Revision in grant approved (12/14/04)

DUNKIRK — A proposal to change grant requirements and make it easier for senior citizens to purchase homes in the Quincy Place Subdivision here was unanimously approved Monday night by city council members.

Housing sales in the subdivision, located along Highland Avenue just east of West Jay Middle School, have not been going as well as expected, leading Indiana Department of Commerce officials to put a moratorium on future state grant money to Dunkirk until the situation improves.

Jay County community developer Wayne Bailey told council members Monday evening he is proposing to ask state officials to modify the guidelines for the original Quincy Place grant from building 42 homes to simply having 50 residents living in the subdivision to satisfy grant requirements.

In addition, a second proposed change would call for allowing senior citizens, 62 years of age or older, to qualify to purchase the homes on the same basis as low- to moderate-income individuals.

Originally, the subdivision was created to develop more affordable housing in the community. There were plans for 42 single-family homes, but so far less than half that number have been constructed, and not all of those are occupied.

These are two- and three-bedroom homes with attached two-car garages, city utilities and one and a half bathrooms. Each of the houses measures a little more than 1,000 square feet in size.

Quincy Place Subdivision was started with the help of a $480,000 Community Development Block Grant from the state and federal government to the city of Dunkirk to finance construction of necessary infrastructure improvements, such as streets, curbs and utility work.

The 42-lot subdivision project was initiated in February of 1999, following a study which showed a need for more housing for low- to moderate-income level families in this area. However, since that time the Indiana Glass Company ceased production of glassware and underwent a substantial down-sizing in personnel at its Dunkirk plant.

Basically, this pulled the bottom out of the housing market in Dunkirk. Many older homes went up for sale, and the Quincy Place Subdivision has yet to be completely occupied.

Five years later, rather than having a thriving subdivision with 42 new homes benefiting more than 100 new residents, Quincy Place has 11 new single-family houses with another four under construction. However, some of these new homes are vacant, and the number of Quincy Place residents numbers approximately 20.

As a result, Dunkirk city officials were recently notified by the Indiana Department of Commerce Grants Management Office that unless more homes are built and sold in the subdivision, the city will be kept on a “findings list,” making it ineligible to receive any additional CDBG funds from the state or federal government.

Bailey said that before submitting the proposal to department of commerce officials, a public hearing will need to be held. Council members set that hearing for 7 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 10 in Dunkirk City Council chambers.

If the proposed changes are approved by the state, marketing strategies will be directed more towards senior citizens, Bailey said.

Dunkirk Mayor Sam Hubbard said he was happy Bailey was now helping the city concerning Quincy Place which pre-dates both of their terms of office. “We’ll look forward to working with you on this project,” Hubbard said.

In other action at Monday night’s meeting, council members:

•Heard Dunkirk Police Chief Arnold Clevenger discuss the need for purchasing a new squad car to replace one of the present police cars which has more than 100,000 miles and is beginning to have a lot of mechanical problems.

•Noted that after receiving more than 50 applications and interviewing the top five candidates, city officials have approved hiring Sharon “Sally” McCowan, a Redkey resident, as a new full-time police dispatcher.

•Pointed out that specifications for a new three-year refuse collection contract are now available, and bids will be opened at the next council session at 7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 27.[[In-content Ad]]