Tyrone Council members are expected to pass a resolution Monday which will allow administrators to apply for state monies for therehabilitation of low-and moderate-income based homes in the community.
\nAccording to Phyllis Garhart, the borough\u2019s director of administration, the Housing Rehabilitation Program is currently completing ten projectsand funds are already earmarked for five more projects that will ensurethese qualifying homes better health precautions, safety measures andenergy efficiency.
\n\u201cThis program really helps the community, especially the elderly,\u201d said Garhart. \u201cMany residents are on a fixed income and wouldn\u2019t be able toafford these necessary improvements on their own. That\u2019s where thesefunds come into play. It allows the necessary work to be completed thatwill bring the homes up to the proper code specifications.\u201d
\nAccording to Garhart, the borough completed a housing survey in 1995 and reported more than 400 homes were in need of rehabilitation. She said ninety-one individuals have applied for the state-funded program and the list will dwindle to 74 once this round of work is completed.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re real excited about the progress of this program and are happy with the results that we\u2019re seeing so far,\u201d said Garhart, noting the 10 projects that are near completion. \u201cBecause we\u2019ll have some funding left over from the previous year, we\u2019ll be adding that in our application just to show how committed we are to this program. It\u2019s not a requirement that we provide any match, but again, it will show our commitment.”
\nShould council pass the resolution as expected, the $320,000 grant application will be submitted to the state. If the state then grants the application, the resolution passed by council will be sent to the County of Blair Redevelopment and Housing Authority for processing.
\n\u201cCOBRAH is the administrator of this program,\u201d said Garhart. \u201cAs people call to apply, COBRAH will determine the proper program each will be placed in.\u201d
\nAccording to Garhart, applicants would then be placed on a waiting list. Low-income elderly residents would get first priority, followed by low-income families, then moderate-income families.
\nWhen a project is scheduled, one of three qualified inspectors will then be assigned to examine the home to determine what improvements need to be made. In each case, a $1,500 \u201cdelivery\u201d fee is used to pay for the inspection.Garhart said only lead-certified contractors are authorized to conduct these inspections.
\n\u201cA major problem we\u2019re seeing is the amount of lead contained in a good number of these mostly older homes,\u201d she said. \u201cThere may be an elderly person in that home now, but when the current resident doesn\u2019t live there any longer, a family may move and they may have small children. This lead could pose a danger to them.
\n\u201cSo, essentially, you\u2019re not only improving the conditions of the home at the present time, you\u2019re also protecting the lives of the next resident who may live there.\u201d
\nAfter a contractor inspects the home and outline the needs – which could include new windows, installation of insulation or better siding – the contractor would then make up a work plan. Each home is eligible for up to $20,000 in improvements.
\n\u201cAnything above this $20,000 would need council\u2019s approval,\u201d said Garhart. \u201cWe had two cases like that where costs for the improvements would exceed the allotted amount. Council approved the additional funds and the people we\u2019re just ecstatic because these people couldn\u2019t come up with the money to make the difference. These cases, however, would be strictly on a case-by-case basis.\u201d
\nOnce all work is completed, the property then would again be inspected by another lead-certified contractor.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s a wonderful program and it has already done a lot for this community,\u201d said Garhart. \u201cHistorically, the borough has always used Community Development Block Grant money for housing improvements, but strayed away from that in the mid-90s because of the need for that money in other areas.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re now going back to the program and making Tyrone not only a better place to live, but a safer one too.\u201d
\nFamilies or homeowners wishing to apply for the program are encouraged to contact Tyrone borough at 684-1330.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tyrone Council members are expected to pass a resolution Monday which will allow administrators to apply for state monies for therehabilitation of low-and moderate-income based homes in the community. According to Phyllis Garhart, the borough\u2019s director of administration, the Housing Rehabilitation Program is currently completing ten projectsand funds are already earmarked for five more projects […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47553\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}