Minutes 03/11/1980 - Laserfiche WebLink

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lr'; \ TUESDAY MARCH 11, 1980 1. 49% of the participants are elderly and handicapped. 2. 61% of the participants are renting in the same apartment they were living in before they became involved with the program. 3. The geographic breakdown shows no concentration of units in anyone neighborhood. I also voted, in 1979, to construct a 101-unit development for the elderly and handicapped on Spruce Street. On the other hand, I voted against a 100-unit subsidized housing development on Chatham Heights in 1975, against a 100-unit subsidized housing development on Pine Hall Road in 1979, and took no action on a 1979 invitation to apply for a grant to construct a 100-unit public housing project. The citizens were opposed to these projects because they felt the projects would be disruptive to their neighborhoods and I felt the citizens were right. The City turned these projects down because of the City's demonstrated progress in meeting the housing needs of the citizens--the 186 units under the Section 8 Existing Housing Program begun in 1975--the 101-unit development for the elderly and handicapped approved in 1979--and the 1978 programs for home ownership--5l units on Deerfield Acres--22 units on Melody Court--90 units on Forest Lake. Recent West Piedmont figures show that 495 households require assistance in Martinsville. 69 of the 495 households are elderly and handicapped and the construction of the 101-unit development for the elderly and handicapped will reduce our need to 426 units. Assistant City Manager, George W. Brown feels that the 426 units include a substantial amount of existing units which are in need of rehabilitation and the grant proposal includes a $15,000 grant to perform a thorough analysis of Housing Needs in the City, to update our Housing Assistance Plan, to identify the condition of our existing housing supply and other areas needing rehabilitation. To summarize: West Piedmont and our current Housing Assistance Plan figures show a need for assisted housing in the City; therefore, I feel Council should pursue housing programs that fill this need, that do not impact neighborhoods and that improve existing housing. The second reason I feel the program has merit is because of its positive features. The City Administration recently sent surveys to the homes in the program's proposed target areas and sent an inspector to do a visual survey of all the homes. 83% of the households answered the survey. Some of the significant findings are as follows: 76% of the households contain at least one Social Security recepient. 24% of the households contain at least one handicapped member. 63% of the people between ages 18 and 62 work. 53% of the homes are owner-occupied. 96% of the households make less than $11,025/year and 76% make less than $8,000. 55% of the homes need repair - 29% are deteriorating - 12% are dilapidated. 6% lack a bathroom - 20% lack hot water, and 61% lack any insulation. 78% of the homes are valued at less than $5,000.