Sep. 1—The city of Joplin is a step closer to launching a $7 million grant-funded housing revitalization program designed by city officials to assist both new homebuyers and low-income owners of houses in need of assistance with repairs.
The City Council recently approved acceptance of $3.5 million in funding by a community revitalization grant from the American Rescue Plan Act. The city will match the grant with funding of $3.5 million from the city's direct $13.8 million ARPA grant.
Those dollars will infuse the revitalization program that is part of the city's strategic plan based on a listening tour conducted by City Manager Nick Edwards.
In that tour, the manager talked to residents and various business leaders, and conducted a survey that netted 1,700 responses from residents who listed the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the community. One of the needs that drew a large number of comments was deteriorating housing and neighborhoods.
In response to the information collected by the city manager, the City Council put together a strategic plan with six goals. One of those is to turn around declining neighborhoods and housing.
To do that, the city manager and city administrators developed a revitalization program aimed at that goal.
The $7 million in grant money will be divided among three housing needs:
—$2 million for minor exterior home repairs of up to $40,000 per household.
—$2 million for demolition of dangerous structures.
—$3 million for down payment assistance and closing costs to buy new houses. Residents can apply for up to 20% of the purchase price, or up to $40,000 per applicant, for that purpose. This program is similar to one that was previously offered by the city after the 2011 tornado to help income restricted people buy new homes. That program assisted 578 homebuyers.
Use of the grant funding must adhere to the requirements of the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds federal grant regulations directed by the Missouri Department of Economic Development, according to city officials.
The council's endorsement of the resolution acknowledges the need to adhere to those regulations.
The city manager said there is still work to do to get the programs ready for residents to apply for the assistance.
He said the city will bring on additional staffing to administer the programs. Information about the program and the documentation of terms for the banks to use to process applications and payments for consumers under the programs must be specified.
And, the city administration will still have to bring forward the framework of each program for final approval.
Edwards said the city will announce details on when and how residents can apply for the assistance as soon as all those steps have been accomplished.