By Brent Addleman | The Center Square
Manufactured housing communities in Vermont will benefit from a new state investment.
The Healthy Homes Initiative will dispense $12.6 million in state funding, Gov. Phil Scott said, that will be used to repair, replace, and upgrade water infrastructure in mobile home parks around the state.
“This critical funding supports safe, affordable housing and improves the quality of life for those living in manufactured housing communities,” Scott said in a statement. “Through this round of funding, an estimated 3,975 residents – including 1,100 seniors and 830 children – will be able to more reliably access safe drinking water, and will be served by improved wastewater, stormwater, and drainage systems, protecting both them and the environment.”
The program awards, according to the release, will work to address significant issues in wastewater and drinking water systems. The funding will work to cover a needs assessment with a state-contracted engineering firm, technical and permitting assistance, and necessary construction.
In order to become eligible to receive funding, according to the release, manufactured housing communities must be registered with the state’s Mobile Home Park registry. Awards will be distributed in every county applications for the program were received.
“Historically underserved and economically constrained, manufactured housing communities have often faced technical and financial barriers to fixing water infrastructure issues,” Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner John Beling said in a statement. “By offering both technical and financial assistance, we can help ensure these Vermont communities are healthier and more resilient.”
The program, according to the release, is finalizing agreements that will be funded this winter and spring. Applications from residents, owners, and partners applied for the grant funding in July.
The Healthy Homes Initiative, according to the release, placed $1.6 million in contingency funds that will be made available in the event of unforeseen costs. Funding is limited to estimated project costs and must be approved by the program.
In Addison County, Lindale Mobile Home Park in Middlebury, according to the release, will receive $1,098,760 for construction funding to replace and upgrade the wastewater system. In Chittenden County, North Avenue Cooperative in Burlington will receive $1,292,000 for technical assistance, permitting, and construction funding to improve the wastewater, drinking water, and stormwater systems
In Windsor County, Royalton Terrace in Royalton will receive $577,500 for technical assistance, permitting, and construction funding to upgrade the wastewater and drinking water systems.
A new round of grants is planned for spring and early summer, according to the release. Applicants will be received from eligible entities that have yet to apply or were not selected in this round of funding.
It is somewhat amusing and quite frustrating that a large part of these funding grants must by state statute be used for permitting- “North Avenue Cooperative in Burlington will receive $1,292,000 for technical assistance, permitting, and construction funding to improve the wastewater, drinking water, and stormwater systems”. The engineering and permitting isn’t a cheap undertaking, as the legislature has repeatedly upped the ante’ as to requirements and the fees required to be paid to ANR to ‘review’
plans and issue permits.
I suppose one could make reference to the ‘circle of life’ and compare it to the circle of state funding, where every agency gets a cut of taxpayer dollars as these dollars go around to actually improve infrastructure, necessitating more taxpayer dollars before the first shovel goes in…
My old town fought any expansion of such mobile home parks, and my town is 80% uber-Liberal. Mobile home parks can really hurt a Town budget. When you pack in many small manufactured affordable homes, you usually bring in a lot more children for the schools, But these homes are very low in $ valuation and thus pay little in property tax. But each child in them costs $19,400 a year for school…and a mobile home may only pay $1,000 or $2,000 in property tax (most likely state subsidized)…so if you add in 20 kids or more in any new such park…a town can see hundreds of thousands in increased school costs, and but very little paid in. You wait and see….I bet many towns will have issues with new mobile parks coming in. Who will pay?
It’s a conundrum. Sounds wonderful on paper (I agree)…but the back end can be a Town budget killer…and it results in forcing higher all other people in town’s property taxes. “Every Action Has An Equal And Opposite Reaction”.