Better Housing Hosts Its Inaugural Public Meeting!  

On Wednesday, July 16, 2008 Better Housing had its Inaugural Public Meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to share information on current plans and activities, as well as invite public feed back. The meeting was held at Tompkins County Public Library’s Borg Warner Meeting room where attendees cooled off with ice cream sandwiches and sundaes provided by Better Housing. Better Housing Board President CJ DelVecchio opened the meeting with an introduction to the agenda and thanked those in attendance for coming and extended welcome from the Board members. The audience consisted of Better Housing clients, staff and board members, interested community members, and representatives of county agencies.  

Executive Director, John Spence , spoke about Better Housing’s core programs and discussed the future of Better Housing. John announced an exciting joint property venture between Better Housing and Habitat for Humanity of Tompkins and Cortland Counties . The two organizations recently purchased a plot of land in Lansing , New York where Habitat for Humanity volunteers intend to build a home for an eligible family. This is the first time Habitat has been able to build a home in Tompkins County in several years and we are very excited to share this opportunity with them.  

John reported that Better Housing has been awarded two grants that will help support our First-time Home Buyer Program and our Home Repair program. The HOME buyer grant will be utilized to help 15 families with purchasing a home with mortgage assistance. The Access to Home grant will assist 15 households who are either elderly or disabled by installing accessibility modifications in their homes. Possible modifications include installing wheel chair access ramps, bathroom grab bars, widening doors, wheel chair accessible shower stalls, and many other necessary modifications.  

John also informed the audience that Better Housing was awarded the Newfield Horizons grant. This grant goes towards the new construction of five, one story residential buildings in Newfield , New York containing 36 units of rental housing for families. Four units will be fully accessible and adapted for persons with mobility impairments. Two of the units will be fully accessible and adapted for persons who have a hearing or visual impairment. All units for this project are targeted towards renters at or below 50% of area median income. Design features will include Energy Star rated appliances, light fixtures, and heating systems that meet Green Building Initiative standards. The Newfield Horizons development team includes William Frandsen & Sons and Better Housing, with William Frandsen & Sons as general contractor.  

Lastly, opportunities were also presented for community members to become more involved with Better Housing. Several volunteer possibilities were presented to the public and can be found on our wish list.  

Better Housing is committed to increasing the housing options for low to moderate income families in Tompkins County . We welcome the public feed back generated through public meetings or by contacting us through our Website.