The Normal Town Council is pitching in to help residents with Bloomington-Normal's exceedingly tight housing market.
The council voted Monday night to use $55,000 of federal pandemic funding to pay for a "housing navigator" employed by Mid Central Community Action (MCCA).
The position, jointly funded with the City of Bloomington for a two-year period, will help people navigate housing assistance programs and coordinate resources so they can better compete in a housing market where properties sell quickly.
"Housing is such a critical need at all income levels, but it can be very complicated to try to navigate when something comes on the market and so it quickly disappears before someone can sign a lease and make a housing decision," said council member Karyn Smith.
Duties will include helping people find programs to assist with down payments and rent, housing rehabilitation and ADA accessibility modifications. The staff member will create databases to share among agencies to serve clients more efficiently. It also will help identify grant opportunities and work with landlords to establish a broader base of eligible rental units.
The position is an outgrowth of the Housing Coalition, a group formed by Bloomington, Normal, McLean County and area service organizations to help residents during the pandemic that is partly responsible for the housing situation.
The money is part of $10.8 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money received by the town, specifically to help with pandemic-related difficulties. Council member Chemberly Harris abstained because she sits on the board of Mid Central Community Action.
City Manager Pam Reece said the grant doesn't commit the town to future funding, but it also doesn't shut the door.
"If the position is proving to be as valuable as the community needs, then I'm certain Mid Central Community Action will talk to all the stakeholders and work out a plan for how to fund it in the future," she said.
Bloomington will pay $71,000 toward the position. The combined total will cover salary, benefits and other overhead.
Street resurfacing
In another matter, the council voted to award just over $1 million to H.J. Eppel & Co. Inc., Pontiac, for the third and final phase of planned street resurfacing work. The funding comes from Motor Fuel Tax funds. All told, Reece said 4.5 miles will be resurfaced during the 2023 construction season.
In other business, the council:
- Conditionally approved the Sixth Addition to Heather Ridge Subdivision, part of the North Bridge development at the southwest corner of Ziebarth and Pipeline roads. Developers must still submit all code-required certificates and pay required fees.
- Approved a lease amendment with Amtrak to perform repairs on the north passenger platform at Uptown Station.
- Voted to pay Musco Sports Lighting of Oskaloosa, Iowa, $80,000 for lighting at the Anderson Park tennis courts.
- Approved an agreement for technical planning services with the McLean County Regional Planning Commission for $54,000.
