Barry County schedules July 8 hearing on CDBG "CHILL" home-repair grant application

Barry County commissioners’ Committee of the Whole voted to schedule a public hearing on July 8, 2025, to consider a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application for the CHILL home-repair program and to recommend that the Board of Commissioners approve a resolution authorizing the application and future grant management.

Marilyn Smith, a county staff member, told the committee the CHILL program (Community Housing Initiatives Local Livability) is a countywide home-improvement program that provides forgivable assistance to homeowners. Smith said grants under the program carry no interest or monthly payments: awards up to $10,000 are forgiven on project completion; awards from $10,001 to $40,000 are forgiven on a five-year schedule, and recipients must remain in the home for five years or face repayment.

Smith said Barry County plans to submit a letter of intent and is asking for $300,000 for the next round. She told commissioners the statewide pool for the round is limited — she said $14,000,000 was available for the competitive round — and that the county put smaller sums into earlier rounds (she said the county previously submitted $200,000). Smith said program rules require properties that receive more than $10,000 in work to be brought up to housing-quality standards and that lead and asbestos work must be addressed; Barry County is not in a mapped radon area and has not required radon mitigation to date.

Smith said income eligibility is based on area median income, and that current program guidance is set at 80% of area median income; she gave an approximate single-person threshold of about $50,000. She also said the program’s intake has produced a waiting list in communities including Freeport, Nashville, Hastings and Dalton, and that the village of Nashville and the county used local outlets — libraries and municipal websites — to publicize the application.

Under a motion by Commissioner Toomes and support from Commissioner Bassett, the Committee of the Whole voted to schedule the public hearing at the regular Barry County Board of Commissioners meeting on July 8, 2025, and to recommend the board approve the resolution after the hearing. The committee voted unanimously in favor. The committee previously approved the Committee of the Whole minutes from June 17, 2025, on a motion by Getty with support from Hatfield.

County staff said a decision on awards could come on an expedited timeline, with a possible notice in August and application signatures required when the county applies. Smith described the current letter-of-intent step as simple to submit and said the county will follow application guidance and signature requirements if invited to apply.

The committee’s action schedules the public review and puts the CHILL application on the Board of Commissioners’ July 8 agenda for consideration and a possible formal vote to authorize the county to apply for and manage the grant funds.