Muncie gets another extension to spend blight money

MUNCIE, Ind. (AP) - Indiana officials have again extended a deadline for Muncie to spend $4 million in blight-elimination funds.

The Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority gave the city until December to begin razing about 200 dilapidated properties.

But The (Muncie) Star Press reports (http://tspne.ws/2cBvBoz) that the state's Blight Elimination Program director warned Mayor Dennis Tyler in a Sept. 7 letter that missing this deadline could force the city to return some or all of the money awarded in 2014.

Last summer Tyler sought extension because of the laborious paperwork and slow-moving court proceedings to take over the targeted property. He says some owners won't cooperate.

Under the adjusted timeline, the city must spend half the grant and begin demolishing property by the end of December.

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Information from: The Star Press, http://www.thestarpress.com