Homeowner project gets $125,000 boost

NEWTON FALLS -- The Trumbull County commissioners have committed $125,000 to help low- and moderate-income people buy houses here.
The money will go toward the Newton Falls Homeownership Project, which involves construction of seven single-family homes on scattered sites throughout the city in 2005.
The homes will all be three bedrooms with 11/2 baths and an attached two-car garage. Low- and moderate-income people will be eligible to purchase the houses.
The total anticipated cost is $962,000, with funding guaranteed through the state's Housing Project Development Assistance Program, to be run through Neighborhood Development Services Inc.
The county's $125,000 will help purchasers by reducing the amount that has to be borrowed to buy a house.
"Our contribution doesn't have to be paid back ... so it makes it more affordable to buy the house," according to Alan Knapp, county Planning Commission director.