WHEELING — The city of Wheeling is now offering a Homeowner-Occupied Repair Assistance Program that will provide a one-time financial grant of up to $5,000 to assist with exterior home repairs and/or weatherization to qualified residents.

City council passed a resolution authorizing the program during Tuesday’s meeting.

Director of Economic and Community Development Nancy Prager explained that some eligible expenses include exterior painting, exterior porch or structural repair, roof repair or replacement, exterior window or door replacement and insulation.

“To be eligible for the grant, the applicant must be the owner and occupant of the residence and the home must be located within the city limits of Wheeling,” Prager explained. “The resident must be considered low-to-moderate income – the household gross income must fall below $65,580 and documentation of income must be provided.”

Additionally, the applicant must be current on all city accounts including water, garbage and fire service fee and must not have any outstanding city of Wheeling citations or judgments against them. The resident will be required to secure a building permit and follow all applicable codes. Full details and applications are available in the Office of Economic and Community Development on the third floor of the City-County Building, 1500 Chapline Street or on the city’s website at www.wheelingwv.gov/departments/Economic-CommunityDevelopment. Applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis until Dec. 31, 2022, or until allocated program funds are exhausted.

This program is funded through the American Rescue Plan Act funds provided to the city of Wheeling by the federal government. All guidelines follow the Final Rule issued by the United States Treasury and are not negotiable by the city of Wheeling.

Ward 3 Councilwoman Rosemary Ketchum is pleased this program will provide some support for Wheeling residents.

“This program will provide much needed relief to many folks in Ward 3 who are either on a fixed income, elderly or otherwise in desperate need of assistance to repair their homes,” Ketchum said. “These critical COVID relief funds are intended to support our communities by supporting recovery efforts including, and most importantly, helping to improve the quality of life of the residents of Wheeling.”

Ward 2 Councilman Ben Seidler said this program will certainly help in improving the city’s neighborhoods.

“This program will be a huge win toward the success of our goal to reduce blight and improve the quality of life for the people in our neighborhoods,” Seidler said. “Providing incentives like this will help make our neighborhoods cleaner, safer and more attractive, while helping to align the property values in Ward 2 with the fair market values realized in other neighborhoods within our great city. I am incredibly thankful to the members of city council and administration for helping to make this a reality.”

For more information, contact Prager at 304-234-3717.