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Martinsville OKs contract to administer $350,000 owner-occupied rehab grant
Summary
The Martinsville Board of Works and Safety approved a contract with Administrative Resources Association to administer an owner-occupied rehabilitation grant awarded in December, with a $70,000 local match and plans to assist roughly 20–25 homes.
The Martinsville Board of Works and Safety on March 10 approved a contract with Administrative Resources Association (ARA) to administer an owner-occupied rehabilitation grant awarded in December by the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs.
The contract covers program administration, environmental reviews and professional services needed to deliver the program. "The grant was for $350,000; the city put in an additional $70,000," Carrie Riley, who presented the contract for ARA, told the board. Riley said the combined total is $420,000 and that the program expects to assist about 20 to 25 homes depending on bid costs.
Why it matters: The grant will pay for repairs such as roofs, HVAC and water heaters, and accessibility work up to the home threshold. ARA will handle required environmental reviews, state historic reviews and required testing, and will perform the financial drawdowns and reporting to the state.
Key details and timeline: Riley said ARA must complete a broad environmental review — a fixed $5,000 fee in the contract — that requires contacting multiple state agencies, and individual, property-level reviews (including State Historic Preservation Office checks) for each assisted home. She said radon testing and inspections are required for each unit and that the grant allows up to $10,000 for program administration and approximately $58,140 for professional fees and related services charged to the grant. ARA’s presentation said the contract can be executed now and the program has until June 2026 to finalize and close out the grant; Riley said the goal is to have homes completed this year.
Selection process: ARA said it has begun scoring applicants and has requested additional documents from about 15–20 of the strongest candidates. After applicants submit required information, work will proceed on a first-come, first-served basis among those who complete applications.
Board action: A motion to approve ARA’s contract was made and seconded; the board voted by voice and approved the contract.
Fiscal and administrative notes: Riley said the grant pays the administrative and professional fees, while local dollars will pay most construction costs. She listed the $5,000 fixed environmental-review fee, $10,000 for program administration and about $58,140 for professional fees as line items in the contract budget. She also said the state-required environmental review process is structured in tiers and that some individual properties may require more extensive follow-up work depending on site conditions.
Next steps: With the contract approved, ARA will continue applicant scoring, schedule inspections for complete applications, complete environmental and historic reviews, and prepare drawdown requests and semiannual reporting to the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs.
