Evergreen Village has been home to some of the residents for more than 30 years, but due to repeated flooding, they are having to find homes in other locations. DeKalb Daily Chronicle reports that after years of planning, county leaders finally secured $7.1 million in state and federal emergency management grants to buy the property, relocate its residents, and return it to open space by June 30, 2015.
Officials have budgeted about $3.7 million to relocate residents and about $1.9 million to purchase the manufactured homes. The county purchased the property for $1.47 million.
As residents move out, the homes will be demolished after being tested for asbestos. A total of 120 units are scheduled to be torn down.
After this experience, Melanie Watkins and her husband said they plan to always look at flood plain maps of the area when looking for a new home. After living in this community for 12 years, they’re eager to get out before any more flooding occurs. Watkins said, “If it rains three inches, we have water in our home.” After months of searching, the couple has found that many properties in their price range have quickly been scooped up by other buyers.
Northern Public Radio reports that Evergreen Village resident Kim Doty has lived in her mobile home for 13 years. It’s meticulously maintained with green trimmed cupboards, and she estimates that she’s spent more than $10,000 on upgrades. However, she’s also accustomed to the flooding that has caused damage over the years. “It sends my heart racing every time it rains,” she explained. Now she has arranged to live in an apartment in Genoa.
Although Doty admits this is a difficult situation, she said, “It is what it is, and you deal with it.” She believes that some good has come out of this. “I think it’s good that more people are made aware of people living in mobile homes. We are not a bunch of illegals smoking dope or scroungy people. We are just hard-working, everyday people that make a living and pay our bills and pay our taxes just like everybody else. It’s a home just like my mom and dad had, like I was raised in.”
As officials have been negotiating buyouts and relocation plans with residents, Jane Kosek, president of the DeKalb-based organization, Fixin’ Feral Felines, has been worried about the feral cats that populate the soon-to-close community. She fears that as demolition work continues, the cats will seek different places to live in and around Sycamore. She has already helped more than 100 feral cats at Evergreen Village through spay and neuter, medicine or surgery.
Kosek said she has been getting many calls from residents who are concerned about the animals’ well-being. Although she has applied for grants to continue the project, which can cost $70 per cat, none were obtained. She estimated that her organization has spent about $10,000 in the past year to help feral cats at Evergreen.
Due to health problems, Kosek is taking a brief rest from her rescue efforts. She said she hopes to find more volunteers and money to fund the project before she starts up again. ##
(Photo Credits: DeKalb Daily Chronicle, Jenna Dooley, WNIJ News)
