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Tegan
F L I N T O I D
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So I was re-reading the article about Flint looking to spend $550,000 to rehab and sell six houses in low income neighborhoods. And this may come as a shock to you, but I think it is a BAD plan.
Don't get me wrong, I am all about rehabilitating older houses in low-income neighborhoods in order to create a better place for the inhabitants, but throwing money at a problem WILL NOT fix it.
I have an alternative plan that I think is pretty darn good. I've seen parts of this plan implemented in other communities, albeit on a smaller scale, and they seem to work out pretty well, so hear me out.
Take the $550,000 and offer it in smaller amounts as grants to homeowners in low-income neighborhoods.
Hear me out. Let's say that neighborhoods are run down because homeowners cannot afford to fix some things up. Come up with an application process and a bias committee to review the requests. These grants should not be for the WHOLE project, just a certain percentage - maybe half? - based on the person's need and income situation. The grants should definitely have a cap, and possibly
only available to owner occupied homes.
I am a little torn on this point. On one hand, you want the money to stay IN the neighborhood and you want to discourage landlords from hogging the grant money. On the other hand, you want the neighborhoods to be fixed up. I really do think that only owners who OCCUPY the homes should be eligible.
Also, the grants should only be used on projects that are exterior - roof, porch, windows, driveway, etc - not furnace, renovating the kitchen, etc.
Another plan should be to
encourage homeowners in historic districts to take advantage of the michigan historic tax credits
. Not just in Carriage Town, but Civic Park, South Grand Traverse, and Burroughs Park as well. Renaissance Zone designation is ending, and receiving tax credits for fixing up your own home is a great way that homeowners take charge of the condition of their neighborhood. Unlike throwing money at a coupel vacant houses and hoping to sell them, historic tax credits offer a little incentive to fxing up your own house.
If occupied houses in the neighborhoods start taking beautification on themselves and the city starts EDUCATING the people on the incentives that are already in place, people will come and invest in the houses themselves WITHOUT the city spending $125,000 to do it. I've seen it happen in Kalamazoo, and I think it can happen in Flint too. |
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Thu Apr 30, 2009 9:50 am |
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Tegan
F L I N T O I D
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| ha. sorry. second or third paragraph --- UNBIAS committee. not bias committee. |
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Thu Apr 30, 2009 9:51 am |
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back again
F L I N T O I D
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love the expression on the face of tegans avatar!!  |
_________________
even a small act of goodness may be a tiny raft of salvation across the treacherous gulf of sin, but one who drinks the wine of selfishness, and dances on the little boat of meaness, sinks in the ocean of ignorance.
P.Y. |
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Thu Apr 30, 2009 10:56 am |
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Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
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| That would work, but......... it might help home owners in areas of the city targeted for being shrunk out of existence. |
_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
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Thu Apr 30, 2009 11:27 am |
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Tegan
F L I N T O I D
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I agree. a grant program would have to be available to all neighborhoods, not just historic neighborhoods.
At this point, I saw stop putting public money in the neighborhoods that are thriving. The point of public assistance is to rehab a neighborhood back to a point where it is self-sufficient. Carriage Town, for example, seems to be on the right track. Let it go on its own with private investment or other not-for-profit partnerships and let the city start getting these other neighborhoods on health support. |
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Thu Apr 30, 2009 11:46 am |
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LakeWoman50
F L I N T O I D
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| That A Girl Tegan! We need to shift that money to the East and North Side! |
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Thu Apr 30, 2009 12:50 pm |
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Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
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| Who was it that said: "Them what has, gits."? You have to be connected to the right people to get anything. |
_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
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Thu Apr 30, 2009 12:50 pm |
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LakeWoman50
F L I N T O I D
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Tegan Carriage Town has received MILLIONS of Dollars and still is Ghetto. Look at the Berridge it can't even fill up because people are scared of that neighborhood. Lets focus on the eastside and northside.
quote:
Tegan schreef:
I agree. a grant program would have to be available to all neighborhoods, not just historic neighborhoods.
At this point, I saw stop putting public money in the neighborhoods that are thriving. The point of public assistance is to rehab a neighborhood back to a point where it is self-sufficient. Carriage Town, for example, seems to be on the right track. Let it go on its own with private investment or other not-for-profit partnerships and let the city start getting these other neighborhoods on health support.
