By Rod Hansen
Staff Writer

Some Goffstown homeowners could find relief from damages suffered in the May floods.

Selectmen are preparing to send a letter to residents gauging their interest in home buyout programs. If interest is high enough, the town could apply for those programs.

The letter will include a survey asking if residents would be interested in pursuing such a program.

“We’re going to reach out with a letter to measure people’s interest,” said Town Administrator Sue Desruisseaux.

In discussing the programs at their meeting on Monday, July 24, selectmen Chairman Barbara Griffin said residents should be asked if they’d be interested in these programs.

Three buyout programs could apply to Goffstown residents, Desruisseaux said. Two of those programs are funded through the Federal Emergency Management Agency and another through flood insurance premiums.

The first of those programs is the FEMA-funded Hazard Mitigation Grant. That grant would offer homeowners the pre-disaster fair market value of their residences, minus any federal assistance already granted to that homeowner. All existing liens would be paid off directly at the closing, with the balance of cash going to the homeowner, Desruisseaux said.

Money available through that grant totals 7.5 percent of the total statewide damage resulting from the Mother’s Day floods, Desruisseaux said.

The town must file an intent to apply for that grant by Sept. 1, with the formal application deadline to be announced at a later date.

A second buyout option is available through the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant, also funded through FEMA. This program differs from the Hazard Mitigation Grant in that it is a national, rather than a statewide, program, Desruisseaux said.

Local officials hope any money through the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant would be made available under 2007 fiscal year funding, Desruisseaux said.

The 2006 appropriation for that grant was set at $50 million, while 2007 appropriations are expected to return to the 2005 levels of $150 million, Desruisseaux said. Congress has not yet voted on that appropriation.

Further information about deadlines for the Pre-disaster Mitigation Grant will be posted on FEMA’s Web site Aug. 6, Desruisseaux said.

A final and more restrictive option lies in the Flood Mitigation Assistance Program, Desruisseaux said. Only residents with flood insurance would be eligible under this program, which is funded through flood insurance premiums, she said.

There are currently 95 properties with flood insurance in Goffstown, but only five of the 160 properties damaged by the flood carry flood insurance, according to town records.

Town officials expect to send letters out to the approximately 50 households sitting directly in the flood way on the Piscataquog river. A further mailing could cover the 100 households on the flood plain, she said.

According to numbers Desruisseaux read during a recent meeting, there were 95 homes posted as being affected by the flooding. As of July 17, 72 families were still out of their homes, 16 were back in their residences after repairs and seven were unaffected by the flood.