POMEROY — Homeowners waiting for repairs to their homes will soon see those repairs completed through a $65,000 grant award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, announced that Meigs, Portage, Pickaway and Pike counties will receive federal funds to improve rural housing conditions. The award was made to the Meigs County Commissioners.

Brown is the chairman of the Subcommittee on Jobs, Rural Economic Growth, and Energy Innovation. The grants, he said, through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Housing Preservation Grant Program, will make critical repairs and improve housing conditions in rural areas including Meigs County.

Meigs County’s Grants Administrator Jean Trussell said seven or eight homes will be repaired through the program. The homeowners were selected from those on an existing waiting list for funds through the Community Housing Improvement Program. Those homeowners have been waiting for assistance in making needed repairs.

Trussell said if funds remain once those projects are completed, other homeowners on the waiting list might be selected to participate.

“Ohio’s small towns and rural communities have been particularly hard-hit by the recent economic downturn,” Brown said. “These funds will help Ohioans repair and maintain their homes while increasing energy efficiency and improving property values.”

Housing Preservation Grants are provided to town or county governments, public agencies, and non-profit and faith-based organizations. The grants are then distributed to qualified homeowners and can be used to weatherize and repair existing structures, install or improve plumbing or provide access to people with disabilities.