Bellevue City officials say the Paradise Lakes mobile home park that was destroyed by last year's flood is finally set to be demolished.
The contaminated, vacant homes have been a concern for residents for several months. Bellevue Mayor Rusty Hike tells 6 News the city plans to start demolition of the 200-plus homes in about 30 days.
People who lived in Paradise Lakes have dealt with everything from house fires to looters rummaging through their condemned homes, stealing identifications, credit cards and other personal items.
After floodwaters devastated the mobile home park last March the owner failed to come up with the money to get them torn down, which has left it largely in the city's hands.
“We've decided we just need to get the demo done,” Hike tells 6 News. For nearly a year now the city's been trying to work out a way to get the demos done without sticking taxpayers with upwards of a $1.4 million bill.
The city is confident the federal government will help them out. “We do have a pretty good assurance from FEMA that we will be reimbursed for the cost,” Hike says. “We want to get it done before the weather starts getting warm and it creates more issues.”
The city has little more paperwork to get done before starting the job.
“Most of the owners of the individual units have signed off and any their lenders that have an interest in - have acknowledged that we're going to demo it,” Hike says
As for how long it will take to get all the homes torn down, the city estimates up to two months. Hike says the next step is for the owner of the mobile park to get the property sold, preferably to a buyer who will put home's back up.
He says there’s one very interested potential buyer at this time.