Clay County leaders attended a West Virginia Property Rescue Initiative workshop on Friday, October 9 in Montgomery. Topics addressed included how communities can deal with these types of dilapidated and vacant structures in our state and how these problem properties impact oureconomic and community development. This particular workshop was held specifically for Lincoln, Boone, Kanawha, Fayette and Clay counties.
The West Virginia Property Rescue Initiative, formerly known as the Demolition Program, mandates that the Fund allocates $1 million per fiscal year over the next five years for a revolving loan program available to counties and municipalities that want to rid their communities of blighted, dangerous properties. The program provides cities and counties with resources to acquire and/or remove dilapidated properties from their communities. To be eligible, cities and counties must have the authority to acquire and/or demolish the property and the structures to be razed must constitute a health and safety hazard. Assistance is provided in the form a loan repayable over a maximum term of seven years.
