Englewood o ers grants to help repair damage from June 22 storm

BY ELISABETH SLAY ESLAY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

The Englewood Community Development Department is offering a Storm Assistance Grant to homeowners impacted by the severe storm on June 22.

According to Brad Power, Englewood’s director of community development, the weather events on June 22 caused damage to properties in the community.

The Storm Assistance Grant, which offers a maximum of $5,000 reimbursement for repairs, was launched on June 26.

On June 27, Power explained the Community Development Department decided to remove the income requirement previously listed as a qualification for the grant.

“It’s open to everyone,” he said. “However, it does have some stipulations. It has to be used for the type of damage that’s not covered by insurance.”

According to the city’s website, approved work items for damage related to the June 22 storm includes repair or replacement of windows, awnings, and screen doors, repair or replacement of roofs, gutters and other exterior elements, drywall repair, repair or replacement of flooring, electrical work, repair or replacement of furnace and hot water heater, water removal costs and tree removal.

Repair to personal property, lodging and meals if forced to leave the home are not eligible expenses, according to grant requirements.

“The one thing that we did stipulate to people that are utilizing [the grant] is that anything that they would have to do would have to be completed by the end of the year,” Power said. “We need to see proof of actual work that was done by somebody to qualify for the reimbursement.”

Building inspectors discovered most of the damage in Englewood is flood related Power stated.

“There is not a lot of structural impact, at least in Englewood. A lot of that structural impact was farther south from trees falling onto properties,” Power said. “Most of the impact that was here was water in basements and that type of thing.”

During the June 26 Englewood City Council study session, City Manager Shawn Lewis said some residents reported between a quarter to two inches of water in their homes.

“The number one concern is always the impact on our residents,” Lewis said at the meeting. Power explained the grant might be used for flood damage repair such as drying out excess water and cleaning up an impacted area.

Those who apply for the grant have until Dec. 31 to complete repairs and must provide proof of the work.

The city’s website states homeowners also need to submit a complete application, provide an itemized list of all storm-related expenses and confirm those expenses are not covered by insurance.

The Storm Assistance grant is modeled from the city’s Home Repair Improvement Plan, which Power said does have an income requirement under its qualifications. It can also be accessed yearround while the Storm Assistance Grant is only accessible through Dec. 31.

Power said Englewood is drawing money from a former closed out housing fund to provide both grants.

No one has applied for the Storm Assistance Grant yet, but Power said the city will leave it up for a while.

Power said the city plans to take steps to address flood damage in the future.

“The one thing that we can think of in terms of the income qualified grant is adding flood protection type of improvements to the eligibility of the Home Repair Improvement Program,” he said. “We could add that type of protection to the eligible expenses under that grant and that’s probably something we’ll move forward with soon.”

Additionally, Lewis said he and his staff plan to find potential methods to prevent flood damage and will bring those ideas to the city council.

For more information regarding the grant or to apply visit Storm Assistance Grant | City of Englewood, Colorado (englewoodco. gov).

FROM THE EDITOR