This story by Aaron Calvin was first published by the News & Citizen on Oct. 26.
On July 11, Tanya “Tosh” Gilmore lost everything.
Like many other homes in Johnson village, her Lower Main Street property was inundated with water as the Lamoille River, a bend of which flows just behind her property, flooded early that morning after days of torrential rain.
In the wake of the flood, Gilmore became the anonymous emblem of the widespread damage caused by the Vermont Flood of 2023 after she hung a bedsheet with a message painted in red paint — “We Need FEMA” — along with her phone number over the front door of her home.
In the initial aftermath of the flood, the state sent Gilmore to St. Johnsbury for emergency housing where she said she was dealt with “inhumanely,” but her emergency message worked as officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency saw her ad hoc banner and reached out.
Soon after the flooding receded, state officials also announced they would participate in a buyout process for flood-affected homes or homes at risk of flooding, all part of an initiative to use American Rescue Plan Act funds to help at-risk communities at risk of flooding.
Gilmore erected a new message in August on a shower curtain: “Buy Me Out Gov. Danger Zone!”
Shortly after that sign went up, Gilmore began participating in a property buyout process through the state and FEMA, and was paired with Brian McWalters, a state hazard mitigation planner, to help her navigate the process.
While the buyout process is generally complicated and lengthy, the particulars of Gilmore’s situation make it even more bureaucratically dense.
Gilmore owns the property in part with Tom Michelson who she said purchased the run-down home at auction in late 2021 as a project for her to rehabilitate and give her a permanent fixed residence after a time of homelessness. A former property manager, she now suffers from a variety of disabilities that have left her unable to work.
While officials generally offer to purchase a property at its appraised value the day before its destruction, Gilmore has argued, and said she has been assured, that she will also be compensated for the value her renovations have added to the house since its purchase.
“I have all the pictures of the house before the work and the process of work being done. I have written estimates from businesses as to the value of the things that I put into the house as used items,” she said. “I have appraisal quotes for the value of everything, and pictures of everything being done in a year and a half. I could have had that house finished this summer.”
While she remains optimistic, Gilmore has seen many of her other claims for appliances and other items lost in the flood denied, as well as a request for compensation for a storage unit for her remaining belongings denied.
Rendered homeless by the disaster once again, Gilmore has been put up at various hotels in Stowe — with the federal government partially footing the bill — while she waits on a final decision regarding her home. She was satisfied with her first accommodations at Sun and Ski Inn and Suites, where she was allowed a kitchen and other amenities, but was booted out after the influx of leaf peepers increased demand.
Gilmore was moved to the Commodores Inn, which she described as less than ideal, and remains generally frustrated with her treatment as she waits for resolution on the buyout, which she is banking on to help her get back on her feet.
Buyouts abound
Gilmore’s is just one of 12 properties in Johnson that either flooded this summer or may be vulnerable to future floods whose owners have expressed interest in a buyout.
Both federal and state government are involved in the process, but state employees with the state hazard mitigation office under the Department of Public Safety have told towns like Johnson that they can help interested homeowners navigate the bureaucracy at both levels.
While property owners are more likely to qualify for a buyout with the federal government if they meet the significant damage threshold — total damage must be more than half the property’s appraised value — there’s more potential leeway with that state. Even property that wasn’t damaged in this summer’s flooding may still qualify for a buyout if the property is in a flood-prone area.
Towns aren’t liable for any upfront costs but do end up handling certain administration duties and funding management. Towns need to be willing participants in the buyout process, as the most likely outcome for a piece of bought-out land is that it becomes forever undevelopable town-owned green space.
Stephanie Smith, another hazard mitigation officer, attended the Oct. 16 Johnson Selectboard meeting to give an overview of the buyout program. She said that there had been 170 buyouts in the state in total since Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, and 220 expressions of interest in buyouts in the wake this summer’s flooding.
Beth Foy, board chair, said that the selectboard would consider participating in each buyout request on a case-by-case basis, but said a uniform standard was still being developed by which to consider each request.
“We want to make sure that we have our guidelines clearly defined so that we’re not making judgment calls on a one-off basis, and it becomes unfair to one person or another. We want to be fair,” she said.
Each buyout also means the land is subtracted from the overall value of a town’s grand list and a loss of tax revenue.
“The buyout puts us in a position where we can and should consider flood mitigation to protect the town,” Foy said. “It does come with a balance. I think that that balance is going to be really difficult.”
In Cambridge, where there have been seven buyout requests so far, the selectboard is also considering each request on a case-by-case basis.
Just one of the requests comes from Jeffersonville, in the east end of the village, which saw severe flooding in July. The rest come from Cambridge village, where the Lamoille impacted more homes on either side of the Wrong Way Bridge along Route 15.
At two meetings in October, the board agreed to participate in the buyout process for four properties in Cambridge village, including three rental properties that will result in the displacement of 25 residents.
The owner of the three properties, Lorrie Cruz, said she was participating in the buyout process due to the constant flood risk to her properties and her weariness with having to respond to the problem.
In Wolcott, eight property owners have expressed interest in a buyout, and five have submitted preliminary paperwork and are working with Wolcott Selectboard chair Linda Martin and the town in the process.
The impact of their removal on the town’s grand list would be negligible, according to Martin, and the properties flood repeatedly. One resident interested in a buyout is still living on their property, in a camper, because they have nowhere else to go.
While the deadline to apply for federal assistance with flood-related expenses was extended to Oct. 31, those interested in learning more about the property buyout process have until July 14, 2024, to initiate the process.
