FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO): The City of Fort Wayne is getting a federal grant of more than $3-million to deal with lead paint in older homes.
Mayor Tom Henry announced Thursday the City’s Office of Housing and Neighborhood Services received a $3.178-million grant from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development to remediate lead paint in approximately 140 Fort Wayne homes, specifically in what are designated as “high-risk” areas.
Fort Wayne got the largest grant amount in Indiana, with both South Bend and Michigan City receiving $2.3-million each.
City staff says about 67,000 Fort Wayne homes were built before 1978 and could, therefore, contain lead hazards. That’s 66% of the city’s housing stock.
“These resources will go a long way in helping protect Fort Wayne’s children from the dangers of lead poisoning,” said Mayor Henry. “I applaud City staff for working proactively to make our neighborhoods safer for today’s residents and future generations.”
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When these funds become available, will Tom Henry give preference to those low income HOME OWNERS OVER SLUM LORDS who should have taken care of this problem on their own dime? Most of the properties are inner city and low income, I presume, bought cheap and rented high by “out of community” property “management” companies.