Officials with the Southwest Iowa Planning Council (SWIPCO) will holding a town hall informational meeting Wednesday November 9th at 6:30 p.m., at Anita Community Building with regard to a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for housing rehabilitation in a targeted area of the city.  SWIPCO will discuss the application process with city officials and residents of the target area, and staffers will help any residents who would like to apply for a grant  that evening, in filling out the application and give them examples of supporting documentation needed. anita-town-hall-flyer

Community Development Director Amber Carcel, says “We really wanted to have a face to face with as many of the potential applicants as possible, walk them through the application and explain the process of the program once they are income qualified. So many homeowners struggle to understand what we need, why we need it, etc. There is a lot of back and forth via the mail, telephone calls, and fax. We hope to eliminate that and expedite the entire process by helping them in the beginning.”

Anita received a housing community development block grant (CDBG) to assist low to moderate income homeowners within a set target area in 2016. The grant is for $230,900 to repair six homes within the set target area. Each approved home is eligible for up to $24,999 in repairs. Carcel says  “This amount of money allowed per home through this program allows us to do much more than with our other forgivable loan programs. We may do a roof, siding, windows, etc.” Community Development Block Grants are awarded annually by the Iowa Economic Development Authority with funding from the department of Housing and Urban Development.

SWIPCO is a council of government serving the eight counties of southwest Iowa with public transportation, community development, and housing. SWIPCO is an equal opportunity employer, provider, and lender.