By Rick Hiduk
Tensions have run high among home-owners in flood zones in Wyoming County since it was announced in early March that PEMA had selected Meshoppen Borough to be the sole recipient of a block grant buyout of $2.4 million.
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County residents in other municipalities such as Eaton (above) and Forkston (below) townships cried “foul,” not only because they had been meeting with PEMA officials who assured them that they would be among the recipients, but also because a review of the structures in Meshoppen on the proposed buyout list raised questions, eyebrows and blood pressure.
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Meshoppen Borough Council, the members of which several borough residents claim had to sign off on their applications to get them to the review stage, are now upset that such a large chunk of town representing up to 10 percent of the tax base might be demolished.
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Meanwhile, residents on Church Street in Meshoppen (above) whose intentions were sincere and who contend that their applications are legitimate now feel that they will lose out on an opportunity that was within their grasp a month ago.
The final applications were submitted to PEMA by the Wyoming County Housing & Redevelopment Authority, representatives of which made the announcement at a meeting of the Wyoming County Commissioners on March 7. A number of Forkston area residents were at that meeting, and their questions were brushed off.
The Wyoming County Housing & Redevelopment Authority was a no-show at the April 4 commissioners meeting, leaving Eaton Township residents to direct their questions and their anger at the commissioners.
Will the PEMA Proposal Be Reversed or Modified?
“It may,” Sen. Lisa Baker related. “The commissioners are looking at this, and they have looked to us for clarification.”
Sen. Baker and Rep. Karen Boback collaborated on a letter (below) to PEMA director Richard Flinn and DCED secretary Dennis Davin dated April 7 asking the agency leaders to take another look at the situation in Wyoming County and how it was handled.
“People have been hoping for this for a long time,” said Baker, in reference to all of the applicants whose properties were severely flooded in 2011. “Both public officials and residents have reached out and asked questions about how the process works and how decisions were made.” Those specific questions, as attached to the Baker/Boback letter, are outlined below.
There are no estimates at this time as to how long the final decision may be stalled.