1976-11-09 - Laserfiche WebLink

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November 3, 1976 T0: Thomas F. Lewcock, City Manager FROM: Barry P. Johnson, Building & Planning Coordinator RE: Rehabilitation Grant Program Earlier this year, the City Council approved participation with the Metropolitan Council in an application to the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency (MHFA) for rehabilitation grant funds. That application has been approved and the Council is now being asked to consider proceeding with the program. Specifically, the Council is being asked to authorize execution of an agreement with the Metropolitan Council. A copy of the agreement is attached. The program would operate in a similar manner to the present Section 8 program, where some of the general administration and training is handled by the Metropolitan Council. The funding comes from an outside source, in this case the State Housing Finance Agency, and the activities of working with applicants on the application and aiding in arranging the rehabilitation work would be handled on the local level. The steps in the application procedure which we would be responsible for would be very similar to the steps we now go through on Section 8 applications, except that we would have the responsibilities to assist the homeowner in obtaining work write-ups and cost estimates. We would also, of course, inspect the work as we do with other work requiring building permits. The grants are given to correct defects or deficiencies affecting directly the safety, habitability or energy usage of residential property. The grants are given to persons with adjusted gross incomes of $5,000 or less and the maximum amount of grant per property or recipient is $5,000. The monies in this program in the Metropolitan area are being distributed according to an allocation formula worked out by the Metropolitan Council. This formula which is based on the number of persons with incomes under $5,000 per year and number of dwellings needing rehabilitation would allocate to New Brighton $7,054. This seems to be a realistic figure because of the very low income requirements of the program. What it means, however, is that probably only two or three people would be eligible and be likely to have grants approved under the program.