A tragedy of two towns
Oakville and Gulfport present remarkably similar, yet surprisingly different recovery stories. By WILLIAM SMITH
wsmith@thehawkeye.com
Two small communities just 22 miles apart, one in Iowa, the other in Illinois, were all but destroyed a year ago.
Oakville was wiped off the map June 14, 2008, after a levee east of town failed, permitting the Iowa River to swallow nearly every structure with water up to 10 feet deep.
Three days later, a 300-plus-foot levee breach dumped 70 billion gallons of water into Henderson County, Ill., and destroyed Gulfport, Ill.
The stories of the two towns, both of which had populations of less than 500 people before the flood (Oakville had a population of about 400 while Gulfport had half that), are remarkably similar, yet surprisingly different.
The biggest difference was in Oakville, where the fast-moving Iowa River that overwhelmed the levee tore through town on its way to the Mississippi River, disappeared nearly as fast as it came. Downriver, souring floodwater remained trapped in low-lying Gulfport for four months.
In both towns, the floodwater brought mold and possible disease, but reconstruction started quickly in Oakville and just now is beginning in Gulfport.
Residents in both communities share a burning desire to rebuild.
A common goal, vision in Oakville
To get a feel of how Oakville is bouncing back, one only needs to drive through its few streets or attend one of the many parties and open houses hosted over the past year. More than 140 people have returned to the town, either living in their reconstructed homes or in FEMA trailers.
"I think Oakville is a good example of what can happen when people share a common goal and a common vision," said Dan Buck, Oakville's project director.
The last flood debris that littered yards and side-streets was hauled away last week to the landfill, leaving the town nearly as spic-and-span as it was before the flood. Green grass is springing up where mud was caked last year, and a weekend-long homecoming celebration featuring a fish fry, volunteer supper, petting zoo, kids games and tour of homes is scheduled for this next weekend.
"This is a close-knit community, and people have roots here," Buck said. "I have heard time and again from people that this is a river town and we are a river people."
Eighty Oakville homes were condemned last August and about 50 remain for the wrecking ball that will start tearing down homes this month. A $1.6 million demolition contract has been awarded to First Construction Group of Burlington.
More than 100 residents applied for government buyouts, but many others have either restored their homes or plan to construct new ones after the demolition. FEMA's Long Term Recovery Plan, which was introduced to residents in November, brought forth the idea of residential and commercial zoning in the downtown district.
The idea behind the modest plan is to get at least five businesses downtown over the next eight years, which would create a tax base that could support necessities such as sewer and water.
Buck noted that city revenue will be down more than 66 percent due to the flood, but said his more immediate concern is what happens to Oakville beyond next year.
"I think Long Term Recovery worked really diligently to set some goals and create ideas. Some of those were practical, and I think some people realized that Oakville can be better than it was before the flood," Buck said.
Buck said the demolition is the first of three major projects that will improve Oakville. That will be followed by restoration of the city's storm drain system, which is in its engineering phase. Buck hopes to use hazard mitigation pay to replace 7,500 feet of four-inch pipe with 12-inch pipe, and the entire project will take about 90 days.
After that, all the streets will be resurfaced and seal-coated, which will take another 60 days. Buck hopes both projects will be finished by winter.
"I think with the restoration of services and the removal of debris, it will make the town a more desirable place for residents," he said.
While Buck is confident many residents will return after the demolition, he doesn't own a crystal ball. Oakville will move forward, but it's impossible to tell how many residents will be on board.
"It's hard to say what's going to happen after those houses are demolished," Buck said.
Gulfport gets slow start
The day after the Mississippi River engulfed Gulfport and 28,000 acres of Henderson County, The Hawk Eye's front page read "Gulfport Gone."
Water was 10 feet deep in Gulfport, and the levees designed to protect the community prevented the water from receding. The drainage district had only one operable pump, and it wasn't until June 25 that the county received a disaster declaration from the state.
It took another three weeks for contractors to come in and pump out the floodwater, and it took until Sept. 8 for residents to be allowed to regularly go in and begin cleaning their homes. Mold and possible disease festered in those stagnant floodwaters for four months, prompting the Illinois Emergency Management Agency to hand out white hazmat suits to residents entering town.
For a while, it seemed like the headline "Gulfport Gone Forever" would have been more appropriate. But taking a look at Gulfport now is like taking a look at Oakville six months ago. The devastation has been cleaned up, confusing questions still linger and many of the residents want to come back.
Whether they will is an open question.
"We've lost everything. We're starting over from scratch," said Gulfport Mayor Rich Myers. "I hope by the end of summer, you're going to see a real change in this town.
"Just like any town, you want to make it better than it was."
How that will be accomplished is uncertain, and there remains a litany of hard decisions residents must make as to whether they want to come back.
FEMA will proceed with the deaccrediation of the levee under the expectation that the county will not be able to re-certify the levee to a 100-year level -- the level that existed before last summer's flood -- in a timely manner. FEMA also awarded funds to start a hazard mitigation plan, which is required if local officials proceed with a buyout.
Henderson County Board Chairman Marty Lafary said the county is working to shore up low spots on the levee in Henderson County Drainage District No. 2, though it will not proceed with an accreditation until residents have had a chance weigh the two options at a public meeting.
"We're going to try and get everything back like it was. We want to give people the opportunity to get back to where they were," Lafary said. "We haven't heard a lot about the buyouts. They try to make it sound sweet, but they sugarcoat it a lot."
