A lot of Vermonters displaced by Irene are hoping their home will be bought out by the FEMA hazard mitigation program, which pays up to 75 percent of the home’s pre-storm fair market value.

Jennifer Hollar, Deputy Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Economic, Housing and Community Development, says the state is committed to helping homeowners who qualify for FEMA mitigation make up that remaining 25 percent gap. Hollar tells VPR’s Mitch Wertlieb, that even for families who don’t qualify for Hazard Mitigation, help could be available in the form of Community Development Block Grants awarded to Vermont from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, in a pool of money totaling more than $21 million.

To listen to the VPR interview

PLEASE SET ASIDE FEBRUARY 23^rd as a day that you and your organization’s key supporters will spend in Montpelier talking and advocating in the Legislature on the importance of Vermont Housing and Conservation Board funding for your organization and the communities it serves.

Governor Shumlin has proposed $14 MILLION FOR VHCB – a $1.2 million increase.  With a $60 million budget deficit, this is a very positive development.

We need members to TURN OUT IN FULL FORCE to support his request and show appreciation.  Already voices in the Legislature have been raised saying that we don’t need to fund conservation when the state needs all available resources to help recover from Irene.  As the Governor has proposed, VHCB will play a key role by providing $2 million over two fiscal years to help homeowners who want buyouts of their destroyed homes, and to towns which seek to convert those parcels to open space and park land.

We need to reaffirm our core message that BOTH conservation and affordable housing are critical economic development investments that must remain a priority as the State meets the challenges of recovery and the fifth consecutive year of budget shortfalls.

Full Information & Tentative Schedule

For further information, contact:

Erhard Mahnke at 233-2902 or erhardm@burlingtontelecom.net

John Shullenberger at 373-2590 or jdsdiann@together.net

Adam Necrason at 223-9988 or necrason@snlawvt.com

This discussion is intended for affordable housing funders, developers, managers and advocates.  Our hope is to reflect and build upon your work in recent years and discuss policy priorities to help preserve existing affordable housing. The format for the day will include individual presentations, panel discussions, and open group discussion on key preservation topics including:

• Today’s Preservation Landscape in Vermont with  Gus Seelig,  Sarah Carpenter, Jen Hollar and Bob McDonald
• An Overview of the National Housing Preservation Effort
• Doing Preservation Deals – Housing owners and developers discuss challenges and opportunities in their recent preservation projects
• Strategies and Resources for Acquisition of  Federally Subsidized Housing Projects
• Preservation Policies, Issues and Concerns for Vermont Housing Providers

Join us beginning at 8:30 am for a continental breakfast.  After the morning presentations and discussions we’ll break for lunch and have some time for networking. We expect to conclude the day at 3:00 pm.

There is no fee for the day but please register to help us organize the event. Panelists and speakers don’t need to register.

Reply to laurie@vhcb.org by March 1.   Include your name, title, organization, and telephone number. Noble Lounge is wheelchair accessible. Please contact us in advance if you require special accommodations. For more information contact me at 828-3526 or rick@vhcb.org

On Behalf of the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board,

Rick DeAngelis

December 29, 2011 – Andrew Nemethy – www.vtdigger.org

MONTPELIER – A statewide effort to clean up widespread devastation at Vermont’s mobile home parks after tropical storm Irene was lauded Thursday for its remarkable partnerships, volunteers and accomplishments.

Lt. Gov. Phil Scott said the cleanup effort disposed of 68 badly damaged mobile homes in six parks around the state through a unique partnership of state, private and nonprofit organizations and a host of people who pitched in with time, money and equipment.

“I think that’s what I’m most proud of,” said Scott.

Vermonters from all walks of life just started “solving” the problems, as he put it, that cropped in the effort to remove mobile homes swamped by Irene.

More than $300,000 was raised to assist the project through donations big and small, and in a race against the onset of winter, 68 units were demolished and removed in six weeks at an approximate cost of $2,500 per unit, according to Scott.

Scott spearheaded the cleanup when it became apparent many mobile home owners did not have the $3,500 to $4,500 in funds to dispose of their homes – which meant recovery after the Aug. 28 disaster would be delayed since new units could not replace damaged ones, hard-hit mobile park owners would be left without rental income for their lots, and valuable low-income housing sites would be removed from the state.

Link to Full Article

Link to Article PDF

Thu Dec 22 2011

At a meeting on December 6, the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board presented funding awards to the Addison County Community Trust and the Central Vermont Community Land Trust to create affordable rental housing in the towns of Hancock and Barre. The Windham and Windsor Housing Trust will rehabilitate two properties with 12 apartments in Chester and Gageville. Grants to the network of HomeOwnership Centers and non-profit housing organizations will provide financial counseling and homebuyer education to households who lost their homes in Hurricane Irene and assist communities in rebuilding after Irene. The Upper Valley Land Trust, the Nature Conservancy, the Stowe Land Trust, and the Vermont River Conservancy will use VHCB funding to conserve 413 acres of agricultural land, recreational land and wildlife habitat.

Christine  Hart, Chair of the Board, said, “These VHCB grants will be used in communities across the state and will complement flood recovery efforts, provide economic stimulus, support the agricultural economy, and provide public access to recreational land for generations to come … ”

Link to Full Article

Link to Article PDF