Home rehab, vacant Ward 3 seat top Cape council agenda

On the agenda for tonight's Cape Girardeau City Council meeting is a resolution to seek grant funding to rehabilitate substandard homes.

The city plans to request $219,990 in affordable housing program funds from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines, Iowa. The money would be used to improve 30 homes in the city; the grant also would cover any administration costs, meaning the program would come at no cost to the city.

This is not the city's first time requesting the funds. In 2012, it received $190,140 and rehabilitated 30 homes. This not only helped reduce the number of substandard buildings in the city, but also improved housing conditions for low-income, elderly and disabled households, according to city reports.

Should the city receive the grant, homeowners living in the city limits could apply for funds. Applicants must have a family income below or at 50 percent of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development median income guidelines. In 2013, that number was $19,250 per year for a single person or $27,500 a year for a family of four.

The city also plans to offer homeowner education classes to applicants, as it did the last time it received the grant.

Council members plan to discuss and could make a decision on the temporary replacement for the vacant Ward 3 seat. Four men -- Patrick Koetting, Charles DiStefano, Victor R. Gunn and Evan Trump -- submitted applications to fill the seat until elections are held to find a long-term replacement later this year.

Gunn and Trump have expressed their intention to run for the elected position. Council members have said in past meetings they would prefer to select someone who is not interested in running in order to avoid giving a candidate an advantage in the election.

The council has until the end of the month to make the temporary selection, based on time allotted by the city charter.

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641

Pertinent address:

401 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.