Cash needed for program to raze homes

LISBON -- The Columbiana County commissioners are looking for money to help remove homes in Lisbon that were damaged by flooding in 2004.
Pam Dray of the county's planning department said Wednesday that the county's share of the removals would be $170,943.
Jim Hoppel, the chairman of the commissioners, said the board will try to find money fromvarious sources. He added that the county won't be able to take part in the program if the money has to come from the county's tight general fund.
Some 19 homes in Lisbon are technically eligible, even though some no longer exist. The mitigation program run by the Ohio Emergency Management Agency buys the land and remaining property, removes any remaining structures, and then turns the vacant lot over to the subdivision where it is located. The land must be left vacant.
Dray said three of the homes in Lisbon washed away after flooding Aug. 27, 2004. Another three are unoccupied.
The commissioners withdrew a request for the mitigation program for a house in West Township for a lack of money.
The county's share of the project would have been $26,000. The planning department planned to use in-kind services for its entire share. The state said the county could claim some in-kind services as legitimate expenses, but it had to contribute money also.