County CDBG Fund Plan - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

County CDBG Fund Plan

The next steps for flood protection in the county could include a home auction in the near future.

Many of the home acquisition offers in the county ARE - or are near finalized.

Today the Ward County Community Development Block Grant Committee decided what to do with the homes they've purchased in the flood plan footprint.

Homes in the Brooks Addition near Burlington are in various stages of flood recovery.

Some of them are untouched while others have been rebuilt for more than a year.

Rather than demolishing the structures, the CDBG committee will recommend to the Ward County Commissioners that the homes should be posted for bids.

Buyers would need to move the structures within 60 days.

Ward County Emergency Manager Amanda Schooling says the house itself is a small piece of the demolition process and selling the homes will stretch CDBG funds minimally --- but the decision was more than financial.

(Amanda Schooling, Ward County Emergency Manager) "The home actually is a very small piece, as they had stated earlier in the meeting. There's really not much difference in the price, but helping the citizens in Ward County find some cheaper housing or housing period."

Materials from unsold homes will be donated to non-profit organizations before demolition.