The “Housing Needs Assessment”, was completed in July, 2002, for the City. As a result, the City began applying for Owner Occupied Rehabilitation Grants.

 

Owner Occupied Rehabilitation (OOR) grants are funded with HUD/CDBG money. The program provides a limited amount of money for home repairs of single-family homes for low- and moderate-income persons. Applications by the City are submitted to the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority (IHCDA), who oversees the OOR program. Currently, there are two funding cycles a year.

 

The City has been successful in being awarded grants in recent years. In 2003, twelve houses were repaired. Grants received in 2005 and 2006 helped twenty homeowners each year with repairs. Each grant takes about 12-18 months to implement. The City cannot apply for another OOR grant until the previous grant has been completed.

 

When the City is preparing an application, a press release is sent to the newspaper and radio stations, posted on WCTV Community Bulletin Board, and announced at neighborhood meetings and at City Council meetings, which are televised on WCTV. Watch for these announcements. Public meetings are held to hand out applications, answer questions, and assist in completing applications. The homeowner must complete an application when the city in the process of accepting applications or update a previous submitted application. To be eligible, the owner must live in the house, be able to document a low-to-moderate income, and complete the other requirements of the application. Homeowners are selected using a list of criteria and a point system. Selected homeowners are notified if and when the grant is awarded. Homeowners decide on a list of repairs that fall within the range of money available and work is bid out to contractors. Lead testing is done in all houses and lead issues must be resolved first before any repairs can be made. This is mandated by Federal Regulations. Completed homes are inspected by both City inspectors and IHCDA inspectors.