Date: Fri 10-May-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

low-income-housing-Knox

Full Text:

Social Services Director: Low-Income Homeowners Need More Help

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

Even as state aid is shrinking, more help is needed in Newtown for very

low-income homeowners, some of whom are "in crisis situations," according to

the town's social services director.

Sheila Knox, director of human resources, told the Board of Selectmen Monday

night that the town should consider designating some money as an emergency

housing repair fund for very low income residents if it receives a $300,000

Small Cities Community Development Block Grant.

Her remarks came during a public hearing on the town's proposal to apply for

the federal grant to help rehabilitate property for low- and moderate-income

residents.

If the Small Cities Community Development Block Grant is awarded, the money

will be used to continue the Housing Rehabilitation Program that began in

Newtown in December 1993 with a $400,000 grant, all but $40,000 of which has

already been spent.

Elizabeth Stocker, Newtown's community development director who is in charge

of the rehabilitation program, said that if the town applies for and receives

the $300,000 grant, $75,000 will have to be reserved for administrative and

program costs, leaving $225,000 for actual construction. Newtown Housing for

the Elderly already has asked for $55,000 to rehabilitate the pump house at

the Nunnawauk Meadows elderly housing complex, so $170,000 would be left for

residential work, she said.

"Estimating that the residential work costs about $20,000 to $22,000 per

structure, this would mean that we could help eight or nine households," she

said.

Ms Stocker said nine residences were worked on under the existing program,

including three which are still in the process of being rehabilitated. Three

others have just been moved from the waiting list; five are still on the

waiting list.

Thirty-two homeowners originally applied for assistance, but not all were

eligible, Ms Stocker said. Others dropped out later because their

circumstances changed or they changed their minds. Only about three houses can

be worked on at a time, Ms Stocker said.

Approximately $88,500 of the original $400,000 was used to rehabilitate the

Nunnawauk Meadows elderly housing project and the rest was used for fixing up

private residences, mostly those of senior citizens. The repairs included

roofs, wells, electrical upgrades, exterior siding and painting, furnaces and

energy conservation measures such as new windows and doors.

The program requires that participants pay 25 percent of the cost. For low-

income property owners, this could be achieved through a low-interest (2

percent) loan spread over 20 years or the repayment can be deferred, sometimes

until the house is sold or probated after death of the homeowner.

To be eligible for the low-interest loan, household income can be no more than

$29,100 for an individual, $33,300 for a family of two, $37,450 for three;

$41,600 for four; $44,950 for five; $48,250 for six; $51,600 for seven and

$54,900 for eight. For a deferred loan, the limit ranges from $25,000 to

$47,100.

Generally applicants to the program are taken on a first-come basis except for

those needing emergency repairs such as for failing septic systems. It is

those households that Mrs Knox said could be more quickly served by an

emergency fund.

"We've struggled to help some who have been in dire straits this year," she

said.

There are people in Newtown, usually senior citizens, who fall within the

federal poverty level of $9,337 to $14,940 for individuals and $12,500 to

$20,060 for couples, including 100 who received emergency energy assistance

last year, she said.

Ms Stocker said the program benefits not only local residents but also local

business because a majority of the contractors used in the program are from

Newtown.

She said her office already is accepting applications for the next grant

program because the town is more likely to receive the grant if it can

demonstrate that it has projects on the waiting list. Applying now also will

put applicants higher on the waiting list, she said.

The town must submit its grant application by May 31, she explained, but it

will continue to accept applications from residents after that date.