Messages from the Director, Idaho Falls Area Affiliate

DIRECTOR’S CORNER   May 27, 2012

Before I launch into this edition of the “Director’s Corner” I would like to remind everyone about our Habitat Homebuyer Informational Class scheduled for Tuesday, May 29^th.  The class will be held at the Habitat office located in the ReStore building at 238 Northgate Mile and starts at 6:30 pm.  We are actively looking for a family to partner with Habitat for our third 2012 build.  If you are interested in owning a Habitat home please join us to find out how you and your family can benefit from our program.

Although we are only half way through our 2012 build season, Habitat for Humanity Idaho Falls Area is already looking forward to 2013.  In celebration of twenty years of building in the Idaho Falls area our first project of the 2013 season will be a Builder’s Blitz Build sponsored by Keller Williams Real Estate.   To ensure we will be able to build an entire home in just one week’s time committees are already forming.  We are actively looking for help in all areas of the planning and construction process.  If you would like to be part of this exciting event please contact the Habitat office.

As I have mentioned before Habitat for Humanity Idaho Falls Area is definitely in a capacity building mode.  This month we are excited to announce our affiliate has been approved to hire two AmeriCorps VISTA members.  The first position is to help our affiliate design and implement a program development plan and the second position is to help design and implement a resource development plan.  Not only will these AmeriCorps VISTA members gain valuable leadership experience, these members will have the opportunity to help determine a new and sustainable direction for our affiliate.  If you connect to Habitat’s vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live, want to help make the dream of home ownership affordable for more families in southeast Idaho and have the skill set for either of these two positions please call me at 528-0298.  I would love to talk to you about all of the great things that are going on at Habitat for Humanity Idaho Falls Area and how you can help us accomplish our goals.

If you have any questions or comments about this article, please contact me, Karen Lansing, at habitat@datawav.net.

We closed on the lot for Build #25 on March 9, 2013, had our groundbreaking ceremony on the 10^th and haven’t taken a breath since.  We had the permit in place by March 20^th and the excavation, foundation, infrastructure, backfill and grading was completed March 30^th.  Kaptein Builders and Greg Armstrong Construction donated their time and had the home framed in two and a half days.  Today, April 5^th, the home is being roofed and the windows and doors are being set.  It will be sided by next week and the electrician, plumber and HVAC contractors will complete their part by Saturday, April 14^th.  We have a professional drywall crew ready to hang the drywall and an Habitat RV Care-a-vanner couple ready to tape and texture the week of April 23^rd.   A seasoned Habitat volunteer is on standby to do the finish carpentry and painting will be done the first week in May.  The second week in May is set aside for flooring, cabinet installation and final details.  We are planning a “Women’s Build” day for Saturday, May 12^th and anticipate the women helping with reinstalling a fence along the east side of the property and finishing up the landscaping.   With all sorts of professional contractors stepping up and donating their expertise this is going to be a record breaking build for Habitat Idaho Falls.

But this build did not start out easy.  We had a lot of problems getting started and have been left with quite a story to tell.  In October of 2011 Habitat thought we were buying a lot suitable of a single family dwelling, however, as we approached the closing date in December of 2011 we became aware the lot was zoned planned transitional  or “PT-1”.  Habitat could not build on the lot until it was re-zoned “R-1” and approved for a single family dwelling.  The re-zoning process required two public hearings and took two and a half months to complete.

Zoning was not the only issue with this particular building site.  Local folk lore had tales of the lot being “haunted”.  (Google “haunted lot in Idaho Falls” if you want to know more.)  These stories were so ingrained in our community that our Habitat construction manager was hesitant to work on the lot.  Our plumbing contractor went to the added precaution of bringing his church group out to the site to bless it before any work was begun.  (Now that would have been an interesting story if the local reporters got a hold of it!)  And before breaking ground we were asked by the local police to stop digging if we found any “bones” on the lot.  The digging of the foundation actually did come to a halt when we found what appeared to be a shoulder or hip bone.  The police were called in and after looking it over it was determined to be an old beef bone someone had let their dog have.

Just in case you were wondering, our future homeowner, a single mom with four children, was informed of the supposed “haunting” of the lot prior to partnering with Habitat.  She decided she would take a leap of faith and not let any ghosts stop her from attaining her dream of homeownership.  She is awesome, hard working and very excited about her new home.  She and her children visit the site every afternoon to sweep and clean up after the work crews.

One could certainly say Habitat put its faith into action on this build and I am happy to report at this point all of the obstacles, along with the ghosts, have disappeared! 

For the past two years we have talked a lot about increasing Habitat for Humanity® Idaho Falls Area’s ability to serve the housing needs of deserving families in our community.  I am happy to report that this is not idle conversation, it is becoming a reality.  Our construction numbers show Habitat Idaho Falls is quickly accomplishing its capacity building goals.  In 2011 our affiliate completed three new construction homes and we have funding in place to complete an additional three new homes in 2012.  By working our capacity building plan, Habitat for Humanity® Idaho Falls Area anticipates completing four new homes in 2013.

If you have any questions or comments about this article, please contact me, Karen Lansing, at  habitat@datawav.net.