By John Howell Sr.

Como town officials, during a special called meeting Friday evening, scheduled a public hearing for Wednesday, Feb. 12 to give owners of dilapidated homes an opportunity to participate in a grant that could replace their homes at no cost.

During the public hearing, the mayor, aldermen and grant consultant Fletcher Shaw of SPA and Associates, Inc. hope to gather enough information from homeowners to apply by the Feb. 20 deadline.

Shaw met Friday with Mayor Everette Hill and Aldermen John Walton, Sonya Heard and Rachel Powell to explain the time constraints and qualifying criteria through the Mississippi Development Authority’s Home Grant Program.

A legal notice published in this edition announces the public hearing.

The grants target “slum and blighted areas” with low and moderate income population, Shaw said.

“It’s a grant, so they do not have to pay that back,” Shaw told town officials. 

Applicants should own their homes with clear titles, making sure, “It’s not heir property,” Shaw said.

If there are liens, “They may be able to clean that up,” he added.

The grants are to replace existing substandard structures, he said. “The homeowner is required to find somewhere to live while their home is being rebuilt,” Shaw said.

Applicants should be able to provide documentation of ownership, occupancy, employment and income verification,” Shaw said.

The grant consultant asked town officials to identify a target area, to contact people whose homes need replacing and to help prospective applicants gather proper documentation for successful applications.

“If we’re going to go for this, let’s get 12 to 15 applicants,” he said, even though amount of the grant is likely to be between $450,000 and $500,000 that would probably allow four or five homes to be replaced.

Shaw said that the program typically allows approximately $90,000 for a three-bedroom home.

Aldermen voted unanimously to set the public hearing and publish the hearing notice, to approve a resolution seeking the grant and to approve the hiring of a grant administrator — Shaw’s firm — to apply for and administer the grant.

“All the funding comes through the grant?” the mayor asked.

“Yes,” the consultant replied.