Story Published:
Feb 2, 2012 at 8:10 PM MDT
Story Updated:
Feb 3, 2012 at 4:59 PM MDT
ROUNDUP - It's been more than six months since a series of floods devastated the town of Roundup, located on the banks of the Musselshell River, and since then the town is still trying to recover from the floods, which could have a lasting impact.
"We lost all of the equipment, and the inside furnishings," said Maryann Petrie, co-owner of the Busy Bee café. The restaurant, located in the flood zone, suffered serious damage, and in many ways 2011 marked the end of the restaurant but also a new beginning, as the Petries began to rebuild the eatery after the floodwaters receded.
"The whole summer, we spent visiting places that, basically, were closing their doors," said Maryann, who, along with her husband, visited many closed-down businesses in Billings, such as the Bada Bing Italian Restaurant in the Heights, and Borders at the West End. Through these trips, the Petries were able to find things that they would otherwise be unable to afford.
"To replace the booths in our one dining room, we were quoted $14,000; and we purchased very nice booths for $900," said Maryann.
After months of shopping and renovating, the Busy Bee, and other businesses in the flood zone, are back in business. Still, there are some that closed down, and one store moved down the street, to Main Street, which sits on a higher elevation than the flood zone, thus less susceptible to flooding.
The town's mayor, Bill Edwards, said the return to business is good news for the community, but went on to say that the community still has a long way to go.
"We'll probably see the results of this, probably for another year," said Bill, who went on to say that some in the flood zones are saying enough is enough and asking for FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) to buy out their property, allowing them to move to higher ground.
The buyout program is a part of FEMA's flood mitigation grant program, which either pays people to move out of flood zones, or retrofit their homes and make it more resistant to flood damage. Should a buyout succeed, the house would be torn down. Bill said several homeowners in the affected areas have applied for the buyout program and that could change the cityscape forever.
"If you sell that property, and they buy it from you, from that day forward there can be no buildings built on," said Bill, "there's some businesses allowed, like trailer parks, those sorts of things, but nothing permanent can be put in there."
Bill said the city is looking at plans to transform the bought out lots into city parks. The Petries, however, said they are mainly focused on getting the Busy Bee back on its feet and get out of debt.
For more coverage of the 2011 flood season, click on Special Reports.
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