The City of Warsaw was awarded a $200,000 Community Development Block Grant for the rehabilitation of homes.
Monday night, the city council approved the agreement and resolutions for the grant.
Pam Kennedy, Housing Opportunities of Warsaw, told the council the city was awarded the $200,000 to rehab houses.
“We’re going to concentrate on the East Market Street corridor but it is open to all homeowners that are low income within the city limits of Warsaw,” she said.
So far, she said they’ve identified eight families and they’ve already gone through the Life Cycles of Home Ownership program where they attend classes for four weeks, learning about how to save money, protect their home investment and do maintenance.
“Now we’re going to start writing specifications once the contract is in,” she said.
She said they signed a preliminary contract so that HOW would administer the program. Since 1997, she said HOW has administered grants for owner-occupied rehabilitation for Warsaw totaling in excess of $1 million.
Each house can have up to $25,000 put into it, which Kennedy said HOW will match.
“But hopefully this will help some people in our community,” she said.
The Block Grant monies have to be spent by July 2017 or must be returned.
In other business:
• The council held a public hearing on an additional appropriation for $110,000 for the Certified Tech Park Fund. No comments were received from the public. It was approved on first reading, with the second reading to be held in April.
It also approved on first reading a transfer of $55,000 from the Certified Tech Park fund’s capital projects to other services. The second reading also will be held in April.
• A resolution was approved by the council regarding a policy on materiality. The policy states the clerk-treasurer will report to the State Board of Accounts any erroneous or irregular variances, losses, shortages or thefts of cash in excess of $100; and any irregular variances, losses, shortages or thefts of non-cash items in excess of $500.
• Mayor Joe Thallemer issued a proclamation declaring March as American Red Cross Month.
