Helping revitalize South Monroe is a huge undertaking that will require a massive infusion of federal and local dollars. The Ellis administration is taking a swipe at the problem; we all hope it is successful.
With a February deadline, the Biden Administration is making a wheel barrel full of funds available to local communities for needed infrastructure and community improvements. The city started last year planning to apply. Monday, council members got a peek at how the city plans to use any funds it can get from HUD.
When the Feds have had wheel barrels full of money in the past, the city has jumped at its chance, but the poor rarely noticed what was done in proportion to the funds received.
In 2009, the Obama administration rolled out Stimulus money all over the country. The Mayo Administration dusted off shovel-ready plans to renovate the airport and walked away with $34 million to beautify the airport. The city spent the money, but it didn’t increase airport traffic enough to attract more flights.
The Administration of Lyndon began a national program called “Urban Renewal,” which poured money into local communities under the guise of helping poor communities flourish. The W.L.Howard Administration took advantage of the program and did a clean sweep of poor neighborhoods populated by Blacks and Italians. The city publicly said it wanted to help poor blacks and Italians who lived in the downtown area. However, they used the funds to buy up the property and relocate the Blacks and Italians. The Italians went to North Monroe; the blacks were compressed in other poor neighborhoods in South Monroe and in massive rental developments like Parkview Apartments.
The city used the Urban renewal funds to acquire the properties for the city’s Civic Center complex. So much for concern for the poor.
Monroe wasn’t alone. Across the country, cities used federal money to raze entire areas to rebuild, and people lost their homes and, more crucially, their communities. Because urban renewal was fundamentally targeted at clearing slums, poor people and people of color were often disproportionately impacted.
In the interim years, the city has focused on using federal dollars to rehabilitate a few homes in each council district every year.
The Biden Administration is bringing out the wheel barrels across the country.
The city has rolled its wheel barrel up to be filled. It plans to get funds to help Southside (The only areas poor enough to qualify) with a laundry list of approaches.
Included in the city’s proposal is:
The Green Housing Program will provide residents up to $25,000 toward the cost of making homes energy efficient, including replacing bulbs, insulation, and sealing ducts.
—Age In Place Housing Program that will allow disabled individuals and seniors to age at home by rehabilitating their homes to meet the American Disabilities Act requirements (ADA). For example, challenges with bathing, using the bathroom, expanding doors to account for wheelchair assistance, etc. The program, if funded, would provide between $15,000 to $28,500 of the costs.
—Reconstruction Housing Program will pay the cost to rebuild, gut, or reconstruct homes to meet city codes if needed.
—Rental Rehabilitation Program will allow landlords to apply for forgivable loans of up to $25,000 for tenants in live in eligible units. The loans will be used to upgrade private property with roof, insulation, windows, heating systems, interior and exterior painting, and other improvements.
—HOME In Monroe Program will help new homebuyers receive down payment assistance and closing costs assistance.
The city will need to infuse a massive amount of local funds to make it work, similar to what’s being done for downtown. The council has approved huge amounts of money for studies and acquisitions for downtown development.
If the city ponies up the same type of funds for South Monroe, in addition to the HUD funds, the Ellis Administration will have done what no other administration has done.
It’s a good start; full steam ahead!
