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Landlords shut out of flood recovery funding options
Found: 22 Hours 41 Minutes ago
The Gazette - Denny Burke owns a caringly maintained complex of 16 apartments tucked behind a Napa Auto Parts store off First Avenue NW.You barely notice Burke's property is there, so you wouldn't know the June flood nearly destroyed it. And more importantly, you wouldn't realize how vital it is to the city that he fix up the place.Burke is something of a poster boy for the flood victims of an all but ignored group of small-business owners and#8212; landlords.Most flood victims can receive grants or loans from governmental agencies and#8212; the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Small Business Administration, the local Jobs and Small Business Recovery Fund, the state's Jumpstart money.By and large, though, there's been little or nothing for landlords."I had no options," says Burke, adding that he didn't even qualify for a low-interest loan because the profit margin on his rental property was too small to pay it off.So Burke, like others, dug deep into his own pocket and brought his property back to life.Keith Smith, president of Landlords of Linn County, says landlords have been told since the flood that they operate in the world of residential property owners when they seek help as small businesses, and they have been told they are commercial businesses when they seek help as residential operations.In short, landlords have been shoved to the side, Smith says."We're behind the door and under the rug as far as a recognition of what is happening to our investments," says Mari Davis, who owns rental property and manages rentals for other small-time landlords. "The stress is absolutely unbearable at times."Gary Ficken, the owner of flood-damaged Bimm Ridder Sportwear and president of the Cedar Rapids Small Business Recovery Group, has helped draw attention to the needs of local flood-damaged business.Even the local $5 million Jobs and Small Business Recovery Fund, to which the city of Cedar Rapids contributed $3 million, has left out landlords.And it's happening in a city where 46 percent to 47 percent of the flooded residential properties were rentals.At the same time, state Jumpstart funding for businesses and residences has not included, to date, funding for residential landlords.Since June, City Hall has reported repeatedly that much of the city's flood-destroyed or flood-damaged residential property housed lower-income or fixed-income residents."We can't let that group wither on the vine," Ficken said. "Because that gets back to affordable housing issues."In that vein, the small-business group is lobbying the Rebuild Iowa Office to open some of the state's Jumpstart funding to residential landlords.Smith, from Landlords of Linn County, and landlords like Davis and Burke all have taken note of City Hall's keen focus on the need to replace the affordable housing lost in June's flooding.They're puzzled, though, by the city's quick support of two new proposed apartment developments that would add about 200 rental units to the city. In one project, the city is being asked to provide $3.8 million in support as well as city-owned land, and in the second, the city is being asked for land, a $1.2 million loan and a street realignment.Neither of those projects, if approved, would be ready for occupancy for a year or more, the landlords note. Why not, they ask, make money available for the rehabilitation of existing rental properties? "Building new doesn't really address the need now," says Davis. "Landlords can get a (damaged) house up in thirty to sixty days."Davis and Smith lament that the only real attention paid to landlords since the flood has been in comments made by some on the City Council and by a neighborhood leader or two about unsavory speculators trying to arm-twist owners of flood-damaged homes to sell for pennies on a dollar. The thought is those homes would become substandard rental properties.Davis says many landlords are small players who work hard and use a property as an investment."We aren't profiteers," she says. "... I think everybody thinks we're fat cats. And that's not the case."Even so, Smith says one consequence of the absence of financial support for landlords is that some have chosen to unload flood-damaged properties at fire sale prices.A better idea, he says, is to provide grants to "good landlords" who are registered with the city and have a good track record with city inspectors."Let's get landlords back in here to provide work force housing," Smith says. "We can have a lot of housing back in service by this winter."Burke, a union cement mason who manages his rental property on the side, talks about longtime tenants as if they were family members."I've created something new for them," he says. "And I believe there are a lot of landlords who would be doing the same, at a much more reasonable cost (than building new complexes). Give them some dollars to get their properties back on line."...
Hyperion's draft air permit will go to hearing
Found: 1 Day 3 Hours 40 Minutes ago
Sioux City Journal - PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- The state Department of Environment and Natural Resources says a hearing will be held on a draft air quality permit for Hyperion Resources proposed $10 billion Union County oil refinery....
Judge won?t block plan to move Pontiac prisoners
Found: 1 Day 5 Hours 32 Minutes ago
The Clinton Herald - CHAMPAIGN, Ill. ?A judge on Wednesday decided not to block a Department of Corrections plan to move 100 prisoners over the next two weeks out of a central Illinois prison the agency plans to close....
Union: Prisoners moving out of Pontiac prison
Found: 1 Day 5 Hours 46 Minutes ago
The Clinton Herald - CHAMPAIGN, Ill. ?The union that represents the state?s prison workers says the Department of Corrections wants to move 100 prisoners out of a central Illinois lockup even as the union fights a plan to close the facility....
Fine levied for Charles City plant explosion
Found: 1 Day 9 Hours 3 Minutes ago
Sioux City Journal - CHARLES CITY, Iowa (AP) -- Iowa has fined pharmaceutical company Cambrex Corp. over $6,000 for safety violations after a fire and explosion at its plant in Charles City last fall....
Longtime Main Street Waterloo director takes state job
Found: 1 Day 9 Hours 46 Minutes ago
Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier - Courier Business Editor WATERLOO --- Terry Poe Buschkamp, for nine years considered by many civic leaders the unofficial "mayor" of downtown Waterloo, has resigned as executive director of Main Street Waterloo....
World markets caught in Wall Street downdraft
Found: 1 Day 9 Hours 47 Minutes ago
Charles City Press - LONDON (AP) ?World markets were caught in Wall Street?s downdraft as fears over a global financial crisis sent investors fleeing for the exits....
Charles City company fined for fire in 2007
Found: 1 Day 10 Hours 21 Minutes ago
Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier - CHARLES CITY --- Cambrex must pay a $6,375 fine in the wake of a fire that severely injured an employee....
Salvation Army anticipates helping record no.at holidays
Found: 1 Day 12 Hours 49 Minutes ago
Muscatine Journal - MUSCATINE, Iowa ?As the nation faces some major economic hurdles, Capts. Quentin and Mary Boyle of the Muscatine Salvation Army expect to see more people in need of assistance during this year?s holiday season....
Panel: Iowa slowdown will reduce tax collections
Found: 1 Day 14 Hours 29 Minutes ago
Sioux City Journal - DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- A budget panel speculated Thursday that Iowa's expected tax collections will drop by $40 million this year as the nation's economic problems begin to be felt in the state....
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