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Show bStle Creek Last Friday forenoon I was taken for a ride. After a couple of hours, I was returned home safely in possession of considerable consid-erable more current information informa-tion than I enjoyed before. Charles Holman, City Building Build-ing Inspector, took me on a tour throughout most of the local community, visiting recently re-cently constucted homes and those now under construction. The final conclusion I reached was that Pleasant Grove is experiencing a residental build-boom. build-boom. I suppose the new residential units could be roughly class-ifield class-ifield into four categories single middle class homes, built or being constructed by private individuals ; higher class homes being constructed by subdividers; HUD (Housing Urban Development) homes built or being built by area contractors con-tractors and older homes, being moved in by private individuals. indivi-duals. Two of these classes of homes impressed me most. One subdivision sub-division project in the northeastern north-eastern outskirts of the city involves a number of high class modern homes in the $30,000 range. They are beautiful, both inside and out and are situated situa-ted on sites providing a grand view of the valley and lake below. The HUD homes impressed me even more, since they are fulfilling a desperate need of housing for young people and older people living on the reduced re-duced incomes of pensions and or social security. According to a contractor, who has built nine HUD units is now constructing two more, the homes are built in various parts of the city wherever suitable lots are available. Most of them are of frame construction with a few being of brick venier. Most are two bedroom, with a full basement. The main floors are carpeted with linoleum in the kitchen and ceramic tile in the bathroom. bath-room. The price range is from $16,200 to $18,000 with a down payment of $200 and monthly payments of from $75 to $155 depending on the financial status of the purchasers and includes insurances and taxes. The contract extends over a repayment period of 30 years. The financing of the lot and construction is handled by local banks and the repayment of the loans is guarantted by the federal government under the HUD agency. From the reports of contractors contract-ors and city officials, this writer has been made aware that some home owners in Pleasant Grove have been objecting ob-jecting to the building of HUD homes in their neighborhoods. Since the city is not zoned as to type and cost of residential construction, so long as building build-ing codes are met, there is little or no legal recourse to the objectors. The advice of this column to those living in homes, adjacent adjac-ent to new HUD residences, would be to make the newcomers new-comers welcome and to render assistance, where ever possible Advice to HUD families, would be to improve and landscape land-scape their surroundings and to become active and friendly members of the community. Many newly-married young people desperately need a decent de-cent home at a price they can afford. The same is true of elderly eld-erly people on fixed income. Tolerance and helpfulness have always been the solutions to perplexing social problems. The same is true today. So long til Thursday. |