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Connellsville officials exploring possibility to offer $20k to first time city homebuyers

By Rachel Basinger for The 3 min read
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Next month officials with the Connellsville Redevelopment Authority will meet with members of the Mellon Foundation to discuss a proposal requesting $1 million dollars in grant funds over a two-year period that could be a boon for first time homebuyers looking to purchase a home in the city.

Michael Edwards, executive director for the redevelopment authority, said as part of the proposal, the authority would like to offer a $10,000 loan and a $10,000 grant as a way to entice first-time homebuyers to consider buying a residence in the city.

“Our thoughts are that we could offer a $10,000 loan that would only need to be repaid if the recipient sells the property and also that we could offer a $10,000 grant that would be forgiven $1,000 for every year they own the property,” Edwards said.

Essentially, if the homeowner continues to own the home for at least 10 years, they would not need to pay back the grant.

If the stipulations are followed, a first-time homeowner who purchases a home in the city could potentially walk into a closing with $20,000 — all free if the person continues to own the property over their lifetime.

“Of course, we haven’t even had the meeting yet to discuss our proposal and even after that, there’s always a chance that we will not be awarded the funds we are asking for,” Edwards said.

A similar program is in place in Charleroi, Washington County. Officials there are offering $10,000 in grant funding, and recently urged interested buyers to come forward as the funding is set to expire in about three months.

As part of the proposal, Edwards said they will also look to use the requested money for home acquisition and demolition and also for a small business revolving loan fund.

In other business, motions passed to pay Widmer Engineering a total of $19,800 to draw up the specifications for a project in East Park to rehabilitate the stonework around the water fountain area by the bandshell and the stone columns along Wills Road up to Cherry Avenue. The project will also provide handicapped accessibility at city hall.

Board member Leigh Ann Lincoln had reservations about spending money to make city hall accessible when city officials might be looking at the possibility of either renovating the building or relocating it in their upcoming comprehensive plan.

Edwards said if they don’t use the 2014 Community Development Block Grant funds in the next several months that they have set aside for this particular project, they will lose the funds.

Also in other business, members of the authority approved the request of New Haven Hose Volunteer Fire Company to purchase a generator and install a gas line at their fire station at a cost of $38,815 and to purchase scuba gear at a cost of $1,301.

The funds will come from an R.K. Mellon grant the authority secured last year.

Additionally, because the authority is a limited partner in the Cobblestone Hotel venture called Trailside Lodging, members approved signing the necessary documentation to make limited partner Conmor Inc. the new general partner. Tom Rosselot will be stepping down as the general partner, but will remain a limited partner.

Finally, Edwards will be attending a CDBG conference in State College next Monday and Tuesday. He reported that the head of the state Department of Community and Economic Development has asked the authority to present Connellsville to the attendees and how the city has utilized other funding besides state funding to continue to revitalize the city.

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