Tennessee agency proposes $8M amendment to aid in housing rehabilitation

KINGSPORT — The Tennessee Housing Development Agency is proposing an $8 million amendment to fund a new disaster relief program following Hurricane Helene.Through the HOME Homeowner Rehabilitation Program for East Tennessee Disaster Recovery, the amendment would offer available funds to Carter, Cocke, Greene, Hamblen, Hawkins, Johnson, Unicoi and Washington counties through a discretionary application process.It would cover an estimated 40 units of "rehabilitated homeowner housing" across the eight counties, the release states. The amendment would allow the program to distribute the funds discretionarily rather than through the HOME's typical competitive process."The Tennessee Housing Development Agency's (THDA's) HOME Investment Partnerships Program engages in a variety of housing activities, single-family homes and multifamily properties," the release states. "HOME funds are typically distributed through a competitive application process for HOME Urban/Rural (Homeowner Rehab) activities, HOME CHDO (Homeowner Development) activities, and HOME Rental (Rental Development) activities."Todd Jones, regional director with the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, told those in attendance at Monday's luncheon with the Republicans of Kingsport that 549 residential and commercial buildings were destroyed following the disaster.A county can request a minimum HOME grant of $250,000 and up to $1 million, the release states. The program will use a disaster relief waiver from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to waive matching requirements.THDA will accept applications for the program from local county governments that received individual assistance designations from FEMA as a result of Hurricane Helene. Applications must be received by THDA on or before 4 p.m. ET on Jan. 31.HOME contracts funded under the East Tennessee Disaster Recovery Round will begin on or about Feb. 1, or on the date the written agreement is executed. The contract will end 36 months from the date of execution of the written agreement and no later than March 31, 2028.While the THDA Board of Directors conditionally approved the Homeowner Rehabilitation Program for East Tennessee Disaster Recovery's Program Description in November 2024, the implementation of the program relief of the successful amendment of the 2020-2024 Consolidated Plan and FY 24-25 Annual Action Plan.The amendment states if another federally declared disaster occurred during the time period covered by the 2020-2024 Consolidated Plan, HOME could make funds available on a "discretionary basis" to the counties impacted.The public can comment on this amendment from Jan. 3 through Jan. 10. A public meeting will be held at 2 p.m. ET in the Andrew Jackson Building's Public Hearing Room, but community members can also attend the meeting virtually.To read the full amendment, and for more information on the meeting, visit https://thda.org/research-reports/consolidated-planning. For questions and accommodations regarding the meeting, contact Amara Mattingly at research@thda.org.MeetingWhen: Jan. 10, 2 p.m. ET (1 p.m. CT)Where: (for in-person attendance) Andrew Jackson Building, Ground Floor Hearing Room, 502 Deaderick Street, Nashville, TN 37243To join the meeting virtually on Teams, visit https://thda.org/research-reports/consolidated-planning for the link.