Flint announces two key initiatives - ABC 12 – WJRT – Flint, MI

(09/13/12) - The city of Flint has more than $2 million in grant money to tear down abandoned homes and condemned properties.

"Our focus is probably going to be first on public safety, second on burned out homes, and third corridors. Hopefully with $2.3 million we can get around 300 homes."

Emergency Financial Manager Ed Kurtz said most of the money must be spent by the end of February and in residential areas. "It's significant issue within the city. There's probably some 10,000 properties within the city that are subject to demolition. There's 6,400 in the land bank alone."

Flint's other new initiative announced Thursday is a new scrap metal ordinance.

"It's a permit based system, in order to sell scrap metal in the city of Flint, you will need one of two types of permits," said city attorney Pete Bade.

Bade said individuals or businesses can apply for a temporary or annual permit. They must show ID and are required to post scrap metal sales on a new, dedicated Website. "The scrap yards will be required to report, every day or every week depending on level of sales, if they fail to report then they will be in violation and subject to shut down."

Last fall, city council launched an investigation into the dealings of several scrap yards in Flint - settlement money from those hearings will be used to pay for the website - which will be open to the public.

"The information on the site will be available to the public so anyone can review sales, who's selling, who's purchasing can log on to see, it's a level of transparency that's did previously exist," Bade said.

There is a fee associated with the permits - the amount hasn't been decided yet. They'll also talk to other communities in Genesee County to see if they'd be interested in adopting the same ordinance.