Franklin, about 15 miles south of Indianapolis, is hiring workers to clean up dozens of vacant flood-damaged properties to prevent them from turning into eyesores or targets for vandals. The owners of 57 houses damaged by flooding last June in Franklin have agreed to allow the city to mow the grass, secure doors and pick up debris. Mayor Fred Paris says the city is seeking a federal grant to buy the houses and demolish them. The city is using a state grant to pay temporary workers for the maintenance, with hiring priority going to those who lost jobs because of the flooding.
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