Marshall County Commissioners approve change orders on Owner-Occupied Housing Rehabilitation Project

Friday, December 20, 2024 at 1:30 AM

By Kathy Bottorff

The Marshall County Commissioner approved two change orders for the Owner-Occupied Housing Rehabilitation Project.

Local architect Brent Martin told the commissioners that the county received $500,000 through the Stellar Designation to assist qualifying low-income, elderly, and single-parent homeowners who need help staying in their homes safely. The project planned to assist 16 families with repairs, including new roofs, furnace replacements, and bathroom modifications.

Two homes in the second phase of the project had overruns for roof decking. A project on Lake Avenue had an addition of $924, while the second project on Sycamore Street had an overrun of $1,452, also for roof decking.

The program is currently in phase III, and one homeowner on Washington Street in Plymouth called Martin on Thanksgiving, saying their sewer was backing up into the basement. The next day, Martin got a contractor to scope the line and remove the blockage on the homeowner's side of the sewer line. That repair cost was $1,410.

Martin said the change orders were all within the allotted $25,000 per home cost.

There is still about $75,000 left in the fund, so Martin said they applied for an extension to complete a couple more housing repair projects. The IHCDA granted them until the end of March 2025. He warned that environmental on the homes typically take at least 2-3 months before the project can be bid. He wasn’t confident that they would be able to complete three more homes before the deadline.

He said one of the projects in phase III won't be able to be completed because of a change in ownership. The grant had been awarded to an elderly with significant health issues. Following hospitalizations, she’s run into financial troubles, and fearing her house would be re-possessed, she transferred the title to her daughter. That transfer means the home is no longer owner-occupied.

Martin said they’ve worked on finding a solution because the home needs the repairs, but he doesn’t have much hope that funding will be approved. He said he would probably be returning with another change order to remove that project and put the $24,000 back into the fund, making it nearly $100,000 of unspent money. Martin suggested that the Commissioners might be able to find some unspent funds to assist. Commissioner Mike Burroughs said they would be opening Pandora’s box if they did that.