Avenue to the South as well as the area West of Interstate 29 between Lambert Avenue to the North and the Mills-Fremont County line to the South.

The discussion and decision regarding this first phase of buyout decisions were focused largely on history of repetitive flooding and property loss and mitigation of future flood risk to life and property. For the second phase of buyout decisions, the Board of Supervisors agreed that all other flood-affected residential properties in unincorporated Mills County will be considered for buyout on a case-by-case basis using criteria determined by the Board. The list of eligible landowners and the criteria for these case-by-case considerations will be formalized during the next Board of Supervisors meeting on October 22, 2019.

To be eligible for consideration, flood-affected landowners were previously asked to sign-up to participate in the buyout program, by October 11, 2019 at 4:30 p.m., at the Mills County Auditor’s Office and complete a Statement of Voluntary Transaction.