SAGINAW, MI — City and county officials are putting the final touches on a plan to use $11.2 million in federal funds to demolish about 950 blighted homes in and around Saginaw.

Gov. Rick Snyder announced on Aug. 20 how $100 million in federal Hardest Hit funds will be allocated to five Michigan cities. The five cities — Detroit, Grand Rapids, Flint, Pontiac and Saginaw — will all use the money for similar demolition programs.

Saginaw's share of the total, Snyder said, is $11.2 million.

The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County Land Bank filed a cooperative application that requested $22 million, which it anticipated would pay for 1,850 home demolitions.

Saginaw Chief Inspector John Stemple said he expects $11.2 million will pay for about half as many demolitions, estimated at about 950 homes.

"There are 413 properties we would be able to start with right away," Stemple said. "Those are the treasurer- and land bank-owned properties."

Saginaw County Treasurer Tim Novak said the Saginaw County Land Bank and his office own nearly 600 properties.

Novak said cooperation between the county, city and other governmental entities is crucial.

"Collaboration between our two entities, and the surrounding communities, will ensure that the money will be spent in the most efficient and effective manner," he said.

Stemple agreed, saying the city government likely could not handle that big of a project without assistance.

"None of this would work without the city/county cooperation," he said. "I would have been reluctant to even accept this amount without their help."

Stemple said the estimated cost of demolishing the publicly-owned homes is roughly $4.5 million. He said demolition on those properties could start in mid-September and be finished within six months, at a pace of 70 properties per month.

He said the remaining about $6.5 million will be spent on acquiring and demolishing another about 537 homes that are privately owned.

Stemple said the cost of buying and demolishing the privately-owned homes is estimated at about $12,000 per property. That cost includes a $750 per-property yard maintenance stipend to pay for cutting grass and weeds once the house is leveled.

Novak said eliminating blight in Saginaw County neighborhoods is aimed at revitalizing those neighborhoods.

"This revitalization is essential to our fight against crime and our belief that

Saginaw

can once again turn the corner of economic development and providing quality education in a safe environment," he said.

One thing that has not yet been decided, Stemple said, is how many of the total properties targeted for demolition will be in the city of Saginaw and how many will be in the surrounding townships.

In the original application, blighted properties were identified for demolition in Spaulding, Buena Vista, Bridgeport, Carrollton and Saginaw townships.

"Blight doesn't know boundaries, and neither should the fight to stop it," Novak said.

Saginaw initially requested about $22 million from the Hardest Hit fund, expecting that total would pay for about 1,825 demolitions. Stemple said that would cover all blighted properties in the city and some along its borders, saying it could put him out of the demolition business before he retires.

Though the $11.2 million will not quite rise to that level, Stemple said it will have an impact. Comparing it to the Neighborhood Stabilization Program that Saginaw has used to demolish and rehabilitate homes in the past, he said the Hardest Hit funds will allow Saginaw to do more than twice as many demolitions in about one-third of the time.

"It's huge," Stemple said.

He said he expects to turn in an amended project plan to Michigan State Housing and Development Authority officials within a matter of days.

Mark Tower covers local government for MLive/The Saginaw News. Contact him at 989-284-4807, by email at mtower@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.