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Tony Pomerleau gives Shelburne mobile home park residents a future

Posted May 8, 2012

Burlington Free Press: Joel Banner Baird

The population of Shelburnewood Mobile Home Park is yet again holding its collective breath.

Burlington developer and philanthropist Tony Pomerleau says he’s breathing just fine: He aims to buy the property and grant its residents permanent ownership.“It’ll happen,” Pomerleau said Thursday, possibly within the year.

Shelburnewood residents greeted Pomerleau’s announcement last week with surprise and relief — flavored with caution.

For almost a decade, the 50 or so residents of Shelburnewood Mobile Home Park have faced alternating scenarios of eviction and reprieve.

Their aluminum homes sit on a portion of 20 acres of prime real estate. They’re
tucked behind Trinity Episcopal Church, within Shelburne’s village core; within
walking distance of school, shops and town offices.

Shelburnewood, in many ways, is a prototype for dense, “smart-growth” residential development.

But attempts to secure funding and town approval for low-to-mid-income housing at that site have been slow and painful.

“We’ve been down this road many times,” said Vicki Carleton, the president of the park’s residents’ association …

Link to Burlington Free Press Article

PDF of Full BFP Article

 


Vermont CDBG-Disaster Recovery Funding

Posted April 26, 2012

Re-posted from: Vermont Community Development Program – Josh Hanford, Director (josh.hanford@state.vt.us) 

Dear Interested Parties;

As many of you know, the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, Department of Economic, Housing and Community Development (DEHCD) will receive $21,660,211 from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in Community Development Block Grant- Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds.  The official notice of this funding, the Federal Register Notice, was released on April 16, 2012 and is attached here.  It contains the rules, regulations and process for the DEHCD to access the funding allocated to Vermont.  DEHCD has 90 days to develop an Action Plan which identifies the unmet and long term recovery needs of the area’s most impacted and distressed as the result of declared major disasters in Vermont in 2011.  These major disasters include FEMA Disaster Declaration 1995 (April 23-May 9, 2011 flood), FEMA Disaster Declaration 4001 (May 26-27, 2011 flood), and of course FEMA Disaster Declaration 4022 (August 27- September 2, 2011 Tropical Storm Irene).  These funds will be available to help communities with the necessary expenses related to disaster relief, long-term recovery, restoration of infrastructure and housing, and economic revitalization in the most impacted and distressed areas receiving major disaster declarations.  The Federal Notice requires the state to target at least 80 percent of this funding ($17,328,169) to Washington and Windsor Counties.  DEHCD request to HUD, to expand the 80 percent targeting requirement to include Windham and Rutland Counties was denied.

The state has committed to use some portion of this allocation to help municipalities meet the 25% match for property buy-outs under the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP).  DEHCD is in the process of determining the other unmet needs and uses of the CDBG-DR funds.  DEHCD is currently soliciting input on unmet needs through surveys, input from stakeholders and partners.  It appears likely that CDBG-DR funding will be available to address the long term recovery needs of housing, economic development and infrastructure.  Specific allocations of funding for housing, economic development and infrastructure have yet to be determined.  These specifics along with proposed levels of funding for planning and project implementation will be outlined in the Draft Disaster Action Plan prepared by DEHCD.  DEHCD is targeting to have the Draft Disaster Action Plan available in late May.  Public Hearings will be made available for comments and questions on the Draft Disaster Action Plan.

The Public Hearing schedule is as follows:

  • June 5, 2012 – 11:30am – 1:30pm, Latchis Theater Studio 4 in Brattleboro, VT
  • June 7, 2012 – 3:30 – 5:30pm, Bugbee Senior Center in White River Junction, VT
  • June 12, 2012 – 5:00 – 7:00pm, Montpelier Lost Nation Theater in Montpelier VT

The Public Hearing Notice will be published in area newspapers and posting of the Draft Disaster Action Plan will be available on the following websites http://www.dhca.state.vt.us/VCDP  and http://vtstrong.vermont.gov

HUD is expected to approve Vermont’s Disaster Action Plan within 45 days of receipt.  Based on this timeline, DEHCD plans to make applications forms for CDBG-DR funding available by late August – early September.  CDBG-DR funding can only be used to address needs that can’t be met by insurance proceeds, FEMA, SBA, other state, local or federal programs and charitable funding.  Projects must address an impact related to Major Disaster Declarations within a county that received a Presidential disaster declaration in 2011.  They must also be a CDBG-eligible activity and address a national objective such as benefitting low and moderate income people or addressing an urgent need.  One of the best ways to prepare for the successful use of these funds is to pursue and document each of these other funding sources as quickly as possible.  Should you have further questions regarding CDBG-DR funding please email your question to ACCD.CDBGDisasterRecovery@state.vt.us .  

