T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY From left to right, Tyler Silverthorn of Impact7G, Marshalltown Housing and Community Development Lead Grant Program Manager Jackie Pippin and federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Senior Management Analyst Julie Sleeper pose for a photo after the city received a check for just over $5 million in lead hazard reduction and healthy homes supplement funding at the beginning of Monday night’s council meeting.

During Monday night’s council meeting, the city of Marshalltown received a massive check — both in physical size and dollar amount — from the federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) department to be put toward lead-based paint hazard reduction for homes within the community.

As she stepped forward to the podium, Jackie Pippin, the city’s housing and community development lead grant program manager, said the council has supported these efforts for the last 20 years, and she was quick to credit former Housing and Community Development Director Michelle Spohnheimer for her expertise and guidance in securing the “extremely competitive” grants.

“(We are) competing with large cities, and for a community of our size to tonight be accepting our seventh grant is really nothing short of amazing,” Pippin said.

Over the aforementioned period, 781 homes have benefited from the grants, and an additional 100 are slated to be improved as a result of the latest grant in the amount of $5,026,330 — $4,326,330 for lead hazard reduction and a $700,000 healthy homes supplement.

“As a nurse, to know how this reduces the devastating effects of childhood lead poisoning makes me so happy. It’s all about the children,” Pippin said. “This could not have happened without HUD’s support, without your support as a council, nor would this have happened without the incredible grant writing of Michelle Spohnheimer, who literally wrote this grant on her vacation as a parting gift to our community.”

HUD Senior Management Analyst Julie Sleeper and Tyler Silverthorn from Impact7G, the environmental consulting firm the city will be working with to implement the improvements, were also on hand for the check presentation. Sleeper noted that 64 percent of homes in Iowa were built before 1979, which greatly increases the chance of lead-based paint exposure.

“The city of Marshalltown has been very active in your efforts to reduce the amount of lead in the community and the effects of lead poisoning in your children,” she said. “I’d like to congratulate the city of Marshalltown for your accomplishments and for the past 20 years of working with our programs, and it is with great honor that I present the city of Marshalltown this check in the amount of $5,026,330 for lead hazard reduction and healthy home supplemental funding.”

Mayor Pro Tem Mike Ladehoff reciprocated the praise in his remarks.

“The city appreciates these funds so much. Most people know the city of Marshalltown has an abundant amount of older housing in town, and we can definitely use these funds in keeping kids safe,” he said.

During a subsequent interview, Pippin and City Administrator Joe Gaa discussed the ways grants like this one improve quality of life for Marshalltown residents.

“The lead grant program has been successful in Marshalltown for many years. The primary purpose of the program is to remove possible lead hazards from homes. Exposure to lead can be extremely harmful to children and has proven to cause many lifelong health issues,” Gaa said. “The work that has been done in Marshalltown has made for safer environments for countless children, and adults. Removing these hazards has greatly improved the quality of life for residents throughout the community.”

Of the $5 million in reimbursable expenses, nearly $4 million goes to direct project costs related to the renovations done in homes throughout the community. The remaining funds are for administrative and overhead costs like wages, benefits, required training, liability insurance, and financial reporting. Impact7G will be tasked with professional services to perform analysis and submittal of State Historic Preservation of Iowa documents for each project, initial Environmental Tier 1 and additional Environmental Tier II inspections, reports and bid spec creation for each project, lead clearance activities as well as healthy home inspections and reporting all required components of the grant — in summation, all environmental and inspection services.

Gaa also responded to a question about whether the city will continue to apply for similar grants going forward.

“The future of lead grants is dependent on community need. Marshalltown has been successful in maintaining this program for many years. The inventory of available projects was narrowing until the tornado and derecho devastated the community,” he said. “Since then, there have been more projects to do. If we are able to show there are still projects to do after this round of funding, the chances of this program continuing is strong.”

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Contact Robert Maharry

at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.