Altoona’s director of the Department of Codes and Inspections Monday proposed that the city allocate an unspecified portion of its $39.6 million in American Rescue Plan Act money to create a program to help needy homeowners make necessary repairs.

The use for such a program has become apparent through the department’s experience in code court, where officials encounter many residents willing to fix their homes but lack the money, Rebecca Brown told City Council.

Using ARPA money for such a program is a “valid option,” City Manager Omar Strohm told council members, who seemed amenable to the proposal.

Johnstown, Easton and other Pennsylvania cities have used ARPA money to set up such a program, Brown said.

A repair program would probably work best as a revolving loan fund, so it could be sustained — while a grant program would become a “one-time thing,” said Mayor Matt Pacifico.

The city currently operates a program for homeowner repairs with a share of its annual Community Development Block Grant money from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, but it’s “whole house only,” “very marginal” in scope and can take a long time to result in actual work accomplished, according to Brown.

It isn’t usually helpful for someone who just needs a “new front porch,” Brown said.

The city also operates a new emergency roof repair program, which it funded with $50,000, but that amount is only enough to do four or five homes, Brown said.

Her department is aware of at least 25 homes that need new roofs, she stated.

Pacifico tried last year to recruit local bankers for a loan review committee to set up the kind of program Brown is proposing, but that didn’t work out.

Still, he has supported the concept ever since the city created two business development programs last year using ARPA money, Pacifico said.

“If we do that for business, there’s no reason why we can’t do it for residential,” he stated.

The city might be able to fund the program with the help of money the county expects to receive from the state Department of Community and Economic Development’s new Whole-Home Repairs Program, said Councilman Dave Ellis.

That program assists homeowners whose household income is no greater than 80% of area median income, according to a DCED website.

A program like Brown proposes could be a “game-changer,” as it could help Altoona sustain its approximately 68% level of homeownership, said Councilman Dave Butterbaugh.

The aim would be to “transform neighborhoods,” said Councilman Jesse Ickes.

It could help Altoonans fix homes before they reach the point of needing to be demolished, according to Ellis and Councilman Ron Beatty.

The city demolishes 10 to 12 blighted homes per year, usually with CDBG funds, according to Community Development Director Diana White.

Housing redevelopment– along with development of new housing is a likely topic of future discussions, council members said.