Fifteen Ford subdivision and Kings homeowners whose houses were damaged by the spring flood could see the city pick up their residences next year in a second buyout phase.

The Vicksburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen Friday authorized application for a second Federal Emergency Management Agency hazard mitigation grant to begin the next phase.

In a related matter, the board designated grants coordinator Marcia Weaver to prepare and make the online application to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, which will administer the funds.

Weaver said the amount sought is undetermined pending applications from the property owners.

The board in November authorized Mayor Paul Winfield to sign the application for a FEMA hazard mitigation grant totaling an estimated $150,000 for the buyout’s first phase, to purchase and demolish five homes in the Ford and Kings areas. FEMA will fund 75 percent of the project; the city will pick up the remaining 25 percent.

Residents in Ford and Kings fled their homes in early May as the Mississippi River rose to record heights, cresting at 57.1 feet at Vicksburg, or 14.1 feet above flood stage and 0.9 foot above the Great Flood of 1927.

The buyout program began in September, with 18 people signing up.

Phase I involved homes that were in the city’s 1 percent, or floodplain, area and determined by city building inspectors to have substantial damage — 50 percent or more of a home’s value.

Phase II is for homes that did not qualify for first phase, either because they did not have substantial damage, or were not the owner’s primary residence

The buyout program is voluntary. If an offer is accepted, the house is demolished, the city owns the property and no future construction is allowed.