A little over a year ago the tiny town of Gays Mills was almost washed away by flood waters coming from the Kickapoo River, but since then, things have changed.

"We've had a lot of homes that have been demolished already we've had two right here on Main Street buildings that have come down,” says Gays Mills Village President Larry McCarin.

Over the past year, McCarin says leaders have been working hard to find money that could help the town move from the banks of the river to higher ground a few miles away.

"Pretty hectic it's been really going for the funding the biggest thing is all the funding agencies say we need to get at it right away."

This week the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development announced $75 million in aid to places like Gays Mills. The village will get almost $1.8 million to help rebuild.

"It’s another one of those things that is a boost you get a time when you feel down and you think is this ever going to happen but now it’s you see something you see a little progress,” says McCarin.

He says not everyone is excited to see the town move, but local shop owner Joe Brandt says after two floods it makes sense.

"I totally understand if I lived by the river and I had three or four feet of water in my living room twice in ten months I'd be going I'm probably gong to leave here too,” says Brandt.

With years worth of planning becoming a reality McCarin says he's looking forward to bringing more jobs, business and a new town to the area.

"Its going to be a different style it's going to be the same store front they want but its going to be in a different location."

McCarin says construction of the new village could start early this fall.