By CHARLES RICHARDS
EParisExtra!
City attorney Kent McIlyar
An 81-year-old woman who lives in sub-standard housing in west Paris has been approved for new home construction financing through the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs.
But there was a problem.
It was determined she cannot rebuild on her existing lot because it has been designated floodway under the updated FEMA flood plain map for the City of Paris.
However, the story ends well.
Rachel Edwards and Resource Management of Paris — the local grant administrator for the 2012 HOME Grant Program — identified a vacant lot nearby that the City of Paris recently took possession of because no sufficient bid was made for it in a tax foreclosure sale by the sheriff’s department.
If the Paris City Council agrees Monday night, the taxing authorities for the City of Paris, Lamar County, Paris Junior College and Paris Independent School Distridt will trade lots with the woman — acquiring her lot in the 1700 block of Walker — plus $1 — in exchange for the foreclosed vacant lot in the 1500 block of Walker.
“The new home … will add value to the neighborhood and will add value to the current tax base,” city attorney Kent McIlyar said in a agenda briefing sheet for city council members.
“The city will accept the (woman’s present) property … for drainage purposes and will dispose of the existing small structure,” the city attorney said.
The lot she would receive has an appraised value of $4,320. It was seized by local taxing authorities in 2004.
If approved, the resolution authorizing the exchange of lots will be effective immediately.
—
send comments about this article to
Charles Richards Charles Richards moved to Paris in 2004 after retiring from a 40-year career in journalism – the last 26 years as a news writer and sports writer with The Associated Press in Dallas and Washington, D.C. In mid-2004, The Paris News coaxed him out of retirement, and he began covering the police, court and regional beat for The Paris News. Then in early 2005, he was switched to coverage of a sharply divided Paris City Council. He was appointed by the City Council in 2006 to the 12-member City Charter Review Commission, which extensively rewrote the outmoded document. His writing awards include two first-place awards in statewide competition for feature writing. The most recent was his 2005 story on a Paris doctor’s startling use of leeches in a successful attempt to re-attach a man’s severed ear. Over his career, Richards’ interview subjects include Alabama Gov. George Wallace, President Bill Clinton, President George W. Bush, David Koresh, Arnold Palmer, Muhammad Ali and numerous other political and sports figures. He is an alumnus of Texas Tech, where he was editor of the school newspaper. He lives in Paris with his wife, Barbara, who is retired after 30 years as a teacher and high school counselor.
follow: RSS
