10/16/12 CHIP dollars come in lower

  • By Nick Sabo
  • October 16, 2012
  • 333
                        
SUMMARY: Applications for funds becoming more competitive Holmes County Planning Commission Director Arnold Oliver had his fingers crossed when his office submitted an application for Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP) dollars. The county’s award of $500,000, received Oct. 11, was “a fifty/fifty” proposition, Oliver said. “It used to be a given. If you submitted a good application and were handling the program well, you got the grant,” Oliver said. “It has shifted, it’s more competitive.” The amount is lower than 2010, when the county received $544,000. The CHIP award goes out every two years. The money is used for housing improvements, Habitat for Humanity and rental assistance. Applicants must meet income-eligibility requirements. Oliver said he believes Holmes County was on the accepted list was because it has shown in the past that it has the ability to administer the grant. Also, the county consistently uses as much as it receives, Oliver said. The application process is based on a point system, and the planning commission’s application won some points by identifying Millersburg as a target area for CHIP funds. However, the grant is county-wide and all projects will be considered, Oliver said. “It just means that there will be an extra project or two in Millersburg,” Oliver said. This year, the Ohio Development Services Agency awarded $27,994,000 in CHIP funds to 56 counties and municipalities. The awards were for $500,000 each, except for two municipalities which received slightly less than $500,000. Oliver said he is “thrilled” to receive the award. “We don’t have any trouble spending it,” Oliver said of the need for CHIP funds in the county. “It has helped a lot of people (in previous years).” The planning commission will begin taking applications for CHIP projects in December or January, Oliver said.


Loading next article...

End of content

No more pages to load