(Posted Feb. 1, 2018)
By Kristy Zurbrick, Madison Editor
The Madison Community Housing Board voted Jan. 24 to rebuild from the ground up a house that burned just before Christmas.
The non-profit, independent board manages 16 homes in Madison County at which adults with disabilities reside. One of those properties, located on McLene Avenue in London, caught fire in December. The home’s three residents are living in temporary housing until the home is rebuilt.
The insurance payout is $127,000, the estimated cost to replace everything in the existing, 41-year-old home from four feet up. According to board member Susan Thompson, the cost to tear down the damaged house and build a new four-bedroom, two-bathroom, wheelchair accessible house is $143,800.
Thompson met with the Madison County commissioners on Jan. 27 to talk about how to cover the $16,800 difference to build a new home. She said insurance will reimburse the board for rental revenue lost while the house is being built. The residents were paying $1,020 per month in rent.
As for what revenue recovery money doesn’t cover, Thompson floated the idea of the county commissioners making up the difference which likely would be a few thousand dollars.
Commissioner Mark Forrest said he would rather see the housing board take care of the difference through its own means. Thompson said she understood.
“My goal would be to save the favor of the commissioners for another day,” she said, adding that she is looking into housing-related government grant funding as one possible solution.
