WAPELLO, Iowa — A mixture of good and bad news was presented to about 100 flood victims during a meeting Thursday at Solid Rock Baptist Church in Wapello.

One piece of good news was offered by Doug Huddleston, a housing specialist with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, who said the first set of temporary housing trailers had arrived earlier in the day in Wapello.

Around 30 people who said they were still without housing were asked to fill out registration forms, which were then handed to Huddleston by the Rev. Dan Doolin, Solid Rock pastor.

Huddleston said FEMA workers would begin developing a contact list from those registrations and additional ones completed earlier by other people impacted by the flooding. Once the lists are completed, the workers would begin calling and setting up appointments to begin the process for moving people into the trailers, Huddleston said.

“Our most important concern is to get a safe place for everyone to live,” he said, adding if anyone knew of potential trailer sites to contact him.

According to Huddleston, FEMA covers all set-up, lot rental and other expenses for the trailers. He said the only requirements for the residents would be utilities and, if they are living in a commercial trailer park, abiding by its rules.

Other good news was delivered by Louisa County Assessor Greg Johnson. He said some zoning restrictions would be eased for the flood victims. He said anyone who had a house damaged in the flood could place a trailer on that lot without violating the county ordinance, which normally prohibits two dwellings on the same parcel. However, the zoning rules would continue to be enforced on any property where the original house was not damaged.

Johnson also had good news for Oakville and surrounding area residents hoping to rebuild, but concerned they would need to elevate their new homes to meet flood plain rules.

According to Johnson, most of the Oakville area is identified through the National Flood Insurance Program as being in Zone X. Johnson said that means anyone wishing to rebuild would not need to meet any elevation rules. He said that would also apply to residents in Elrick Junction.

A few small areas in Oakville are shown on NFIP maps as Zone A and Johnson said those owners would need to have a flood elevation determined through the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. He estimated only a couple of houses would be affected.

The news was not as good for cabin owners along the Iowa, Cedar and Mississippi rivers, Johnson said.

“Right now, the DNR is not allowing any new cabins in the floodway,” he said, explaining that could extend as far as 1,000 feet from the riverbank if no levee is present.

However, he said cabin owners at HawkEye Woods, a small cabin area on the Iowa River west of Oakville, which was heavily damaged by the flooding, could rebuild under certain conditions. He said they must elevate their cabins, conform to the original footprint or smaller and install a modern septic system.

While the good news was welcomed by some residents, others were upset that more help was not being provided to prevent future flooding.

“A lot of us went through 1993 and thought that was the big one. Who do we talk to and say this has to change because this is too much,” one woman pleaded.

Johnson said residents could ask legislators to provide funding to build higher and stronger levees, an effort that might be too expensive.

“The (Army) Corps (of Engineers) says the cost of an average levee is around $1 million per mile,” he said, explaining additional dredging and maintenance costs would increase that expense.

Another woman suggested the county could abate flood victims’ property taxes this year.

“We’re sitting there with nothing,” she told Johnson.

Johnson said that would be up to the board of supervisors, which he said has the authority to take that action. However, he pointed out if everyone affected by the flooding in the Oakville area had their taxes forgiven, that could drop the county’s assessment by more than $25 million. He said local governments that have already certified their budgets based on the earlier assessments would likely have their budgets devastated by the shortage.

“It would be a financial disaster for our county and school district. They just can’t afford it,” he said.

Doolin closed the meeting on a more positive note, saying free Wapello Bucks were available for those who had signed up earlier. He also said cleanup and other recovery efforts would continue.

“I think there are going to be a lot of people working Oakville this week. You may feel abandoned, but there are a lot of things going on behind the scene,” he said.

Correspondent contact information

Jim Rudisill: 319-523-2213

jimrudisill@yahoo.com