FEMA cash flows to waterfront homeowners in Florida
September 5, 2008 · Written by Steve M · Print This Post
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For years, the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) has been handing out millions of dollars to homeowners all over the country to renovate homes. The idea is to help mitigate problems with future flooding; they want owners to raise homes higher off the ground.
Just in the the community of Madeira Beach, Florida - a barrier island to the east of St. Petersburg - FEMA has handed out grants totaling more than $3.6 million to homeowners since 1996. I’m sorry, but I have a problem with the federal government handing out cash to people who purchased homes three feet above sea level.
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If you’re wondering what the community is like, check out the map below. Take a tour with street view to see images of the homes on Bay Point Drive and Pruitt Drive, where FEMA handed out more than $2.2 million alone.
To get the grants - which cover 75 percent of the cost of renovations - you need to agree to purchase flood insurance. No kidding? If you live in an area that floods, isn’t that logical?
Correct me if I’m wrong, but it looks like homeowner premiums for federal flood insurance is somewhere around $50 to $75 per month or less. This is a damn good deal for the Puglisie family, especially for a waterfront lot that includes a spot for the boat when the flood does come.
Tampabays10.com’s Mike Deeson has the story, with my emphasis added.
It is the type of home that turns heads and makes people say “Wow.” The home at 736 Pruitt Drive in Madeira Beach on Boca Ciega Bay is an eye stopper. It’s built on the largest lot in Madeira Beach and can be seen from a block and half away. It is spectacular from outside and inside and has a breathtaking view.
Kathy and Fred Pugliese are delighted with their home on the bay. Fred Pugliese says when everything is done it will be a really nice home. Pugliese also has high praise for the Federal program that is helping him renovate.
Under the plan, the Puglisie’s have to agree to pay $114,420.15 for the renovations, but that is just 25 percent of the cost. The other 75 percent $334,262.25 is being paid with public money from a FEMA grant. In addition to the $457,683 involved in the grant program, Pugliese says he has put at least another $100,000 into the project.
Pugliese says he can understand that some people will ask why did he get all that money, but he says it is a fair deal. Under the program homeowners have to continue to buy federal flood insurance even though it is unlikely their home will flood again.
Not likely to flood again? Hey Fred, your house on a barrier island that seems to be built at sea level. Here’s the view of his back yard. Take a tour around the neighborhood where FEMA dropped a cool $2.2 million to renovate 20 homes.
The families in the Madeira Beach certainly have got a good deal going, here’s an Excel spreadsheet provided by the city that shows the grants provided to homeowners in the city. I cleaned up the spreadsheet a bit to make it easier to read.
I feel bad for people in hurricane ally when storms come and do damage - sometimes it’s downright tragic - but as a conservative I can not stand by while federal funds are handed out more than $31 million on this program during 2007.
Funding this program through FEMA is not the job of the federal government. They do not have the constitutional authority to fund these programs, period.
After listening to speeches at the Republican convention, I wonder if the McCain-Palin ticket will target this entitlement program and shut it down?
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