May 08, 2008 10:49 pm
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By Debbie Robinson
news@joplinglobe.com
MIAMI, Okla. — The Miami City Council plans a second public hearing Monday, May 19, on a proposed $1.7 million housing project that potentially could result in the construction of 20 single-family homes for victims of last summer’s devastating floods.
The hearing, along with an anticipated vote by the council on an ordinance to approve the project, is scheduled for the 6 p.m. council meeting at City Hall. The first hearing was staged last week.
The first three homes to be constructed already have prospective owners who have met eligibility requirements and now are living in trailers provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said Larry Eller, Miami community development director.
The city received a $160,000 Community Development Block Grant and a $400,000 Oklahoma Department of Commerce grant to buy the land at 20th and N streets and to install infrastructure. The land already has connections to sewer and water lines.
“It (the property) has been sitting empty for 25 to 30 years,” Eller said.
Revolving-grant money will be used to build additional homes once the first three are sold, he said.
Eller said the houses will be built by a private contractor under specifications established by the city.
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Topeka, Kan., will provide $5,000 toward the cost of a home, and other subsidies will reduce the cost to the buyer to about $86,000 with low interest rates, Eller said.
The project requires that the buyer live in the house for a minimum of five years, he said.
Prospective buyers will be required to have a job history and good credit.
Monthly mortgage payments will be based on income.
A family of three with an annual income of $19,500 would pay $446 a month, based on guidelines established by the U.S. Rural Development Authority.
The city also has a vacant lot at 33 D St. N.W. that will be used for construction of a house.
Eller said first priority will be given to victims of last year’s July flood. The city lost about 100 homes after the Neosho River crested more than 20 feet above flood stage, inundating homes with as much as 5 feet of water.
Jeannine Landers’ home was destroyed by the flood, and she is eligible for the proposed housing project.
“When I called him (Eller), I cried because I didn’t know what I was going to do for a home,” she said.
Landers praised the project the city is pursuing.
“I want Miami to grow and not be named the town of the floods,” she said.
Landers said she had lived in her house for decades.
“It’s hard just to wake up and know you don’t have a home,” she said.
Under state guidelines, a review committee was appointed to research the project and make a recommendation to council members.
New homes
The $126,000 houses will have 1,257 square feet, with three bedrooms, two bathrooms and two-car garages.
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