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Date: 12/26/2023
CHESTERFIELD — Paula Bilodeau, manager of the Housing Rehab Program at the Hilltown Community Development Corp., came out of retirement because she loves what the program does: help people stay in their houses.
“You feel like Santa Claus,” Bilodeau said. “We put central heating systems in for people, they either failed or they have no heat at all. We do septic systems. People’s wells have gone belly up … There is a lot of need. People just can’t afford to do this work.”
The Housing Rehab Program was granted $900,000 in 2023 to devote to repairs for seniors, veterans and low income homeowners in Chesterfield, Cummington, Goshen, Peru, Plainfield, Westhampton, Williamsburg and Worthington. The commonwealth receives a bank of grant money from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, and distributes that to individual community development corporations.
Hilltown CDC, located in Chesterfield, this year received a $1.7 million block grant from the state. Each CDC decides its own priorities. The money going to CDCs may also be spent on other elder services, childcare, veterans’ services and transportation for shopping and appointments. Seniors aren’t the only beneficiaries. Applicants 25 to 90 years old are considered.
Homeowners in need must apply. In some towns they haven’t.
“Right now, I’m having to bang the drum in a couple of towns,” Bilodeau said. “I am short on applicants from the town of Cummington and … from Williamsburg.”
Goshen residents also submitted no applications.
Bilodeau said Westhampton residents haven’t received any home repair funds in five to seven years. That may explain why many applications were sent in this year from residents there.
Bilodeau receives an application, sorts it into the proper town folder, then scores the application based on need and the severity of the situation. She tries to fund at least one project in each town, but cannot if no applications come in. An applicant must meet HUD income guidelines.
A family of four qualifies for the program with earnings no greater than $79,700, which is 80% of the median income for the Greater Springfield area. Low- and extremely low-income levels of $30,000 and $49,800 bring additional considerations in scoring. A leaking septic tank, lead paint, a failed well pump or a lack of handicapped accessibility compromise basic livability standards and are also given a higher score.
“It is an absolutely amazing program,” Bilodeau said. “This is a no-interest, no payment loan. The only requirement is that you stay in the residence for 15 years. Each year you maintain that ownership a certain percentage of the loan is forgiven.”
Hilltown CDC puts a lien on the property, registered at the county clerk’s office, and if the homeowner doesn’t sell, after 15 years the lien is released. No other encumbrances are made. There are no interest charges. No monthly payments are required.
Bilodeau said that project costs are limited to $40,000. Projects involving lead abatement, septic work, well maintenance or handicapped accessibility may budget up to $50,000. Projects are impacted by cost overruns. Occasionally, as much as $100,000 goes to complete work on a home.
Fewer projects are being underwritten, a result of higher costs for construction materials.
“What’s been the stumbling block in each town has been construction costs,” Bilodeau said. Lead remediation costs have been especially high. “In days of yore, we could do many projects in each town. Now, we make sure we get one in each town — but again, it depends on costs.”
A wide variety of repairs, maintenance and major rehabbing are considered for funding. Roof and foundation work, heating system repairs, plumbing and electrical upgrades, window replacements, septic system earthwork and sewer tie-ins, handicapped accessibility, well drilling, pump repair and the removal of lead paint may all be eligible for funding under the Hilltown CDC block grant.
Bilodeau can’t stop gushing about the program.
“I came back out of retirement because I love this program,” Bilodeau said. “It’s a tremendous program and I wouldn’t have come back otherwise.”
Residents of the eight towns served by the Hilltown CDC who are interested in receiving an application for the Housing Rehab Program should call Bilodeau at 413-296-4536, ext. 109.