JACKSON ALDERMEN HOLD HEARING ON BLOCK GRANT

Approximately 50 substandard homes would be rehabilitated, and two streets improved in the north central residential area of Jackson if a community development block grant application for $800,000 is approved by the state.

On Monday, the Jackson Board of Aldermen held a public hearing to explain details of the block grant application that must be filed by March 15. Approximately 15 property owners and renters attended the hearing. This is the second year that the city has applied for the grant.

The city is seeking a grant, which would provide $400,000 in funding annually for the residential neighborhood for two years.

The area is bounded on the south by Florence Street, on the east by Maryland and Greensferry Road, on the north by Olive and Hickory, and on the west by North Hope and Hubble Creek.

Homeowners who live in that area, and meet income requirements set by the federal government, would be eligible to receive grants of up to $8,500 to make improvements to their homes. Rental property owners would be required to pay at least 50 percent of the cost of rehabilitation.

City Administrator Carl Talley said if the grant application is approved, another public meeting will be held to explain how property owners in the block grant area can apply for a rehabilitation grant.

In addition to the rehabilitation of 25 units of substandard housing during each of the two years of the grant, there would also be money for the extension and paving of North Hope to Hickory and Olive, and the paving of Olive to Greensferry Road during the first year.

In the second year of the grant, another 25 homes would be rehabilitated, and Greensferry Road, from North Hope to August Street, would be widened and paved.

Competition for community block grant money is intense. Last year, only one out of every six applications submitted by Missouri cities was funded. Those towns whose grant applications have been funded will be announced in early June.

In other business, the board approved a five-year, no-interest, $15,797 loan to the Brookside Park Athletic Field Fund to pay for the installation of lighting on the two new ball diamonds in Brookside Park.

The city will purchase and install the lights. The the loan will be repaid in five $3,100 annual payments, with the first payment this year. The money will come from fees paid each year by the various baseball and softball leagues that will use the diamonds.

Alderman Paul Sander noted this is not the first time the city has made no-interest loans to athletic organizations in Jackson to pay for lighting improvements in city parks.