Trumbull County will get $1.4 million for housing improvement work from the state while Mahoning County will receive $1 million in state funding.
Trumbull’s funding is to rehabilitate four owner-occupied houses and repair four more in the county. Also, Niles, Cortland, Girard and Hubbard are receiving funds to rehabilitate nine owner-occupied houses and repair 15 homes.
Mahoning’s funding is to rehabilitate 10 owner-occupied houses and repair 14 homes in Campbell and Struthers.
All of the grants include a fair housing component.
The funding was announced Tuesday as part of a $22.4 million award statewide by the Ohio Department of Development through its Community Housing Impact and Preservation program.
The program is designed to support home renovations, repairs, rental assistance and other initiatives to improve access to safe and stable housing.
In June, the Trumbull County Planning Commission applied on behalf of the Trumbull County Commissioners for $250,000 from the CHIP program, which is a competitive grant through the Ohio Department of Development.
Trumbull County regularly applies for funds to provide financial assistance to qualified homeowners in Trumbull County, according to Nicholas Coggins of the planning commission.
The CHIP has two areas in which assistance can be provided: Private Owner Rehabilitation and Home Repair for Single-Family, Owner-Occupied, low- and moderate-income households living within Trumbull County outside the cities of Warren, Girard, Cortland, Hubbard, McDonald and Niles, which receive separate funding.
Through CHIP funding, Trumbull County will provide a 0% interest, forgivable loan to improve existing housing conditions by correcting code violations and structural or mechanical deficiencies, and create a safe living environment. This program is not designed for aesthetic improvements. All loans are secured by a lien on the property and will be forgiven after the period of affordability has passed, Coggins said.
He said there are not specific households that have already applied for assistance.
“We do have a list of people that previously inquired about assistance, so we will contact them first. If they were not assisted by some other program, we will attempt to qualify them for assistance. Some of them may not qualify and some may have already been assisted by another program and we will move through the list and if funding permits, we will take on new applicants,” Coggins said, noting the commission is always accepting people to put on the list by contacting the planning commission and asking for him or Zachary Steiner.
Niles Mayor Steve Mientkiewicz spoke about who the grant is for and some of the repairs residents can request.
“The $1.15 million CHIP grant is geared toward qualifying low to moderate income housing for repairs such as roofs, windows, gutters, lead paint abatement, etc,” he said.
“It’s a first-come, first-served program in which applications are scored per CHIP guidelines. We have had success in the past with this grant program and look to continue housing rehab in our neighborhoods,” he said.
Mientkiewicz said more information can be obtained about the grant by contacting the housing office.
All applications are screened by the city’s consultant at Neighborhood Development Services.
The Niles mayor added, “Collaboration with our partner cities has allowed us to obtain the grant with a higher dollar amount to rehab additional homes.”
Cortland Mayor Deidre Petrosky said Cortland, Girard, Hubbard and Niles have worked together as a group to secure more than $1 million in funds to help residents in each of the communities.
As part of the co-sharing, each community gets a certain amount to use for their residents, which must be used within a certain amount of time.
“If we do not use all of our money, then any of the other cities in our pact are eligible to use the funds. We can help each other by giving money we don’t use to another community. This is a more efficient way of doing business,” Petrosky said.
Petrosky said the use in Cortland has been less in recent years.
Petrosky said the four communities have worked together for the past several years with Mientkiwiecz being the one who first coordinated the partnership.
“I give kudos to Steve for what he has been able to organize and do to benefit the residents of the four cities. The teamwork has benefited all of us,” she said.
Hubbard Mayor Ben Kyle said the four cities continue to be involved with the program because of its success.
“It is a very successful program that we have participated in that benefits the residents in all the communities. We encourage the residents to take advantage of the program and money available for them to make improvements to roofs, windows or furnaces,” Kyle said.
He said funds distributed to each community are based on population.
He said residents have told him and officials they appreciate what the program has enabled them to do to improve their homes.
“Over the years we have encouraged our residents to take advantage of the program. We announce there is an application process with forms available at the city building. We will help assist them with the application process,” Kyle said.
He said it has been a very cold winter and he knows there are residents in the city who need help with their furnaces and windows.
“It has been a good program helping all four cities in the past and I am sure it will continue to be successful in the future,” Kyle said.
