LIMA,OH (WLIO) - The City of Lima is looking for the best way to use $1.1 million in federal dollars to help with housing issues in the city.
The Community and Economic Development Committee met Monday evening to discuss the use of one-time pandemic funding. Some of the proposed plans include finding places to renovate housing for veterans and families, plus subsidies for renters who meet low-income requirements. Housing is a big problem in Lima. Last year, there were over 1600 tenants evicted, and according to city officials, children were the number 1 cause of evictions. Plus, there are only 2% of rental housing units are available. While this federal money will help, more needs to be done to start to correct the problem.
“So, we are looking at our housing issues in a larger context,” says Andria Beach Perkins, Director of Housing and Neighborhoods. "This is not the only way that we are trying to improve the quality of housing in Lima. This is just one piece of a larger housing strategy that we are working on in our department and across the city.”
The plan needs to have a 15-day public comment period before the Lima council gets to vote on it. The plan needs to be submitted to the federal government by the end of March.
