By Bob Strohm
bstrohm@wbcowqel.com
The lower level of the County Courthouse was filled with citizens Thursday night, curious about a program that could help with a little home improvement.
Ohio Regional Development Corporation President Dale Hartle was on hand Thursday night to discuss the Community Housing Improvement Program Grant.
Hartle explained the reasoning for the meeting, as well as what determines who will get grant monies.
“The purpose of tonight’s meeting was to provide packets of information and general guidelines for the citizens of the city of Bucyrus, the city of Galion, and Crawford County as a whole to obtain funding if they are eligible to have work done on their homes.” Hartle said.
“The repairs for people’s homes are predicated upon being income eligible that is the first thing; the second thing is that there has to be identifiable needs that can be fixed within the time of the program, and also the money limits of the program,” Hartle continued.
Crawford County received $700,000 from the CHIP grant which will a lot up to $35,000 for five homes in Bucyrus, two in Galion and three homes throughout the rest of the county for a full house rehab. To qualify for a full home rehab homeowners must meet economic guidelines, and will be selected based upon the needs of the home, Hartle said other points that factor in include being elderly, the size of the family, whether a person living in the house is handicapped, and if they are a veteran.
Hartle explained to the crowd that those selected will have 85 percent of the grant forgiven in five years with 15 percent needing to be repaid before the person moves from the house after the five-year period is up.
If an applicant’s home doesn’t meet the requirements for the full home rehab they could still qualify for home repair through the CHIP grant. The home repair grant uses upwards of $8,000 allotted to six to eight within the county’s five units in Bucyrus, and one to two units in Galion for homes with a few issues that need to be resolved that wouldn’t equate a full home rehab.
Unlike the home rehab the home repair is based on a first come first served basis, and used to be under the guise of emergency repair. Also unlike the home rehab, the home repair doesn’t require a mortgage.
Hartle explained to the crowd that one application applies for both the home rehab and the home repair.
A similar program is available to renters, however after being approved for the improvements the landlord of the renter is responsible for paying 50 percent of the costs plus pay an extra 10 percent in case more improvements are needed. Hartle explained to the crowd that if the tenant were to move from the rental that the next renters would have to meet the economic guidelines for a period of two years after the improvements have been made.
Hartle said applications can be obtained and further questions answered by contacting Malinda Freeman of the Ohio Regional Development Corp CHIP Office. Freeman can be reached at 419-562-6583.
The final date for the program is Oct. 6, 2016.