The tiny community, which has been afflicted over the years with poverty, crime and run-down housing, got some good news when West Rehoboth Community Land Trust received $130,000 in federal stimulus funds to rehabilitate eight homes.

Richard Legatski, president of the land trust, said, “We haven’t actually received any money yet but sometime in the next three or four weeks. It’s imminent.”

Legatski said the money would be administered by First State Community Action Agency, a federally funded anti-poverty organization. The land trust has until September of next year to spend the money.

“So, we have to move pretty quickly,” Legatski said. “We’re working to developing an application process and basically qualifying people. They have to own their home and they have to own the land it sits on.”

Legatski said the one possible exception is for owners of mobile homes on rented land, but that would only apply if the landowner makes a five-year commitment to keep the mobile home in place.

Ads have gone out to find someone to manage the work, a full-time, year-round position. Legatski said he has been surprised by the quality of resumes already received.

“We hope to start the owner-selection process, ideally, in August, and start the work by early September,” he said.

Legatski said the grant allocates about $80,000 for the rehab work, or about $10,000 per home.

“Some houses may be a little higher than others, but we think that’s a reasonable average for the kind of problems we think we will be dealing with,” he said.

The home rehabilitations are the beginning of what Legatski hopes is a multi-phased project to improve housing conditions in West Rehoboth.

The Coalition For West Rehoboth – the land trust, West Side New Beginnings Committee, Citizens Committee for West Rehoboth and Coalition for Tolerance and Justice – is already actively seeking grant money to help with the project.

“What we’re hoping to do is sort of a staged process. These rehabs will last 12 or 13 months, and before that is over we would like to start construction on some new housing,” Legatski said.

He said this housing, which would be Phase 2 of the housing plan, could be either low-cost rentals or lease-to-own properties, depending on financial circumstances.

Phase 3 could be some single-family homes, in partnership with Habitat For Humanity. Legatski said major money has not yet been secured for Phases 2 and 3, but the coalition has been seeking money from foundations to help cover the cost of the work.

“Over time, we hope to have the people in the community who are really in substandard housing now into decent, safe, healthy housing. Once we get past that phase, or when we are into it, then we want to start building some additional affordable housing within the community,” Legatski said.

The stimulus money is part of an ongoing effort by the community and the coalition to revitalize West Rehoboth. Steps have already been taken, such as a community cleanup and partnering with Sussex County to replace the most dilapidated mobile homes. Using a grant from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, a national anti-poverty organization, the coalition was able to hire a planner for a community revitalization plan, which was unveiled in February.

“People who live there are increasingly active in working with us,” Legatski said. “They were very skeptical at first if a bunch of folks from largely outside the community would really get anything done. I think some were even skeptical of where the real interests were. Are we just trying to find another way to take their land? But there has been a pretty good level of trust, and I’d say friendship developed between the community and those of us outside the community who have volunteered to help.”