[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 96 (Wednesday, June 24, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1565-E1566]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          EARMARK DECLARATION

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DONALD A. MANZULLO

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 24, 2009

  Mr. MANZULLO. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership 
standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information for 
regarding the earmark I secured as part of H.R. 2892, Department of 
Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2010.

[[Page E1566]]

  My request, totaling $350,000, will come from the Predisaster 
Mitigation account at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, 
within the Department of Homeland Security, DHS, for the County of 
DeKalb, Illinois. This request will assist in the permanent relocation 
of the residents who currently live in the Evergreen Village mobile 
home park to protect them from future floods along the southeast branch 
of the Kishwaukee River. Severe storms and flooding have hit DeKalb 
County, Illinois, four times over the past 40 years, causing extensive 
property damage. Evergreen Village, which is located in an 
unincorporated area of DeKalb County, has been severely affected by 
flooding. Evergreen Village is a 19.9-acre, 130-unit mobile home park, 
just east of Sycamore, Illinois, and located in the southeast branch of 
the Kishwaukee River floodway. During major flood events, DeKalb County 
must evacuate Evergreen Village, which imposes high costs on the county 
and the residents of Evergreen Village.
  DeKalb County has examined alternatives to mitigate this issue, 
including the construction of a levee, and concluded that the 
relocation and acquisition of Evergreen Village is the only viable 
option for protecting residents from future floods. The acquisition 
would involve the purchase of the mobile homes, the 19.69 acre parcel 
of land, three permanent buildings, and the relocation of the 
residents. While most residents of Evergreen Village own their mobile 
homes, they are nevertheless technically renters on the land they 
currently occupy. Thus, under the Uniform Relocation Act, URA, these 
mobile home owners cannot receive full relocation assistance given to 
other owners of primary residences in similarly situated circumstances. 
Factoring in the approximate appraised $30,000 cost for each mobile 
home and land acquisition in Evergreen Village, DeKalb County estimates 
that the total cost of the relocation effort will be $6.781 million. 
State and local resources will contribute more than the minimum 
matching Federal requirement to complete the project. The entity to 
receive funding for the Evergreen Village relocation project is the 
County of DeKalb, Illinois, which is located at 200 North Main Street 
in Sycamore, Illinois 60178.
  Madam Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to thank the Chairman 
of the House Appropriations Committee, Representative David Obey, and 
the Ranking Minority Member, Representative Jerry Lewis, and the 
Chairman of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, 
Representative David Price, and the Ranking Minority Member, 
Representative Hal Rogers, for working with me in a bipartisan manner 
to include this critical request in this spending bill.

                          ____________________