03/05/2019- There are resources to restore and maintain historic commercial properties in Marinette, but few, if any, for historic residences. That’s an issue City officials are now looking to resolve. Mayor Steve Genisot brought up the topic at Monday’s Historic Preservation Commission meeting and said when these types of homes fall into severe disrepair, they’re often condemned and ultimately torn down, which only detracts from Marinette’s historic value and culture. Commissioner Jason Flatt assisted the City of Green Bay with a similar problem and offers the possible solution of creating a revolving loan fund for homeowners seeking to perform upgrades on their houses.
Next, of course, comes the question of how Marinette could fund this sort of initiative. Mayor Gensiot suggested, since the program is being defederalized, some of the money the City receives from existing Community Development Block Grants could be earmarked for a new revolving loan fund to aid historic property owners. The Commission plans to delve further into the topic of potentially establishing this loan fund for historic homes at their meeting in April.