Group awaiting word on grant to improve housing

Published 10:44 pm Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Seven Whitfield County families living in unsound housing could get new homes if the county wins a state grant.

Gaile Jennings, executive director of the Dalton-Whitfield Community Development Corp., says she recently received word from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs that it would make a decision on the grant in early August.

The Development Corp. applied for a $300,000 Community Home Investment Program (CHIP) grant in April.

“They said they got 25 applications for CHIP funds. We would basically be competing with 24 other communities. The pot of money the 25 of us are competing for is $6.6 million. They’ve got a million dollars more in requests than they’ve got money,” Jennings said.

If the Development Corp. gets the grant, it would use it to help totally rebuild dilapidated housing. Jennings said the funds should be enough to rebuild seven homes.

She said applicants must meet two measures to qualify for assistance. First, the total estimated cost of needed repairs must exceed the assessed value of the home. Second, the applicant must have “very low” income. Jennings said the definition of “very low” income depends on the size of the household. For instance, a single person can have no more than $11,100 in annual income. But a couple can earn up to $12,700, a family of three can have no more than $14,300 in income and a family of four no more than $15,850.

The Development Corp. completed a housing conditions survey earlier this year. It found 2 percent (284) of stick-built homes and mobile homes that received a property tax homestead exemption are so deteriorated that they need to be immediately addressed.