After two years, the City of Knox is finally about to close out its Owner-Occupied Housing Rehabilitation grant. In March of 2019, the city got funding from the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority to help homeowners make needed repairs.
Mayor Dennis Estok told the city council last week that work was just wrapping up on the last house. “It’s been a long haul,” Estok said. “It was the longest grant I’ve even been associated with. We had the COVID, that they had to quit work. Then we had bid them out, and no contractors bid on them. It’s kind of worth doing, but the interest from the contractors just isn’t there. I mean, we struggled these last five houses to actually find a contractor to do the work.”
He said the number of required certifications discouraged many local contractors from taking part.
Estok also said that Knox will once again offer to split the cost of sidewalk repairs with property owners. The city plans to bring back its 50/50 sidewalk program later this spring, after it was suspended last year.