Only 25 residents have returned to Gulfport, and 24 homes have been demolished. Myers said another eight homes will be condemned this month. That's more than half of the 45 homes in town.
Biggest option
As evident in Oakville, buyouts don't necessarily mean the end of the town. The Oakville Development Corp. was established to buy local properties targeted for buyout to develop them rather than leave them for green space -- a requirement if a property owner accepts a government buyout.
Tonya Lanz, who coordinates the scheduling of volunteer efforts in Oakville, said the Oakville Development Corp. is hoping to buy some properties soon.
"We are just waiting to see if we get funding from the federal government," she said.
Considering Gulfport's fate has yet to be decided, that's an option too far in the future for Myers to consider right now. A long-term recovery plan like that of Oakville's also has yet to be discussed, but Myers said Oakville is providing a good template.
"We're trying to decide what our next step is. It starts with what the residents want to do," Myers said. "They are waiting for their houses to be demolished, and they are waiting on the levee to see if they want to come back."
There's no question what Myers wants to do. He has lived in the village since he was 2. His family lost homes and structures on nine different properties in Gulfport.
"I always knew I was coming back as long as I was allowed to," he said. "People want to come back because it's so peaceful and quiet. It's like living in the country, only you're five minutes from town."
Volunteers
Bringing a town back to life is about baby-steps. Like a toddler gaining confidence, Oakville already has started its journey.
In lieu of a buyout, Gulfport is ready to take its first steps toward rehabilitation. Debris removal began in January, and the ADM grain elevator and Sam's Speakeasy Saloon became the first businesses to reopen.
But it's impossible to rebuild a town without the help of volunteers. Shortly after the flood, church groups from around the country converged in Oakville to provide free labor and emotional support, gutting homes and hanging drywall.
These days, most volunteers are funneled through the Apostolic Christian Relief Organization. Lanz has been assigning up to 50 volunteers a week to rebuild homes and clean-up debris in Oakville.
"I actually see a bright future for Oakville," Lanz said.
Lanz has been seeing such an influx of faith-based volunteers that she now is sending some of them to Gulfport to help with demolition clean-up, and eventually, rebuilding.
While many perceive Gulfport as a town floundering without outside help, faith-based organizations have been there since the beginning.
Monmouth, Ill.-based Pay It Forward Ministries has a mission of putting aside personal differences and doctrine to provide compassionate relief to individuals who have fallen into hardship.
"We have people that come (from Gulfport), and their stress levels are up. They feel completely forgotten," said Shawn Moede of Pay It Forward Ministries. "Their FEMA money is gone. There are people who would like to come home, but they can't because their money is gone."
She said the key to operating a successful volunteer organization is providing people with what they need now rather than what they needed a year ago -- and now, Gulfport residents need building materials.
"A lot of these people can't afford building supplies. They are a long way from being back to where they are," she said.
Further burdening a possible rebuilding effort in Gulfport is the town's seedy reputation. But Moede said the bars and strip clubs present a facade that prevents people from seeing the real residents.
"People say 'It's just Sin City.' I know good people who want to go back there," she said.
Moede has issued a request for almost anything people are willing to give, including building supplies, food pantry items and furniture. Moede said the purpose of her organization is not to duplicate services fulfilled by the county, but to fill the gaps. She also hopes to fill those gaps left by volunteer groups that will be coming to Gulfport at the end of the month.
"Life will never be close to the same for a lot of people," Moede said. "It wasn't uncommon to have someone call at 2 a.m. in the morning trying not to do something stupid. We still get calls in the middle of the night."
Moede said that before the flood about 50 to 75 people used the ministry's service monthly before. That number swelled to 1,500 people after the June 17 levee breach.
One year from now
Now that a year has passed since the water rose, residents in Oakville and Gulfport are wondering where they will be in another year.
Buck freely admitted that he doesn't know. The town's three major projects should be completed by the end of 2009. How many residents return remains to be seen, but a permanent levee protecting the town should be in place by fall.
"There are some factors involved, and one of them is the economy," Buck said. "How will the economy affect people who want to live in a rural setting?"
The global financial meltdown did not occur until three months after the flood. The economy looms as big a factor in Gulfport as it does in Oakville. That's because Henderson County has been placed on a poverty warning list by the Mid-America Institute on Poverty, which considers such varied factors as teen births and unemployment.
Economic hardship for those recovering from a natural disaster presents a double-whammy.
There are few avenues of financial assistance outside the U.S. Small Business Administration loan program, and many residents are upset with the amount of red tape they had to deal with to obtain the loans. Moede said it's an issue her ministry is confronting with everyone, not just flood victims.
"We know the numbers (of homeless) are on the rise, and tent cities are popping up everywhere," she said.
Myers said that six months from now, he hopes to have half the Gulfport residents back in town. Though the county is working to get the levee up to a 100-year levee, Drainage District No. 2 taxpayers voted in April to proceed with a 500-year levee that would cost an estimated $37 million.
And maybe, just maybe, Gulfport will be back on its way to where it used to be.
"Once they learn the fate of the levees, you'll be seeing people come back to town. A 500-year levee is possible, and both drainage districts are looking for ways to offset the costs of that," Lafary said.
For now, demolition will continue in Gulfport, a town that suffered the same tragedy as Oakville with a very different set of circumstances.
"When you try to compare our flood with Oakville, the only thing comparable is that the flood went through and destroyed homes," Lafary said.
|