At last night’s Decatur city commission meeting, four Westchester neighborhood residents stood up in support of the city applying for a grant through the hazard mitigation program of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency to purchase the home at 237 Westchester Drive.

According to the home-owner and area residents, substantial flooding of the house and lot – which has occurred seven times in eight years – occurs due the inadequacies of the city’s storm water and sewer runoff system in the area.

If approved, the grant would cover 75% of the purchase of the property, which is currently appraised by the County at $403,000.  The city would cover the other 25%, in an amount not to exceed $101,000.  According to Asst. City Manager David Junger, there is money in the city’s capital improvement fund to finance this project during the current fiscal year.

However, approval from GEMA will probably take an estimated 12 months.

If approved, the residence would be torn down and the lot would be converted into a public green-space.  Based on discussion between the city commissioners and Mr Junger, even if the lot is purchased, there are no plans currently to remedy the drainage issue.