Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Housing Rehabilitation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
CRA approves up to $200,000 for code‑related home rehabilitations to remove liens, help restore tax‑producing properties
Summary
The agency approved using CRA funds—up to $200,000—to address code violations on five privately owned homes inside the CRA area through a program managed with Keystone. Staff said the goal is to bring properties into compliance, reduce barriers of insurmountable liens and return properties to productive, taxable status.
The City of Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency approved a program to use up to $200,000 in CRA funds to remediate code violations on five privately owned properties within the CRA area.
City staff presented the program as a targeted, one‑off effort to assist homeowners who lack the financial resources to correct structural code violations and who face large municipal liens that have made properties effectively unsellable. Staff said the list includes properties on Wetmore, Brentwood Drive, Tillman Avenue, Weaver Avenue and Jackson Avenue and that the work is vetted through the nonprofit contractor Keystone and the city’s code compliance office.
Staff said the intent is that, after rehabilitation work is completed, property owners will pursue lien reductions through the Code Enforcement Board; staff said the board has authority under state statute to reduce or release fines and that the program is intended to enable future sales or improved assessments. Staff described a specific case where a property had roughly $314,000 in code liens, an amount staff said was unlikely to be recovered without intervention.
Commissioners debated fairness and program design: some members said the intervention helps vulnerable residents and reduces blight that drags down surrounding values; others raised concerns about using public funds on privately owned properties and urged safeguards against abuse. Staff and board members said the program will be limited, vetted on a case‑by‑case basis, and similar in approach to (but distinct from) the city’s legacy housing rehabilitation program, which is targeted to seniors.
The board voted to approve the expenditure authorization and asked staff to monitor outcomes and bring cases to the Code Enforcement Board for lien reductions after work is complete.
Votes: Roll call recorded Commissioner Thompson — yes; Mayor Hillgoss — yes; Commissioner Gillespie — yes; Chair Robin Gibson — yes.
Staff said funding is available within the CRA budget and would be transferred between line items to pay Keystone for the rehabilitations; the board asked that staff report progress as projects proceed.