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Thu Apr 30, 2009 12:58 pm |
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LakeWoman50
F L I N T O I D
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Tegan I drove through Carraige Town areas the other day and see blight, blight and more blight. How can that be when they received millions of dollars for the last 30 years? I tell you what, if you spent $500,000 + dollars in Dave Stars neigborhood or mine, you could get more bangs for your bucks.
quote:
Tegan schreef:
I agree. a grant program would have to be available to all neighborhoods, not just historic neighborhoods.
At this point, I saw stop putting public money in the neighborhoods that are thriving. The point of public assistance is to rehab a neighborhood back to a point where it is self-sufficient. Carriage Town, for example, seems to be on the right track. Let it go on its own with private investment or other not-for-profit partnerships and let the city start getting these other neighborhoods on health support.
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Thu Apr 30, 2009 1:00 pm |
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Tegan
F L I N T O I D
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There are parts of Carriage Town that need work, but I think its on its way. I think that the empty units will fill up soon. I personally would live there if I could find a job in Flint.... Can't.
I think the big picture is that you can't just throw money and expect something to sell. You have to provide the money to homeowners already there. You can fix up a vacant house all you want, but at the end of the day, the resident living in a house they can't afford to fix STILL can't afford to fix it.
Make the money available to the people through beautification grants. |
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Thu Apr 30, 2009 2:31 pm |
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twotap
F L I N T O I D
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Backagain !!!!love the expression on the face of tegans avatar
Settle down there dude  shes cute but I believe she is spoken for.
Lets see over 90 grand per home for fixups in a low income neighborhood. Tack on the original value which must be what 10 grand 20 grand and your gonna spend 100 to 110 grand to buy a home in a probably high crime area while the homes around you have not been rehabed. Their oughto be qualified buyers fighting over them  I agree Tegan BAD IDEA |
_________________
"If you like your current healthcare you can keep it, Period"!!
Barack Hussein Obama--- multiple times. |
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Thu Apr 30, 2009 2:48 pm |
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LakeWoman50
F L I N T O I D
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So hows it going to fill up when the city has the highest unemployement rate in the state or maybe country?
Hows it going to fill up when others can't find jobs and are moving else where?
You gots to ask yourself these questions. Also, why they puttin so much money into that house on Garland and Third Ave?
quote:
Tegan schreef:
There are parts of Carriage Town that need work, but I think its on its way. I think that the empty units will fill up soon. I personally would live there if I could find a job in Flint.... Can't.
I think the big picture is that you can't just throw money and expect something to sell. You have to provide the money to homeowners already there. You can fix up a vacant house all you want, but at the end of the day, the resident living in a house they can't afford to fix STILL can't afford to fix it.
Make the money available to the people through beautification grants.
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Fri May 01, 2009 7:08 am |
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Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
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| According to Ryan Eashoo, that's the "Neighborhood Design Center", where residents can visit, watch home improvement videos, and borrow tools. |
_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
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Fri May 01, 2009 7:28 am |
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Tegan
F L I N T O I D
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LakeWoman, right now, the building of dorms and the development of Flint as a College Town, so that is going to make the apartments pretty attractive to students who don't want to live in the super expensive dorms. Also, the lofts at First Street downtown filled up pretty well - when I looked at them for a project, they only had two vacancies, and both times I toured them, others were with me looking at them for rent.
Its a double edged sword. You can't complain about how the land bank is a horrible slum lord who never fixes up their properties, then complain when they DO fix up a property. Personally, I am glad they fixed up the Berridge and Tinlinn because it definitely helps the area. Do I wish they would spread it around in other neighborhoods? Of course, but like you said, the city has the highest unemployment rate in the state.... so why not fix up some apartments near the downtown and the colleges rather than somewhere without any other attractive pulls?
As for the house on Garland and Third Ave... that has been the historic neighborhood association headquarters for at least the past few years. What is so wrong about it being fixed up? And who is They?
I think the best way to promote change is to promote positive ideas, rather than blame others and just "want money." |
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Fri May 01, 2009 10:29 am |
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Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
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| The problem I have is spending everything in one area of the city, while totally ignoring others. It it too much to expect the rest of Flint getting at least a few grants? |
_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
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Fri May 01, 2009 11:51 am |
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