Please visit http://vtstrong.vermont.gov/ for more information on Vermont’s recovery efforts.

Federal Register Notice April 16, 2012

 


Mobile Home Advocates Push For Easier Funding

Posted March 22, 2012



VPR News – Steve Zind

(Host) More than 100 mobile homes were destroyed in the Irene floods last year.

For those who need to borrow money to replace them, the mortgage market is an obstacle because the terms and eligibility requirements are different than they are for other homebuyers.

Advocates in Vermont have been working on a new loan program they hope will pave the way for a better financing model.

VPR’s Steve Zind reports.

(Zind) For mobile home owners, it’s always been more difficult to get a loan compared to regular homebuyers.

Emily Higgins is Director of Home Ownership at Champlain Housing Trust.

(Higgins) “Many financing options have a very high interest rate of perhaps 11 percent and a loan to value requirement that people put 35 percent down as a down payment.”

(Zind) Higgins adds that it’s also harder for mobile home owners to get loans because they’re considered a higher risk.

Higgins has been working with legislators, state officials, banking groups and other non-profits to create a pilot mobile home financing program.

The goal is to raise five and a half million dollars to provide long term low interest loans with lower down payments to 100 mobile home owners affected by Irene.

The money would come from federal funds, philanthropic groups and the state.

Jennifer Hollar is Deputy Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Economic, Housing and Community Development. Hollar says the hope is to create a program that can sustain itself, using payments from existing loans to finance future ones.

(Hollar) “We know that there are very limited resources there and we want to target them to helping meet the needs that we see post Irene but also want to try to leverage them in a way that can meet an ongoing or broader problem at the same time.”

(Zind) Advocates like Emily Higgins of Champlain Housing Trust say Tropical Storm Irene has brought attention to how important mobile homes are in providing housing for low income Vermonters – and to the need for a better financing program for their owners.

(Higgins) “It’s been a long-term ongoing need and a lot of people have been aware of it but Irene has been a catalyst to force us to realize what a great need there is.”

(Zind) In Montpelier, lawmakers are also looking at other ideas designed to help mobile home owners affected by Irene, including waiving taxes on the purchase and sales of mobile homes.

For VPR news, I’m Steve Zind.

Link to VPR Broadcast

Mobile Home Advocates Push For Easier Financing

 

 


Vermont To Help Displaced Vermonters Through CDBG Funds

Posted February 2, 2012

VPR News interview with Jen Hollar, Deputy Commissioner  of the Vermont Department of Economic, Housing, & Community Development

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

 

 


Task force identifies post-Irene legal issues

Posted January 19, 2012

VTDIGGER.ORG

Tropical Storm Irene upended houses, personal property and lives in Vermont. The natural disaster, which destroyed more than 700 homes and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to state and local roads, also led to unprecedented legal questions.

Vermonters, in some cases, not only lost their belongings and homes, but also their land. Should towns redraw property boundaries in situations where a former dooryard has been reduced to river bed?

Other residents faced the sure knowledge that they would never repay hundreds of thousands of dollars on mortgages for properties that no longer exist. In rare instances, victims of the raging floodwaters faced both stark realities. What, if anything, can banks and municipalities do if residents walk away from their mortgage obligations?

Meanwhile, mobile home owners are unable to take on more debt because their housing devalues quickly over time and they don’t have asset capacity.

Though the state’s community banks have been quick to respond, certain out-of-state banks, namely Bank of America, have not been as generous with property owners’ who face foreclosure, according to Senate President Pro Tempore John Campbell …

Link to Full Article & Link to Video Content

Link to PDF of Article

 

 


After Irene, Brattleboro Reexamines Housing Plans

Posted January 4, 2012

VPR NEWS - Monday, 12/26/11 7:34am - Susan Keese

(Host) Housing officials say Tropical Storm Irene has placed new pressures on an already tight supply of low income housing. The storm has prompted housing experts to re-evaluate their plans and priorities. That’s especially true in Brattleboro, as VPR’s Susan Keese reports.

