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Fund rules for razing raises ire of leaders
Home-demolition restrictions rile Austintown trustees
By Elise Franco
Austintown
Trustees want to know why a half-dozen homes torn down by the township don’t qualify for reimbursement through a Neighborhood Stabilization grant.
David Ditzler, board chairman, said he and Trustees Lisa Oles and James Davis are seeking answers from Mahoning County.
The Neighborhood Stabilization Program is federal funding managed and distributed by Mahoning County to communities within the county. The program began April 1, 2009.
Diztler said nearly $60,000 of the total $1.9 million grant was earmarked for the demolition of homes in Austintown, but only about $1,800 has been used so far.
He said six or seven homes in various parts of the township have come down, costing taxpayers about $10,000.
“Every time we tried to utilize the funds, we were told it’s not applicable because the money is only good for one quadrant of the township,” he said.
Anna DeAscentis, Mahoning County commissioners’ grants business manager, said the reason Austintown hasn’t seen much of the money is that to qualify, homes slated for demolition must meet strict federal guidelines.
“An extensive review of documentation on foreclosure rates, abandonment rates and vacancy rates was done,” she said. “In using that data three census tracts were the areas that qualified [in Austintown.]”
DeAscentis said most of the qualifying homes were in the western part of the township close to Youngstown.
She said one home has been torn down under the grant, and three others are included in a bid package that opens Aug. 11.
Contracts on the bids have to be finalized by Aug. 28 to use the grant money.
“All communities in the county were given the opportunity to submit properties to the District Board of Health for review,” DeAscentis said. “It should be noted that not much of Austintown is in this NSP area.”
But Ditzler said he doesn’t think the qualifications should be so strict.
“You’re trying to tear down blighted homes,” he said. “Wouldn’t you rather err on the side of helping area communities? I don’t care what side of town they’re on.”
Ditzler said the trustees were never informed of the grant’s restrictions.
“Had they told us ... Maybe we would have looked at some of the old industrial buildings that need to be torn down in the Wickliffe area,” he said.
DeAscentis said she wouldn’t comment about Austintown but said all the communities involved were informed of the grant’s rules. and details.