Low Income Residents Could Qualify For Roof Repair Assistance

Qualified residents in Houghton County could be eligible for help with roof repairs on their homes.  The County Board of Commissioners voted to approve the guidelines for the Houghton County Emergency Repair Program at their monthly meeting Tuesday.

The program uses repayments that the county receives from residents who had previously received Community Development Block Grants, which they are required to pay back when they sell their home.  When the repayments reach a certain threshold amount, the county can choose to give it back to the state or use it for an emergency repair program.

The county set up the program in partnership with the Western Upper Peninsula Planning and Development Region.  County Administrator Eric Forsberg said the most common request WUPPDR gets is for roof repairs.

Roughly $38,000 total is available through the program, which was set up prior to the June flood and is not part of the flood relief effort.  Forsberg said that means residents do not need to be victims of the flood to qualify, but residents do need to meet the low-income requirements.

Those interested should contact WPPDR at http://www.wuppdr.org/  or call 906.482.7205 for more details.