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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Program Guidelines for Iowans Helping Iowans RESOLUTION NO. 10-512 RESOLUTION APPROVING PROGRAM GUIDELINES FOR ADMINISTERING OF "IOWANS HELPING IOWANS" DISASTER RELIEF PROGRAM FOR THE CITY OF AMES WHEREAS,on August 23,2010,the Governor announced the"Iowans Helping Iowans"(IHI)Program as part of the state's flood recovery efforts, and this housing plan was designed to help bridge the gap between the immediate needs of Iowans and assistance being made available through the Federal Emergency Management Agency(FEMA); and, WHEREAS,IHI for residential units(owner-occupied only)is managed by Iowa Finance Authority(IFA); and, WHEREAS,under this assistance program, IFA grants funds to local government participants such as cities and Councils of Governments, and on August 31, the City Council approved a resolution for the City to administer the program within Ames; and, WHEREAS,the City,in turn,will loan the funds to eligible residents under the conditions specified,and forgivable loans will be made available for the following purposes: to assist home owners in purchasing homes generally comparable to those they lived in prior to the occurrence of the natural disaster of 2010, and to assist home owners with the cost of repairing or rehabilitating disaster-affected homes; and, WHEREAS, funds are provided under this program by the State of Iowa and are restricted to owner- occupied primary residences only,and these funds come in the form of loans that will be forgiven over a 5-year period at a rate of 20%per year, as long as the home owner remains in the home; and, WHEREAS,to be eligible,local home owners must have registered with FEMA and been awarded some form of FEMA housing assistance, and, to date, eight applications have been received with one not meeting program requirements; and, WHEREAS, as staff reviewed the IFA guidelines in comparison with the application requests, it was found that the guidelines are too broad to be able to consistently treat each application in a fair and equitable manner,and IFA's contract allows and encourages administrators to adopt more specific repair criteria that meet the needs of their respective jurisdictions; and, WHEREAS, with background information from several other jurisdiction administrators, staff created program guidelines that more specifically address the needs for the City of Ames. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Ames, Iowa, that the program guidelines for administration of the"Iowans Helping Iowans"Disaster Assistance Program on behalf of the Iowa Finance Authority are hereby approved. ADOPTED THIS 26th day of October,2010. LX,4& A. "41. CA,4441.0 Diane R. Voss, City Clerk Ann H. Campbell, Mayor Ar Introduced by: Davis Seconded by: Mahayni Voting aye: Davis, Goodman,Mahayni,Larson, Orazem,Wacha Voting nay: None Absent: None Resolution declared adopted and signed by the Mayor this 26th day of October,2010.