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<br /> <br /> <br />, <br />", <br />, <br /> <br />--~~ <br /> <br />:iil~;~ .i~""'" <br /> <br />Commerce, Missouri, 20 miles <br />southeast of Cape Girardeau <br />on the Mississippi. was fa- <br />mous for Iwo things in the 19Ih <br />century: it was the largest river port <br />beIween New Orleans and St. Louis, <br />and it flooded constantly. In more <br />recent hisIOry. iI has lost the first <br />designation, buI retains Ihe second <br />because it tloods, on Ihe average of <br />every Iwo years.1 <br /> <br />In 1993. Ihe flooding began in <br />April and some Commerce residents <br />spent the enIire month out of their <br />homes. In July. however, the Missis- <br />sippi tlooded the town again, and by <br />July 15 water had covered every street <br />in the lower part of the town, flooding <br />over 70 houses. Of Ihe 94 houses in <br />Commerce. only 17 are built out of the <br />tloodplain. Halfthe residents moved to <br />higher ground. and Ihe rest. whose <br />homes still had any dry Iloor space, <br />lived without electricity or pOIable <br />water.2 <br /> <br />Unlike many tlooded Mis- <br />souri towns, the Ilood waIers did not <br />recede quickly from Commerce. In <br />SepIember. the streeIs and yards were <br />still covered wiIh mud. there was still <br />standing water in the city park. and <br />some homes were without electriciIy.3 <br />Some residenIs thought it was time to <br />seek a solution through the federal <br />buyout program. <br /> <br />- <br /> <br /> <br />~'...~...' <br />:., ...... '~.. ... <br /> <br />Open Space surrounding the Commerce Post Office. <br /> <br />Commerce <br /> <br />As early as August 2. at least <br />40 residents attended the regular <br />Commerce village board meeting to <br />voice their opinion and to hear debate <br />about selling out through the buyout <br />program. Under the terms of the early. <br />pre- Volkmer buyOUI programs, the <br />stale mighI buy some homes in the <br />tloodplain Ihat had sustained more <br />than 50% damage. <br /> <br />Debate was fierce, wiIh the <br />board members and residents clearly <br />divided inIo two groups. The anti- <br />buyout forces were informally lead <br />by Ann Huck. the Iown.s 79 year old <br />mayor, who had lived in Commerce <br />for 55 years. She asked the assembly <br />to consider not only how much might <br />be lost in revenue, but Ihe expense of <br />tearing down the empty houses once <br />the city owned them. With a yearly <br />real estate lax revenue of only S 1.000 <br />to S 1.200 dollars. she doubted Ihe <br />town could afford to tear them down. <br /> <br />The pro-buyout group found <br />a spokesman in board member Roy <br />Jones, who fell that the buyout opIion <br /> <br />offered a chance to escape an ongoing <br />cycle of tlooding. As to the expense <br />of Iearing down the houses. David <br />Mayberry. a supporter of the bUYOUI <br />opIion said: "This town already has <br />some abandoned houses. Whar's a <br />few more? You're talking abouI cost <br />to tear down houses-how much does <br />a book of matches costT' <br /> <br />Mayor Huck Iold the audience <br />that she had talked to Bill Emerson.Ihe <br />town's Congressional Representative, <br />and there had been some talk about <br />trying to get the Corps of Engineers to <br />build a levee in front of the !Own. but. <br />"wiIh Ihe assessed value of the area so <br />low [she] didn.t see a strong possibility <br />for a levee being built here anytime <br />soon."4 <br /> <br />After Ihe heated meeting. the <br />pro-buyout group. suspecIing thaI the <br />majoriIy of people in the !Own <br />supported them, circulated a peIition <br />among the townspeople, asking the <br />council to pursue a buyout. AIIhough <br />80% of the residents signed that <br />document. when iI was presented at <br /> <br />Page 27 <br />