Charlene Vicario talks about the floods at her home on Oneida Valley Road in Center Township. The township recently received a grant through FEMA to buy and demolish the house.

CENTER TWP — The township has received a $265,350 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to purchase and tear down a house that has been repeatedly damaged by flooding.

Larry and Charlene Vicario's house on Oneida Valley Road has suffered damage from the flooding of Connoquenessing Creek, most recently in 2013.

Because the house is in a Class A flood zone, they must carry federal flood insurance, which has covered various repairs, Larry Vicario said in an interview.

The insurance was about $250 per year when they moved into the house 14 years ago, but in the past few years it has spiked. The cost last year was $8,000 and they have paid about $35,000 over the past four years.

They were unable to sell the house and the cost of the insurance has depleted their savings and retirement funds, Vicario said.

Getting the grant was the best possible resolution for the couple after years of troubles with the property and insurance, Vicario said.

“We're completely elated. It has taken a lot of pressure off of us,” he said.

The township received a grant through the federal Flood Mitigation Assistance program, which is funded by FEMA and administered by the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, said Randy Brown, the township's emergency management coordinator.

The township will use $200,000, the market value of the property, to pay the Vicarios for the house and four-acre property.

The rest of the money will be used to hire contractors to demolish the house. Officials also anticipate there will be a need for asbestos abatement there, Brown said.

Per the guidelines of the federal program, the township is not allowed to sell the property or build any permanent structures there. It can be used as a park or creek access, and the township could erect a picnic shelter there, but it would have to be open on all four sides.

The house on Oneida Valley Road was built in 1947 before federal floodplain regulations were in place.

With the house gone, the property will be allowed to flood naturally, though neighbors should not be affected negatively or positively, Brown said.

Brown said the grant has an August 2019 deadline, but he hopes to have the project done this year.

Larry Vicario said he hopes to buy a piece of property in the Butler area this year where he will install a modular home.

Township Supervisor Chairman Ed Latuska said the township will not have to spend any local taxpayer money on the project, thanks to the federal grant.

The property was ineligible for the grant in the past because the Vicarios had a lease for their oil and gas rights with Rex Energy. They were released from the lease with Rex Energy last year.