Flood plan doesn’t protect everyone

To the editor:

I am writing to say that we got my parents' house rebuilt because they were on the dry side of the proposed 2008-09 flood plan. They were on the dry side of the dike as was all that rebuilt on the dry side. We got the house rebuilt with the money they got from FEMA and the church. No help from the city, just a building permit.

In the 1960s the mayor at the time said we could have a flood like we had in 2008. Forty-three years later we had that flood.

My mother has lived her whole life in that spot - 80 years. Now the city wants to change things and they will not be on the dry side anymore.

When my folks built the family home in 1956 they had a payment of $80 a month for three years and the house was bought and paid for. My mom said that just about made her sick. Now the city wants her to pick up and leave, after giving the folks a permit to rebuild.

I said that I was glad the flood hit downtown and Mercy Medical Center because they cannot crap on the people of Time Check and Rompot, the people that built this city. Well, I guess I was wrong. Please, citizens of Cedar Rapids, let's hold the City Council accountable for the decisions they make and have made. FEMA money is not free money.

William Gasper

Lisbon