$1 million grant awarded to owners of restaurant repeatedly hit by floods.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approved a $1.17 repetitive flood claims grant for the demolition of the Riverside Inn in Ozark, Missouri. The owners of the restaurant will receive $996,014 for acquisition of the property, and the remaining $174,437 will cover asbestos abatement and other demolition costs. Fair market value of the property had been assessed at $322,000, and there is some question about how the acquisition amount was determined.
The historic Riverside Inn has stood in a flood plain for 86 years. It has flooded many times, but the flooding has become far more frequent. The restaurant flooded three times last year alone, which was finally what convinced the owners to ask the county to submit the grant proposal on their behalf. Since 2002, five floods have caused $742,291 in damages. The damage was covered by the National Flood Insurance Program.
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