Collegeville Borough Receives FEMA Funding
to Begin Buying Flooded Homes
Flooding from the aftermath of Hurricane Ida in 2021 set a record for monumental flooding on the Perkiomen Creek; it also destroyed over 20 borough homes.
For the last two years, the borough has been working with FEMA and our residents to apply for hazard mitigation grants to buy out the flooded homes, which have been appraised at their pre-flood value. Last week the borough finally received an advance deposit of $3.9 million from FEMA to begin the home buy-outs. The total we will receive for home acquisitions is $5.975 million. Once we complete the first phase of the buy-outs and file all the paperwork, the borough will receive the remainder of the funding.
The borough scheduled two homeowners’ settlements at Borough Hall last week, where the homeowners received payment for their homes and the borough received the homes’ keys. Additional settlements are being scheduled for the weeks of July 17 and 24, depending on the homeowner’s schedules and PEMA’s approval of closing documents. According to the FEMA grant policy, homes and all their related impervious surfaces, such as sidewalks and driveways, should be demolished within 90 days of settlement. The land, which is in a flood plain, will then be returned to its natural state. However with this large number of homes, the demolition may take a while longer. The borough’s goal is to complete all the demolitions within a year. “The FEMA process took a long time, but our residents who lived along the creek are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and receiving their home buyouts,” said Borough Manager Tamara Twardowski.
The Council sends its thanks to our highly knowledgeable flood plain consultant, Susan Mazzitelli, who helped us through all the FEMA regulations, and to our Borough Manager, Tamara Twardowski, for her tenacity in successfully overseeing the buyout of our residents’ destroyed homes. Susan’s costs were totally covered by the FEMA grants. Residents with questions about the home buyouts can call Collegeville Borough at 610 489 9208.
