By Joseph Slacian
jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com
WABASH, Ind. – No members of the public spoke Monday night, June 12, during a hearing on the city’s owner occupied rehabilitation project.
Region 3A representatives Matt Brinkman and Dave Gee conducted the hearing for the second phase of the project, which is part of the city’s Stellar Community Program. The hearing is required so the city can receive a Community Development Block Grant to help fund the work.
The first phase of the project saw work completed on 11 homes in the city.
“The grant request will be in the amount of $250,000,” Brinkman told Council. “The town intends to provide a match in the amount of approximately $25,000. There will also be a carry-over of approximately $18,000 from the first round of funding.
“This will provide a total of approximately $293,000 to pay all costs associated with paying the cost of repairing 12 or 13 homes.”
Monday’s hearing was the first of two required for the grant. The second will take place prior to the close out of the grant award.
To receive funding under the program, a homeowner must be disabled and/or at least 55 years of age with an income of at least 80 percent or less of the area median income for Wabash County.
The homeowner also must be willing to accept a forgivable loan and allow a lien to be placed on the home for three years, Brinkman said. However, he added, rumors indicate the lien requirement may be going away, but for now it is still required.
The funding is for repairs to the home, such as lead remediation and the safety and security of the home, Brinkman noted. It cannot be used for such things as room additions, work complete or major structural improvements to the home.
Gee explained what must take place before the work on the home actually begins.
He or an associate will take photos of all four sides of the structure, as well as the neighbors’ homes. Those photos, along with flood plain and topography maps will be sent to the Indiana Historic Preservation Office for review.
If the home is not deemed to be a historic property, work can proceed. If it is deemed a historic property, historic preservation guidelines must be followed when doing the work.
While the plans are being reviewed, Gee meets individually with the homeowners.
“Lead is the first thing we concentrate on,” he said. “What that means for most property owners is that they will get vinyl siding on the outside of their house if there is lead paint present, and they will get energy star windows because it’s cheaper to replace those.”
Safety issues are looked at next, he said, noting that that “can include many issues.”
Safety issues can range from bad sidewalks and bad flooring to new furnaces and new water heaters. It also can mean ADA improvements to the home.
The contractor base will probably be expanded to include not only those in Wabash, but in Fort Wayne and Marion, too, Gee said. All general contractors must be lead certified, he added.
Once contractors are decided, the contractor and Gee will meet with the homeowner to determine what needs to be done. After a few weeks of determining the cost, the contractor has 60 days to finish the work.
Once finished, Gee will inspect the home again, and then he and the state inspector will check the home.
There are currently 21 homes on the list to be worked on. Of those, about 15 have already completed the application process, Brinkman said.
“There will only be about 12 or 13 people that we can assist,” he said. “In the first stage, we had about four people drop out at various stages for various reasons. So, the wait list at that point does come into play.”