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Blair County to apply for low-income home repair grant

HOLLIDAYSBURG — Blair County is preparing to submit a grant application to the state for $741,487 that can be used by lower-income property owners for home repairs, based on a program state lawmakers created in 2022.

The county anticipates receiving the grant through the Whole-Home Repairs Program being administered by the state Department of Community and Economic Development.

It has already received 104 applications, Community Development Grants Coordinator Trina Illig told commissioners Tuesday.

State lawmakers created the Whole-Home Repairs Program last year by designating $120 million for the program to be funded by the COVID-19 American Rescue Plan Act.

State Sen. Nikil Savel of Philadelphia proposed the program as a way to help property owners address deferred maintenance that he told fellow lawmakers has “far-reaching societal ramifications.”

DCED is asking counties and countywide agencies to submit their applications for available funds by Jan. 31. DCED has indicated that it will review applications on a rolling basis.

Illig, who works for the county’s department of social services, said that with this grant, the county will be in a position to offer as much as $50,000 to an applicant for housing improvements.

DCED, which has information about the program on its website, indicates that grants are to be used to address habitability and safety concerns, provide measures to improve energy or water efficiency and to make properties accessible for those with disabilities.

The program’s money can also be used for construction-related workforce development.

Counties accepting money awarded through the Whole-Home Repairs Program will be required to make sure that grants are awarded to homeowners whose household income does not exceed 80% of the area’s median income. Counties can also use the money to make loans available to small landlords renting affordable units and securing those loans with a mortgage recorded against the residential property, with some provisions for loan forgiveness.

Commissioners Bruce Erb, Laura Burke and Amy Webster, who heard Illig’s request on Tuesday to submit the Whole-Home Repairs Program grant application, are expected to vote today in favor of the submission.

Also on Tuesday, Illig asked commissioners for approval on the acceptance of $315,000 available from the federally-funded HOME Investment Partnership Program, also being administered by DCED. Action on that request is also anticipated at today’s commissioners’ meeting.

In December, then Gov. Tom Wolf’s office announced the pending distribution, from the HOME Investment Partnership Program, of more than $10 million to

16 counties — including $315,000 for Blair County — to help expand and preserve the supply of decent and affordable housing for low- and very low-income Pennsylvanians.

The money is to be used to create new housing units, repair existing units and to fund home repairs, the governor’s office stated in its news release.

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.

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