Stimulus funds bring new homes to 22 families

For Nellie and John Lee, 74 and 80 respectively, this holiday season is already bright - they are among 22 families receiving a house built using $2.3 million in federal stimulus funds.

Meeting informally Monday with officials from the Navajo Housing Improvement Program, the Lees toured houses being built in the Chinle Agency.

Nellie said her family first applied for housing almost 40 years ago.

Today, thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, a spacious new two-bedroom home, grey with charcoal trim, is almost ready for the Lee family to move into.

Speaking in Navajo, Nellie said she is grateful for the home. Last month, she and her family celebrated Thanksgiving in the nearly finished house, which still awaited drywall and plumbing fixtures at that point.

Pointing to the nearby hogan where the Lees still live and gesturing to the house where work was still underway, Nellie said it was "nizhóní" (beautiful). She is anxious for construction to be completed.

Darrell Jimson, planner/estimator, said the HIP program is federally funded and provides housing assistance through repairs, renovations, replacement or new construction to the "neediest of the needy" Navajo families.

Applications are taken at each of the agency sub-offices.  Approval depends upon several factors including income, age and disability.

The stimulus funds were welcome because there is a huge need for housing here, Jimson said.

Seventy carpenters, two electricians, two plumbers and one quality control inspector were hired to build the 22 homes funded under ARRA, which are scattered throughout the Navajo Nation - six in Fort Defiance Agency, three in Eastern Agency, five in Chinle Agency, three in Shiprock Agency and five in Western Agency.

Jimson, who holds a degree in architecture, said floor plans were created in-house and each home is expected to cost $109,000 to construct. When families receive a certificate of completion, they are not allowed to change anything within the home for a year.

"There's a one-year warranty on each house," he said.

In addition, to avoid wrangles over who gets the house if the original owner dies, each owner has named a successor for the agency to use in assigning new ownership.

"Most of our clients are by themselves," Jimson explained. It's a fact that Timothy Tsosie, a carpenter, said the construction crew has noted.

Sometimes, as a courtesy, the workers chop wood for their client if they noticed a need for it before leaving the home site for the day.

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