Under federal rules, any structure in a flood plain damaged beyond 50 percent of its value cannot be rebuilt. Residents are paying about 60 percent of the costs to relocate Valmeyer, while the federal and state governments cover the rest. Two years after the floodwaters receded, only five families had moved into the relocated town, Ms. Brown said. Some people had to stay longer in the trailer park because village officials opted to allow home construction to begin before building roads, sewers and other infrastructure improvements. Federal funding was further delayed when it was discovered that a limestone quarry owned the mineral rights for land beneath the new town site.
Roads are in and sidewalks are being built.
Drawn perhaps by the novelty of a brand-new town in a rural, picturesque setting, people are moving to Valmeyer from St. Louis and suburbs across the river in Illinois, Ms. Meadors said. While residents long for the grocery store that moved to a nearby community, there are three churches and a new post office. The Cincinnati Enquirer , a Gannett Co. Inc. newspaper.