The Plymouth City Council members discussed a request presented by Habitat for Humanity Director Dean Byers Monday night.
Byers explained that grant money received for building new Habitat for Humanity homes is $400,000. The problem is, with increasing construction costs due to the pandemic, the allotment per home went from $40,000 to $60,000 which means a cut to the number of homes to be constructed.
As a result, Byers said two homes will be built in Bourbon, two homes in Argos, and two homes in Plymouth. However, the organization is pushing to build three homes on Garro Street in Plymouth and they are seeking an additional $20,000 to get that accomplished.
With six homes at $60,000 out of a $400,000 grant, another $20,000 would get the seventh home built in Plymouth.
Brent Martin explained that grant requests for that extra funding have been submitted to the United Way and to PNC Bank, but a decision on whether or not those applications were successful has not been determined.
With grant officials from the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority needing to quickly know if the organization is moving forward with six or seven homes, a request was made of the city to consider putting forth $20,000 in case those grant requests are not successful.
The request caused hesitation from Councilman Duane Culp and Councilman Randy Longanecker with concerns regarding the short notice and from which fund the money would be available. Longanecker also commented that construction costs continue to rise and some supply is in question.
In the end, the council members voted 5-2 to approve the request. Culp and Longanecker voted against the motion to approve the funding.
