COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (KMTV) -- — There are only a couple days left for people in Pottawattamie County to ask about a buyout if their home has flood damage.
So far 176 property owners have filled out the Buyout Interest Form. The areas where the residents live are in the West End neighborhood in Council Bluffs, Northwest Pottawattamie County along the Missouri River, and in Oakland, IA.
It's the first step for Pottawattamie county to put together a possible budget and figure out which buyout program would work best.
Arlyn Arnold has lived in the West End of Council Bluffs for 50 years. He says his basement is still taking on ground water from the March flooding issues. Arnold says he'll likely fill out the buyout form for flood victims.
"It would be of interest to me and I'm curious as to what kind of buyout they would go,” Arnold explained. "If that's going to be our normal, I'm pretty much getting ready to go whoop on out of here."
The county will then be able to form a dollar amount to participate in the program. There's no set amount of damage a home must sustain. Emergency managers say people don't have to be set to sell just interested to get the process going.
“Right now, if they even think they're somewhat interested they need to fill out that interest survey because we want to make sure that we've got to as close to a real budget as possible. That way we don't have to leave anybody out that may qualify and be interested,” said Doug Reed, Director of Pottawattamie County Emergency Management.
Forms must be filled out by October 31, 2019. Click here for the: Buyout Interest Form. If a homeowner doesn’t have internet access, they can go to the Council Bluffs Public Library for assistance.
