CEDAR FALLS - The city is asking that millions of dollars in federal Jump Start flood relief money be redirected to other purposes.

While Cedar Falls has used state Jump Start money to help homeowners get back on their feet, it hasn't been able to cut through red tape to get federal money to those in need.

"There's $4 million sitting in there that, because of the regulations, we're not going to be able to get to," city developmental services director Ron Gaines told the City Council in a flood update Monday.

Mayor Jon Crews sent a letter on Feb. 12 to the Iowa Department of Economic Development to ask for help in reallocating the money to other recovery projects in the city that have not been eligible for other relief efforts.

In the letter, Crews asked for help for the Joanne Street neighborhood in far northern Cedar Falls, commercial property buyouts and assistance, including buyouts, for mobile home parks.

The federal program works through Community Development Block Grants.

The largest problem has been that regulations will not allow money to be used for properties in the flood plain, where most of Cedar Falls' damage occurred.

In addition, a requirement for lead paint removal proved unwieldy and income restrictions eliminated some from consideration.

The Joanne Street neighborhood took months to recover from the flood, as the low-lying neighborhood does not have an effective way to drain water. City staff members have been unable to find a way to make the neighborhood more flood resistant.

"Other than buying out the properties and clearing these lots, no other reasonable solution to the groundwater and flooding problems has been determined," Crews wrote in the letter.

No current programs have made commercial buyouts a priority. Crews indicated the city had about 80 commercial properties damaged in the flood.

Mobile home buyouts are considered for Federal Emergency Management Agency buyouts, but single-family homes are granted first priority. In addition, many of the properties qualify for no relief because of classification issued between being commercial, rental or owner-occupied.

The letter states that each of those priorities would remove structures from the flood plain and could help minimize future risk of injuries and property damage.

Contact Jon Ericson at (319) 291-1461 or jonathan.ericson@wcfcourier.com.