(News)

City residents are eligible for nearly $313,000 in home improvement funding this year through the Allegheny County Home Consortium Program.

The money --- administered by McKeesport Housing Corp. --- will provide low-interest loans for homeowners to repair or address lead-based paint hazards, building code deficiencies, handicapped accessibility or address emergency conditions.

Rental properties are not eligible for the funding.

Council by 6-0 vote approved the city's participation at February's meeting. Councilwoman Loretta Diggs was absent due to illness.

There are restrictions on income levels, said Bethany Bauer, city community development director.

McKeesport has been a participant for several years in the HOME Investment Partnership, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Created in 1990, the HOME Program is the largest federal grant program for creation of affordable, low-income housing by local and state agencies.

The program is specifically designed to preserve and increase homeownership in low-to-moderate income communities, keep the elderly and disabled in their homes, and reduce blight by repairing substandard houses. About two dozen families in the city have been helped each year, according to county records.

Councilman Darryl Segina questioned how city residents are being told about the availability of funding. "Is there any advertising?" he asked. "How do you get people to come in?"

"Demand has been so great we've never had to advertise," Bauer said, but both she and Mayor Jim Brewster suggested it may be time to re-advertise the program to the general public.

Residents who need to make home improvements and want to see if they qualify for assistance should call the McKeesport Housing Corp. at (412) 664-7003.

. . .

Summer Concert Series: The city will partner with the McKeesport Lions Club to present the summer concert series at Renziehausen Park, Brewster said.

The concerts are held at the Renzie bandshell, which was originally built with the help of a fundraising campaign by the Lions Club, the mayor said.

The Lions Club will help the city find sponsorship to underwrite the cost of concerts and is also working on a proposal to construct a new public pavilion near the bandshell, Brewster said.

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Appointments Approved: In other business, Councilman Michael Cherepko was appointed by 5-0-1 vote to the personnel committee to replace former city Councilman Dale McCall. Cherepko abstained from voting.

Council by 6-0 vote appointed city Controller Ray Malinchak to the McKeesport Industrial Development Authority.