Prairie Village could broaden residence enchancment funds

• Each applications reimburse qualifying residents for parts of both exterior or sustainability-related enhancements to their houses.

The upshot: These adjustments proposed by workers are geared toward permit extra owners to reap the benefits of the applications.

• One proposed change, for instance, would scale back a home-owner’s minimal funding wanted to qualify for metropolis grants from $2,500 to $2,000.

Key quote: “We really feel [at] $2,000 you’ll be able to nonetheless make a fairly good challenge, and it nonetheless meets the spirit of getting the house owner put some pores and skin within the recreation. However [it] simply minimizes that buy-in to this system a bit of bit,” Deputy Metropolis Administrator Nickie Lee advised the council Monday evening.

What are the adjustments?

Along with reducing owners’ preliminary funding, metropolis workers additionally really useful:

• elevating the appraised worth most for eligible houses for the outside grant program from $350,000 to $375,000, Lee advised the Publish through e mail,
• and growing the town’s match for each applications from 20% to 25% of a challenge’s value.

What else: Workers additionally proposes rolling over unused 2022 exterior grant program funding to 2023, which might give this system a complete 2023 funds of $90,000 in out there funds to share with owners.

• Workers additionally has requested the town to arrange an insulation-only challenge to the sustainability grant program for smaller initiatives with a minimal of $1,000 house owner funding.
• The sustainability program’s funds could be elevated from $20,000 to $30,000 in out there funds.

Logistics: If authorized, the applications would open on Feb. 1, a month earlier, to permit for earlier approvals.

• The challenge interval for the applications would even be prolonged, permitting owners to have their residence enchancment initiatives accomplished in 180 days, slightly than 120 days.
• Owners would additionally apply for every program on-line.

What’s subsequent: These adjustments are set to return again earlier than the town council for closing consideration at its Dec. 19 assembly.

• On Monday evening, the council committee of the entire unanimously authorized transferring each grants and related adjustments ahead to the town council.

Go deeper: Extra particulars concerning the exterior and sustainability grant applications could be discovered right here and right here, respectively.