Home repair grants offered

FALLS VILLAGE — The Northwestern Connecticut Planning Collaborative is working on an application for the state’s Regional Housing Rehabilitation Loan Program. Jocelyn Ayer of the collaborative spoke to the Salisbury Affordable Housing Commission earlier this month about the program.Ayer said the grants are for homeowners who need costly repairs for their homes to remain affordable.She said the interest-free loans are essentially liens, to be repaid when the property is sold.Rehabilitation projects that might be eligible include correction of health and safety violations; code compliance; roofing; carpentry, electrical work, painting, plumbing, heating and other “non-luxury” repairs, according to an email from Ruth Skovron of Falls Village, who is active in the collaborative.Weatherization projects (insulation, window replacement, siding) could also be eligible.To be income-eligible property owners must have a household income at or below 80 percent of the area median income. A family of four with a gross household income of $65,000 or less would be eligible; a two-person household earning $52,000 or less and a single person earning $45,000 or less would be eligible.To demonstrate to the state that there is a demand for the program in the eight collaborative towns (all six Region One towns plus Norfolk and Goshen) each town must collect three or four letters from homeowners by April 15. Anyone interested should get in touch with their town’s first selectman or social worker, or send a brief letter of need to Jocelyn Ayer, NWCT Planning Collaborative, 251 Canaan Road, Salisbury, CT 06068.