Rehab program moving forward

Jay County is moving forward with plans for an owner-occupied rehabilitation program.

Jay County Commissioners approved contracts Monday for engineering and radon testing related to the $1 million project intended to help residents pay for home improvements. The contracts are contingent upon approval from Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs.

The owner-occupied rehabilitation is mainly funded through an OCRA grant, which was received for Jay County taking part in the Hoosier Enduring Legacy Program (HELP) planning process for federal coronavirus relief funds.

Commissioners agreed Monday to formally amend the overall project budget, allowing $103,000 of the $1 million grant to be used for professional services (engineering and radon testing). The remaining $897,000 will be used for construction.

Mike Kleinpeter of Kleinpeter Consulting, who is serving as a grant administrator on the project, explained the program requires Jay County hire an inspector to check each home before construction. He told commissioners Monday he reached out to 15 firms and received one bid for the service from engineering company Egis of Indianapolis.

The contract with Egis is not to exceed $98,000. Another contract with Air Xray of Fort Wayne for state-required radon testing is not to exceed $5,000.

Per grant guidelines, Kleinpeter noted the county needs to seek bids for the various housing projects by Nov. 30.

“We’ve got about 90 days, but that clock’s going to run fast,” he said.

Jay County accepted applications for the program on a first-come, first-serve basis in May and June, receiving more than 100 submissions from local residents. The proposed work may include roof, water heater or heating ventilation and air conditioning unit replacements, electrical work or upgrades to make a home more accessible. Projects are limited to $25,000 per household.

Kleinpeter has been in communication with OCRA to seek approval for using the grant funds to pay for professional services needed to do the work. (In past meetings, Bill Walters of East Central Indiana Regional Planning District pointed out Jay County is the first entity to offer a countywide owner-occupied rehabilitation program.)

County attorney Wes Schemenaur noted the contract with Egis stipulates responsibilities of the company, which includes reviewing owner-occupied rehabilitation applications, conducting inspections, preparing bid documents, coordinating with contractors in a pre-bid meeting, reviewing bids, evaluating change requests and doing final inspections to make sure work was completed according to the bid.

He said the subject of final inspections had been a question previously, with conversation originally circling around Jay/Portland Building and Planning Department handling the role. He mentioned he still has a few questions, specifically noting that the contract does not clarify who creates the contracts between homeowners and contractors. (He said in past meetings Egis has agreed to do it.)

Per a request from Kleinpeter, commissioners agreed to formally amend the project budget, confirming the decision with a letter signed by commissioners president Chad Aker.

Kleinpeter said he will submit the letter to OCRA and hopes to hear back from them quickly. Homes selected will first undergo radon testing, with an inspection to follow.

“I think we’ll start to see some movement here in the next couple weeks,” he said.