The city housing authority director is pleased to receive a $200,000 state grant for owner-occupied housing rehabilitation, but said a contractor shortage is preventing her from applying for additional grants.

Veronica Walker, acting executive director at the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Butler, said she schedules work for low-income homeowners who are accepted for the program depending on the grant funding she has available.

Walker said she does not apply for all the grant funding available because she cannot get enough contractors to perform the work.

The owner-occupied housing rehabilitation program involves contractors making vital repairs that keep a home safe, such as radon remediation, removal of lead-based paint, replacement of moldy or deteriorating parts of a structure, replacement of leaky windows and doors, replacement of aging and damaged roofs and other work.

“If I had contractors, I could be going after more money and keeping contractors busy, but I just don't have the people,” Walker said.

She said there are more than 100 homes on the list of applicants.

Walker has four contractors working on three houses and one apartment building in the program.

“If I knew I had six or seven (contractors), I would shoot for $500,000 in grants this year,” she said.

Walker explained that if she receives grant funding and does not spend the money, in this case because of the contractor shortage, it would be a black mark against the authority.

She added that funding does not go as far as it once did due to state regulations, appliance quality and shingles on many homes having been installed in the 1970s.

In years past, $16,000 would pay for a lot of repairs in a home.

“We used to get 15 houses done per grant,” Walker said.

Today, the authority must check for radon, lead-based paint, asbestos and other hazards when it is determined a homeowner meets income eligibility.

“Now, with code compliance, you're talking about $50,000 for (repairs on a single house),” Walker said.

Some homes are rejected for the program because bringing them up to code on those hazards would exceed the value of the home, Walker said.

She said many houses in the city have been repaired over the years through the owner-occupied housing rehabilitation program.

“It's a great thing for Butler,” Walker said.

Contractors can check eligibility requirements and learn how to become an authority contractor on the authority's website, redevelopmentauthoritycityofbutler.net, under the “Housing Rehabilitation” tab.