State Optimistic About Fed Funds for Foundation Relief in Tolland, Region

HARTFORD, CT — A leading state housing official on Friday was optimistic that money from the federal Housing and Urban Development could remain a possible option to assist homeowners in north central and eastern Connecticut hit by the epidemic of crumbling foundations.

The reaction from Daniel Arsenault, the legislative program manager and public information officer for the state Department of Housing came in the heels of U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney announcing that a $3 billion line item for the Community Development Block Grant is included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, an omnibus spending measure that funds the federal government for the remainder of FY2017.

The spending plan passed in the House of Representatives Wednesday by a vote of 309-118, Courtney said. The block grant is administered to states by HUD.

"Community Development Block Grants are an important source of funding for housing projects throughout the state and we are pleased it remains funded," Arsenault said. "The state continues to explore all potential options that are available to assist homeowners with crumbling foundations in northeastern Connecticut."

Early budget indications from the White House had put the block grant, administered by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, in peril, Courtney had said.

Courtney has been working with HUD officials to determine eligibility for foundation aid. The Home Investment Partnerships Program, level funded at $950 million as part of the Omnibus bill, has also been targeted as a possible source of federal funding for remediation of crumbling foundations in Connecticut, Courtney said.

Cracks have been located in hundreds of homes throughout parts of eastern and north central Connecticut and the problem has been traced to a bad batch of concrete poured by the J.J. Mottes Company in the 1980s or 1990s, state officials said.

The state Department of Consumer Protection has a Web page designed to assist those affected.

The Capitol Region Council of Governments has compiled a list of towns affected by the crumbling foundation epidemic.

Homes in north central and eastern Connecticut with cracked foundations include:

30-Plus Homes

• Vernon
• Manchester
• South Windsor
• Tolland
• Stafford

10 to 29 Homes

• Ellington
• Willington
• Ashford
• Union
• Coventry

3 to 9 Homes

• Glastonbury
• Enfield
• Somers
• Mansfield
• East Windsor
• Bolton
• Andover

Less than 3 Homes

• Wethersfield
• Suffield
• East Hartford

Several other towns in eastern Connecticut are in the three-and-below category.

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