Marshall County to seek up to $500,000 for owner‑occupied housing rehab; extends homeowner application deadline

County officials reported that phase one of the owner‑occupied housing rehabilitation program has been completed and moved to closeout, and that the county will apply for a second phase requesting the full $500,000 available from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs.

Shannon McClo of Baker Tilly summarized phase one: 15 homes were repaired in three contract rounds (a $115,590 Brown and Brown contract for five homes; a $92,245 Brown and Brown contract for four homes; and a $130,294 contract with Almac Sudterbear Construction for seven homes). Activities included roof replacements, limited ADA accessibility work, and heating and cooling system replacement. Shannon said monitoring by the funding agency prompted a request for additional documentation and that the county expects to close the phase‑one grant by June.

For phase two, Shannon said the county plans to request up to $500,000 and will provide an $84,000 local match (about $54,000 cash and $30,000 in force‑account credit for building inspection/spec work). Because the program’s scope was narrowed to five eligible activity categories (water‑heater replacement, HVAC replacement, exterior ADA threshold accessibility, certain electrical upgrades to remove hazards, and roof replacement), she estimated the county could serve roughly 20–25 homeowners at approximately $18,000–$20,000 per dwelling.

The board opened and closed the required public hearing on phase one and then opened and closed the hearing on phase two. Commissioners voted to extend the homeowner application deadline from May 15 to June 15 to allow more applicants to apply for the July 12 grant submission date.

During public comment, homeowner Joseph Roush raised a contractor complaint about a furnace installation completed under phase one, saying the installation was not completed to code and that the installing contractor had not returned calls. Joseph said a NIPSCO representative told him the contractor should have changed a shut‑off valve and that the building inspector later confirmed the installation needed modification. County staff member Chad said he has forwarded photos to county administrators and contacted the prime contractor and subcontractor and that the county is pursuing remedies; building inspector Adam concurred that the installation was not correct and that staff will follow up.

The board recorded motions to open and close required hearings and to extend the application deadline; votes on those motions passed by voice vote.