GOSHEN, Ind — Goshen officials Tuesday approved a plan to use a $2.1 million federal housing grant to rehabilitate or remove 27 houses in the city and make them habitable.

The resolution calls for city officials to contract with the Indiana Housing & Community Development Authority to help administer this grant.

The plan is to employ LaCasa to rehabilitate homes and Habitat for Humanity to complete new construction.

The plan includes buying 27 houses — 17 in foreclosure or abandoned and 10 that a vacant and uninhabitable — repairing or rebuilding some of them to provide housing or to sell the vacant property to adjacent qualifying property owners.

Rhonda Yoder, the city employee who was named as liaison for the project, said Goshen officials attempted to receive the grant last June, but did not receive funding in the first round of grants. Officials learned in November that the Goshen application would be approved and the project is moving ahead.

The amount of the grant is $2,161,647. The neighborhoods involved are in the central part of the city, between Indiana Avenue and Blackport Drive, Monroe Street to Hackett Road.

The council unanimously approved the measure. The Board of Works named Yoder as liaison on Monday.

Noise ordinance

In other discussion at this first meeting of 2010, Councilman Everett Thomas suggested a committee review the city’s noise ordinance, which has been in effect five or six years. He said police have done a remarkable job of enforcing the noise issues, using decibel meters.

Police Chief Wade Branson said he checked Tuesday and officers cited three people in 2009 for violating the noise ordinance.

Council members were given copies of Goshen’s ordinance, as well as those approved by Elkhart County officials and the city of Elkhart.

“I reviewed the Elkhart ordinance,” said Council President Tom Stump. “Surprisingly, it seemed fairly reasonable to me.”

Stump went on to say he is bothered by motorcycles that seem to have no mufflers as riders drive on Plymouth Avenue.

“I just thought we should look at it again,” Thomas said.

Names were given of possible committee members, who could provide balance in the study, Thomas suggested.

Council officers & appointments

In re-organization matters, the seven Council members unanimously voted to re-elect Stump as their president and authorized Clerk Tina Bontrager to deposit and invest city money in a variety of institutions.

The council re-named Darryl Riegsecker as its representative to the City Plan Commission and Steve Oyer and Laura Coyne were reappointed to the Redevelopment Commission.

Ned Kauffman was re-named to serve three more years on the Shade Tree Board. And Sreekala Rajagopalan and Miguel Millan were renamed to serve on the Community Relations Commission.

The next council meeting, set on Jan. 19, will be a joint meeting with members of the Goshen School Board.

Council members approved a proposed 2010 schedule, that calls for 19 more meetings. There are four months when the council will meet once, rather than twice.