Creston to help pay for nuisance home improvements

Creston home owners with financial issues are now able to get help through the city for home improvement projects.

On Tuesday, Creston City Council approved the Creston Home Improvement Program (CHIP), giving the program a $100,000 annual budget.

CHIP provides matching funds for exterior home improvements at a ratio of 1:3, or homeowners pay $1 for every $3 from CHIP, with a maximum of $10,000 from the city. The property must be owner occupied and within city limits. There is no minimum project cost.

To be eligible for the program, the homeowner must meet the income limits. For example, one person in the home must not exceed $47,450. If the resident has two people, the combined income must not exceed $54,200. More specifics on the income limit can be found on the city’s website.

Creston’s Code Compliance Officer Bobby Wintermute said the goal is to provide this program as an option when penalizing residents who are not code compliant.

“The point’s going to be to offer it to people when I’m doing the other half of my job,” Wintermute said. “That way I’m not just coming down on them, I can reciprocate a little bit.”

Those who utilize the program must contribute their entire portion of the project cost before grant money can be applied. Additionally, the homeowner must reside in the property for an additional five years following the improvements.

CHIP funds can be used for a variety of external projects, including porch repairs, windows, siding replacement, painting, roof replacement and more. The homeowner is responsible for obtaining their own supplies and/or contractor.

Funding for the program will come from the Low- to Moderate-Income Fund the city has, which holds about $423,000. This would help the program run for four years, with the hope of adding other grant dollars in the future.

Additionally, Creston City Administrator Mike Taylor said private funds may be available in the future.

“Down the road if we show success, it was told a few years ago that there may be some private funding available,” Taylor said. “They would help the city to make the city money go further in order to help more individuals.”

In other council news...

The council unanimously voted down the 2024 Union County Hazard Mitigation Plan, submitted by the Union County EMA. Councilmember Jen Worisek said the plan had numerous errors and inconsistencies, including the lack of a plan for St. Malachy, Mayflower or Trinity schools in the case of an emergency. The council agreed to look at it again once changes had been made.

The approval of the Hotel-Motel Fund was postponed until the finance committee reviews it. Only councilmember Richard Madison voted against postponing the approval.