Resident receive financial assistance information at sewage meeting
LUZERNE TWP. – Although sewer authority officials could not yet answer the question of what residents might pay monthly for a new sewerage system, a rural development specialist did tell a crowd of about 30 residents how they could apply for financial assistance at a public meeting Wednesday evening. Mary Ellen Polosky, a specialist from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), spoke to the room of boisterous township dwellers at the Allison 2 fire hall about home repair loans and grants available through the USDA that can be used to pay tap-in fees.
The second phase of the sewerage project covers Allison 2, Penncraft, Tower Hill 2, Thompson 2 and Merrittstown.
The purpose of the financial program is to “provide assistance to very low-income owners of modest single-family homes in rural areas, for home improvements to remove health and safety hazards or to make a home accessible for household members with disabilities,” according to a pamphlet distributed during the meeting.
The loan has a 1 percent interest rate, a maximum term of 20 years and mortgages are taken on loans in excess of $7,500. Polosky said the USDA “tries to keep” the loans at $7,500 and under.
“For every $1000 you borrow, you pay back $4.60 a month,” Polosky said. “Ours is a really wonderful opportunity.”
Financial assistance is based on family size. In Fayette and Westmoreland counties, a single person family’s income must not exceed $20,100; two people: $22,950; and three people: $25,850.
Grants are only available to “very low-income” homeowners 62 years of age or older who are unable to repay a loan financed over 20 years, according to the pamphlet.
Grant funds cannot be used for cosmetic changes to the house, but loan money can, Polosky explained.
Those who receive a grant agree to pay back the money only if they sell the home within three years of grant approval, she noted.
“There’s no lien on the property,” she said. “It’s pretty much the honor system.”
In answer to an audience question, Polosky suggested contacting Fayette County Community Action to meet with a packager if help is needed to fill out an application for the grant or loan.
“It’s really not that bad of an application. Just fill out what applies,” she said. “Submit it and if they need something believe me they’ll let you know.”
Polosky said grant money is slow to come through and recommended borrowing the money from a relative until the grant is available.
Questions about the cost to each resident remained unanswered, however, because information like how many individual units are going to tap in to the new system, had not yet been determined, Bob Peton, sewage authority chairman, said.
Manager Tony Capuzzi said the system would not be ready to tap in to until spring of next year, and the current construction is to lay pipe.
“Everyone is going to pay the same amount. It’s going to be a year before you tap in,” Peton explained. “We haven’t passed anything on the board yet. We don’t know. (The cost of) gas goes up, pipe goes up. We’re up in the air.”
Peton said a delay in passing the federal budget delayed progress of the project and increased costs. Obtaining rights of way also slowed the process, he added.
He said seven years ago the estimated price per month for residents rested at $38, but over the years increased to more than $40 a month.
“Prices have gone up,” he said. “We’re trying to keep it down. It’s above $40 now.”
Peton told the crowd to visit the authority office where maps of the area show where residents might want to locate taps.
For more information on the grants and loans, contact Sandra Ridenour in the development office serving Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fayette, Somerset and Westmoreland counties via postal mail at USDA Rural Development, 214 Donohoe Road, Suite A, Greensburg, PA 15601, by phone 724-853-5555 ext. 124, or through e-mail at Sandra.Ridenour@pa.usda.gov.
For construction questions, call the sewer authority office Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 724-785-4925.