Transcripts of Barre_Multi_Family_Project

 My brother calls me up and he says Sis I think we need to get out he says the water is up to my ankles its coming through the floor. We were going to be redoing our roof We had this roofing material that was wrapped in a blue tarp. And I see my brother pulling this out. My daughter is on the blue tarp and two of our neighbors and a small box which I later found out was a cat. And so my brother basically pulled my daughter out of the flood. And my daughter can't swim so it was a the good thing that he was home and this material was outside the door. My daughter then went to stay with a friend of hers, and my brother went to stay with a friend of his. I went and sat in my office at the property that I manage, and I'm like well where am I going? Laugh. 

The Multi-Family Repair Program it is a new program FEMA has put together. And Region One decided to pilot the program here in Vermont during this flooding event. What we're doing is finding a piece of property in one of the effected communities, that has been fallen in disrepair, needs some work and needs to be put back on the tax roles. 

What we've done is enter into an agreement with the landlord. We supply the funding to put that property back on the tax roles, to bring it up to all the standards codes, make sure that it is habitable, it is safe, it is secure, and we take our families and actually relocate them into that piece of property. Its a win, win for all people involved here because the taxpayers are getting a big break, the survivors have a secure safe environment to live in, and the town now has a piece of property now that is very useful, and FEMA has really done a tremendous service to the survivors here by keeping them out of aggregate shelters and perhaps even a mobile home. The program is so far for our experiences here in Region One has been very very successful. 

This particular structure is a real part of the historic fabric of the community.

My understanding was this was an old mansion that once sat where the Post Office sits in Barre. And it was moved here several years ago. And it had very dysfunctional tenants that kind of trashed the place. 

Quite honestly the property that was selected for this program had been a chronic headache for the City in terms of building code enforcement. Quite frankly it got to the point that the city declared the property uninhabitable and we required the landlord to vacate the property, And not rent it until it was brought back up to code. 

The building was in various states of disrepair. It needed a complete new heating system, a complete electrical system upgrade, plumbing had to be repaired, there had been frozen pipes and insulation windows to make it energy efficient. And there were upgrades that the fire marshal requested. Such as egress windows, emergency fire escape, fire doors, wired in smoke alarms. Various things that needed to bring the unit to a habitable state. 

I think that the Multi-Family Repair Program benefits the landlord by having a recently refurbished building apartments for people to move in, that will be good for years to come. And it also benefits the tenant in moving in and getting rental relief in the situation that they might have been in. And also provides relief to the taxpayers of the town by keeping that building on the tax roles with viable people in it for a period of time. And then providing tax relief going forward. And also for the tenants, the occupants that move in they get through our case management program advise financially and otherwise to help them go ahead and chart their course moving forward. 

So they are providing financial planning opportunity there also working with us if necessary if my understanding is if you need help with PTSD associated with the flood. There are services for that as well. And so they seem to have a pretty wide spectrum of assistance if necessary if the person needs it. 

In my judgment its win, win, win! Its win for the city, its win for the landlord and its win for the new tenant who's able to take advantage of the program. 

So I think FEMA is doing a really good job.