(Hart) “So all of this was gone, where you’re standing, was gone…and we had to build it back up…   ”

(Keese) Brattleboro Housing Authority Director Chris Hart leads the way through Melrose Terrace. The neighborhood of federally subsidized, single-story brick buildings was hit hard when the Whetstone Brook tore through it on August 28th.

(Hart) “It went all the way from here all the way to that orange snow fence.”

(Keese) Hart notices a string of Christmas lights in one apartment window.

(Hart) “This is the building we just got back a few weeks ago, and it’s been re-occupied.”

(Keese)  Other Melrose residents are still waiting to return. The project was home to 80 low-income seniors and people with disabilities. All were evacuated before Irene, along with residents of Hayes Court, another public housing project nearby. Both Hayes Court and Melrose are in the Whetstone Brook’s flood plain – a fact that’s gained new meaning since Irene. In this flood, Hayes Court escaped major damage while apartments at Melrose were devastated.

…

Link to Full Radio Commentary

Link to PDF of Radio Commentary

 

 

 


Concrete slabs and memories

Posted December 14, 2011

Non-profit group removes trailers damaged by Irene for free

Friday December 9, 2011

BRATTLEBORO — Three months ago the tropical storm that hit southern Vermont damaged homes and businesses, some beyond repair, and changed the lives of thousands of people.

For a group of seven former homeowners at Glen Park in West Brattleboro, all they have left is the few items they were able to salvage from the historic flood and a slab of cement where their trailer homes used to be.

With their homes condemned, each was also left with an estimated $4,000 bill, the cost to have the hazardous buildings removed. It was an expense and an added stress that nearly cost one of the residents her life, said Mary Durland, who helped raise awareness of their plight.

But because of the efforts of the Champlain Valley Office for Economic Opportunity and the Community Development and Applied Economics Department at the University of Vermont, all of the trailers were demolished, scrapped and removed free of charge.

Link to Full Article

PDF of Full Article

 


NeighborWorks makes $200,000 Irene recovery grant

Posted December 7, 2011

NeighborWorks America Makes $200,000 Grant
in Support of Irene Recovery Efforts

Burlington, VT – NeighborWorks America has made a $200,000 grant to five regional housing organizations to support their Tropical Storm Irene recovery efforts. This grant is in addition to $100,000 made available immediately following the storm. The funding is going to chartered members of NeighborWorks working together as the NeighborWorks Alliance of Vermont:

  • Central Vermont Community Land Trust
  • Champlain Housing Trust
  • Gilman Housing Trust
  • NeighborWorks of Western Vermont
  • Windham & Windsor Housing Trust

The organizations, through their HomeOwnership Centers, have been offering housing-related counseling and affordable loans to those in need in the immediate aftermath of the storm, and the organizations have also received waivers to make their rental housing available regardless of income to those who were in need of a place to live due to displacement from Irene. Now these five organizations are engaged in the community development and housing needs of communities devastated by the storm.

“We are so thankful for this support as we continue to collaborate with our peers across the State to respond to challenges we’re facing after Irene,” said Brenda Torpy, the Housing Trust’s CEO. “We look forward to doing all we can to support the recovery efforts underway, as well as ones to come.”

“NeighborWorks America understands that the recovery from Tropical Storm Irene will take a concerted, long-term effort by organizations like these working on the ground in communities across the state,” explained Robert Burns, Field Operations Director for NeighborWorks. “This grant provides immediate funding to assist these five organizations serve the people and communities affected by the storm and insures that each of these outstanding NeighborWorks organizations can broaden the ability to serve during this time of great need.”

About NeighborWorks America

NeighborWorks America creates opportunities for people to improve their lives and strengthen their communities by providing access to homeownership and to safe and affordable rental housing. In the last five years, NeighborWorks organizations have generated $20 billion in reinvestment in these communities. NeighborWorks America is the nation’s leading trainer of community development and affordable housing professionals.

