Every year, a number of
homes in each community requires rehabilitation and improvement. Through
ordinary wear-and-tear or exposure to weather, homes eventually experience the
need to bring necessary facilities back up to standard.
Every year, a number of
homes in each community requires rehabilitation and improvement. Through
ordinary wear-and-tear or exposure to weather, homes eventually experience the
need to bring necessary facilities back up to standard.
In order to assist homeowners with such improvements, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) allocates a yearly Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to the City of Bismarck through their CDBG Entitlement Cities program. Since 2000, CommunityWorks has contracted with the City of Bismarck to administer their CDBG program for the rehabilitation of homes within the city. The rehabilitation program can provide the following work: making repairs to windows, new doors, new siding, new roofing, updating electrical and plumbing to code, new water heater, new furnace, making the entrances and bathrooms handicap-accessible, outside painting, installing egress windows in the basement, landscaping, etc.
The program serves low-income, elderly households within the Bismarck city limits. CommunityWorks takes applications on a "first-come, first-serve" basis. Some applicants come from referrals, people that know someone who received help in the past, and from friends and neighbors who heard about the program. Applicants fill out an application and provide information to determine their eligibility. Because the program is income-based, eligible participants must fall under certain income guidelines. Once eligibility is determined, a CommunityWorks housing inspector will inspect each home to determine what repairs need to be made and contractors are made aware of the rehab work to be done. Contractors can then bid on each home of their choice. Once the lowest bid of a home is determined, CommunityWorks will draw up a contract between the homeowner, the City of Bismarck, and the contractor and then the rehab work can start.
Since CommunityWorks has contracted with the City
of Bismarck, the CDBG program has completed rehab work on twenty-five homes. One
recent home required handicapped accessibility modifications as well as new
wiring, gutters and siding, doors and windows, and a new furnace. Another
participant needed new insulation, attic vents, doors and windows, a new furnace
and circuit breaker box, as well as a new exterior paint job. Each project fell
beneath a total cost of $25,000 - the maximum total of funding allowed for an
individual housing rehabilitation project.
Since it began administering the program, CommunityWorks has allocated $554,981.45 in grant funds, which benefited 35 homeowners (most houses are shown by the red dots on the map to the right) within the city.
For more information about the Bismarck Entitlement Cities CDBG Program or to apply, contact Lyle Hogue at 701-255-4591 or at cwnd@communityworksnd.org.