A home repaired by the community

Homecomings are sometimes sweet, sometimes bittersweet. And sometimes, they are just totally unexpected. Four months ago, Lincoln city code enforcement officials were reviewing aerial visuals of the downtown when they noticed one house that appeared to have some major holes in the roof. An on-site inspection, with the owner's permission, revealed major damage throughout the home and was, in fact, technically unlivable. The easy solution would have been to just condemn the home. The code enforcement officials, however, found a better solution. The single occupant of the home (name withheld on request), a retired medical administrative worker who had lived in and owned the home for decades, was asked if she would be open to a community-based project. While she went to live with her children, a virtually complete renovation of the structure was started. Lincoln's chief building official, Will Foote, a Sacramento Valley Association of Building Officials member who had been involved in earlier reconstruction projects in other cities (some 20 since 2007), took the construction lead. On a late winter day, the Rotary Club of Lincoln, assisted by Sacramento Valley Association of Building Officials members, contractors and other community groups, met at the house for a complete clean-out. The work took all day and required many trips to the landfill with construction material and furnishings that could not be salvaged. Over the next several months, 80-plus local and area construction/renovation specialists, supported by 17 home supply and repair businesses, worked on the project that included a new roof, interior walls, a heating and air conditioning system, flooring, windows and painting. The Lincoln Community Foundation was a major financial contributor to the project. On May 6, the owner was told that she was just going to have lunch with her children with perhaps a drive by the house to see what was happening. What the owner saw when she stepped out of the car was that the house was completed and 30-plus individuals involved in the project were there to welcome her home. Her comment was, "I'm totally overwhelmed; I don't know what to say." Greeting her were Lincoln City Councilmembers Dan Karleskint, Bill Lauritsen and Ben Brown, smiling city code enforcement officers, Sacramento Valley Association of Building Officials' members, contractors, community groups (Lighthouse, Silver Wishes and Field Haven), and other volunteers. It was not just the outside and inside that was reborn but the renovation included all new furnishings and appliances. Rotary President Kimberly McCue (a Lincoln code enforcement officer) summed it up best when she said, "This community effort by so many people is what Lincoln is all about."