WAPELLO, Iowa —Help could be on the way.

The Wapello City Council Thursday night approved an application for a $385,000 Community Development Block Grant that would be used to rehabilitate at least 10 properties.

In addition to approving the application, the Council committed $10,000 towards infrastructure improvements associated with the rehab.

The Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission will complete the grant application and submit it to the Iowa Department of Economic Development before the Nov. 13 deadline, Dan Eberhardt, a housing specialist with the Commission in Burlington, told the Council.

Awards will not be announced by the state until spring. Even if the city’s application is approved, Eberhardt estimated it could be a year before any rehabilitation could begin.

According to earlier discussions, property owners who live in their own house, meet income guidelines and live within the target area could be eligible for up to $24,999 in rehabilitation assistance. The target area includes around 20 blocks stretching between the Wapello Fairgrounds and Wapello High School.

In other action, the Council agreed to hold a public hearing on Nov 19 to consider borrowing up to $1.2 million to cover infrastructure work within the city’s tax increment financing district. City officials said the loan would cover the cost of street, sewer and water construction within the Patrick’s and Odessa subdivisions, as well as the Wapello Industrial Park. The loan would be repaid by increased property tax revenue as properties within the district are developed.

In final action, Mayor Ron Durbin said local Boy Scout Ben Polley has been approved to build a downtown informational kiosk as an Eagle Scout project. Durbin said funding to cover the cost of materials for the kiosk still needed to be arranged.

The Council also received a letter from the Wapello Fire Department clarifying a recent grant application it submitted to the federal Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program. Earlier this fall the department submitted an application to the program, seeking more than $1.8 million in assistance to build a new fire station.

However, the Council reviewed the application after it was submitted and objected to several statements and claims in the document. The firefighters agreed to submit a clarifying letter following those complaints.