KENAI, Alaska (AP) - The Alaska city of Kenai is donating five lots to Habitat for Humanity, allowing the organization to build a house in Kenai every two years until 2026.
Kenai obtained the five wooded lots through tax and assessment foreclosures in 1987, reported The Peninsula Clarion (https://bit.ly/2nOq0y4 ). After failed attempts to sell the property, the Kenai City Council decided Wednesday to donate the lots one at a time to Habitat for Humanity.
The total assessed value of the properties is $50,000 and the total unpaid city and Kenai Peninsula Borough taxes come to $27,242.35, according to information presented to the council. Habitat for Humanity will settle the unpaid taxes and begin work on a house that must be finished within two years.
Kenai made a similar donation of five foreclosed properties in 2009 and gave Habitat for Humanity the same building schedule. The nonprofit finished the work in November 2015 and requested five more properties with the same conditions.
The organization has built 15 houses in Kenai and 21 on the peninsula, according to the central peninsula chapter Vice President Bill Radtke.
“We started in 1994 and we try to build one house a year,” Radtke said. “A couple years we haven’t had enough money and we haven’t been able to build one.”
Radtke said all the houses have been filled and he sees no sign of diminishing demand. The Central Peninsula Habitat for Humanity usually gets between nine and 19 applicants per house, he said.
“In Kenai, you’re looking at $800, $900 a month rent for a real substandard place, or a mediocre place,” Radtke explained. “These are people who are hurting to start out with, but who can end up owning a home for half the price.”
To qualify for one of the Habitat homes, Radtke said applicants must have a sustainable income of approximately $17,000 to $40,000 a year, currently live in unsafe housing and contribute 500 hours of work on the house themselves. Disabled recipients can have other volunteers contribute work on their behalf.
Council member Jim Glendening said his experience moving to Kenai persuaded him to vote in favor of the donation.
“I’ve seen that affordable housing has always been an issue in Kenai,” he said. “When I brought my family up from the Midwest - I could finally bring them up in ’72 - we were hard pressed to find a place that provided adequate shelter and yet was affordable.”
___
Information from: (Kenai, Alaska) Peninsula Clarion, https://www.peninsulaclarion.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.