LOCK HAVEN — Housing for local residents was a topic on the agenda at Thurday night’s Clinton County commissioners meeting.

The group unanimously approved the following items:

— Designated STEP Inc. as the applicant to the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency for 2020-21 PHARE funds in the amount of $500,000 for the owner occupied home rehabilitation program.

This funding will rehabilitate 20 to 25 homes, according to Rachelle Abbott, chief of planning and operations at STEP.

The program has been working with Clinton County since 2004 and has provided $2.4 million for 129 homes, Abbott said. “There is a great need here. There are 255 people on the waiting list,” she said.

— Approved a letter of support and a letter of commitment of $25,000 from the Affordable Housing Fund in conjunction with STEP’s application for 2020-21 PHARE funds. County planner Katie deSilva said everytime a property is sold and a real estate transaction is recorded, money goes into this fund to used for affording housing projects.

— Approved the 2019 ESG subrecipient monitoring contract between the county and the Clinton County Housing Coalition to partner in operation of the 2019 Emergency Solutions Grant program in the amount off $177,601 for the period Sept. 26, 2019 through March 26, 2021.

The ESG program has been providing grants to Clinton County since 2008 to help emergency shelters, help those who are homeless and help with case management services, according to Jeff Rich, vice president of the Clinton County Housing Coalition.

Also at the meeting, the commissioners approved adoption of the Clinton County Municipal Waste Plan with the Clinton County Solid Waste Authority; approved an easement agreement and other documents for the Peale Avenue bridge project in Mill Hall; approved a contract extension with Theresa Hoover Jasper for legal representation for Children and Youth through Jan. 31, 2021; approved a proposal for a color copier for the treasurer’s office from Willits Copiers Inc. at a cost of $159 a month with maintenance and 3,000 black and white copies and 750 color copies included monthly.

Approval was given for a project modification request for the CJAB Coronavirus Grant from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, increasing total funding to $82,834. The additional funding will be used for a mailbox and laptops in the clerk of courts office, upgraded radios for Keystone Central staff and law enforcement needs related to the virus.

The commissioners will meet next at 9 a.m. Monday, Nov. 16 for a work session and 10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 19, for a regular voting meeting at which time the commissioners will introduce its 2021 preliminary budget. Both meetings will be live-streamed via Zoom on Facebook.