|
Grant to help Central Point homeowners Reclaimed funds to aid low-income residents in making repairs or increase home energy-efficiency By BUFFY POLLOCK Reclaimed grant money that was used to replace wood stoves with more efficient heating systems could soon fund housing rehabilitation for low-income homeowners. The wood stove replacement program, funded in 1997 with a $240,000 grant from the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department, was aimed at improving air quality in the valley. The program helped replace wood-burning heaters with more efficient and less polluting systems for some 30 homeowners. It was funded by placing secondary liens on the homeowners' properties to be repaid when the homes eventually sold. Finance director Bill Brugger said since then, more than $60,000 had been repaid. He hopes to initiate a program to "recycle" those funds for similar benefits. Brugger said he would like to see the reclaimed funds be used to help low-income homeowners fund needed repairs or make their homes more energy efficient. Details of the new program will be subject to public input and council approval. Possible projects range from installing double-paned windows to replacing old furnaces to repairing roofs or floors. "The essence of the program is to keep someone in their home for a longer period of time because they'll be able to do repairs with the grant money," he said. "What I'm visualizing is someone who's lived in the same house for 10, 20 or 30 years and who just doesn't have the funds to fix up those things that have occurred over time. Or maybe they don't have the money to make the house more energy efficient." Brugger stressed that the program would be similar to the wood-stove program, charging no interest and requiring repayment only when the properties were sold. A maximum of $12,500 would be allowed per house. Brugger hopes to begin offering the new program by July 1. A public meeting for input has not yet been set. Buffy Pollock is a free-lance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at dob522@mindspring.com |
|
Mail
Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc.
| Dow
Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy
| Contact
Us |