Chris Donnelly

Director of Community Relations

Champlain Housing Trust

 

 

 

 


My Turn: Helping the neediest in compassionate, sustainable ways

Posted November 29, 2011

Burlington Free Press Article

In the midst of news about the Occupy Wall Street movement and cleaning up after Irene, one news item almost got lost in the telling. The news that the Obama administration cut a critical, long-term care ini­tiative from its health care reform plan is alarming at best and devastating at worst. While we all ac­knowledge the rising costs of health care, our most vul­nerable populations are hardest hit by the constant cutting of these basic serv­ices …

Link to Full Article

PDF of Full Article

 

 


Irene Disaster Recovery Update

Posted November 7, 2011

Still Time to Apply for FEMA & SBA Irene-Assistance

DEADLINE: NOVEMBER 15, 2011

Individual homeowners, renters, businesses, or others who suffered losses as a result of flooding at the end of August are eligible for assistance to repair homes or to recover other losses. Even if the damage is minor, or if you are unsure whether damage will be covered by federal grants, individuals should apply ASAP. The deadline for applying for both FEMA and SBA assistance is November 15, 2011.

If you are a resident with storm damage who has not yet registered with FEMA and SBA, please call 800-621-FEMA (3362). Those with a speech disability or hearing loss who use a TTY can call 800-462-7585 directly, or 800-621-3362, if using 711 or Video Relay Service. Registration can also be done online anytime at www.disasterassistance.gov or through web-enables mobile phone devices or smartphones at m.fema.gov

Three disaster recovery centers are open from 9:00AM until 5:00PM, Monday through Saturday, in the following locations:

  • Rutland Heart Center: 1 Commons Street, Rutland, VT05701
  • Dover Town Hall: 120 Taft Brook Road, Dover, VT 05341
  • Waterbury Fire Department: 43 South Main Street, Waterbury, VT 05676

Full Information

___________________________________________________

11 Locations where Vermonters can get help with DISASTER LOAN APPLICATIONS

Full Press Release

“If you don’t complete the loan application, then FEMA can’t even consider you for several types of grants—money that is not a loan and does not have to be repaid,” said FEMA Federal Coordinating Officer James N. Russo. “You are never required to take a loan. If you want to do the best you can to ensure you receive all available assistance from FEMA, you must return that SBA application. That’s why we’re now offering help at 11 locations around Vermont.”

WHERE TO GET IN-PERSON HELP COMPLETING YOUR SBA LOAN APPLICATION:

VERMONT NEIGHBORWORKS® HOME OWNERSHIP CENTERS

  • Champlain Housing Trust, 88 King Street, Burlington, VT 05401 - Tel.: 802-862-6244 - Mon.-Fri., 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
  • Champlain Housing Trust, Franklin/Grand Isle, 13 Lake Street, St. Albans, VT 05478 - Tel.: 802-527-2361 - Mon.-Fri., 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
  • Gilman Housing Trust, 48 Elm Street, Lyndonville, VT  05851 - Tel.: 802-535-3555 - Mon.-Fri., 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
  • Windham and Windsor Housing Trust, 68 Birge Street, Brattleboro, VT 05301 - Tel.: 802-254-4604 - Mon.-Thurs., 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Fri., 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
  • Windham and Windsor Housing Trust—Satellite Office, 90 Main Street, Springfield, VT 050156 - Tel.: 802-885-3220 - Mon.-Thurs., 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Fri., 8:30-3:30
  • Central Vermont Community Land Trust, 107 North Main Street, Barre, VT  05641 - Tel.: 802-476-4493 - Mon.-Fri., 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
  • NeighborWorks of Western Vermont, 110 Marble St., West Rutland, VT 05777 - Tel. 802-438-2303 - Mon.-Thurs., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Fri., 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
  • Rutland County Housing Coalition, 46 Evelyn St., #201, Rutland, VT 05701 – Tel.: 802-775-9286 - Mon.-Thurs., 8:30-4:30 a.m., Fri., 8:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

SBA DISASTER LOAN OUTREACH CENTERS

  • Brattleboro Development Credit, 72 Cotton Mill Hill-2nd Floor, Brattleboro, VT  05301 - Mon. – Sat., 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
  • Town of Hartford Building, 171 Bridge Street, White River Junction, VT 05001 - Mon. – Fri., 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
  • Springfield Development Corp., 14 Clinton Street, Springfield, VT 15156 - Mon. – Sat., 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

 

 


 


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