At first glance, the $50,000 of Affordable Housing Trust Fund money that Blair County is making available to low- to moderate-income property owners to address code violations seems like a significant investment with broad positive potential.

However, if you look more closely, you might grasp a different — albeit valid — position, even though the program represents a positive community investment for which county government merits plaudits, not criticism. Consider:

The program, dubbed the Code Compliance Repair Assistance Program, will make only a total of 10 grants available if all of the eventual recipients receive the maximum $5,000 amount that has been established as the size limit for the grants.

If the amounts granted to successful applicants average $2,500, only about 20 properties will benefit in this county, where much more need exists than the total amount of the grants acknowledges.

Based on today’s construction and renovation costs, even $5,000 won’t go very far toward correcting all of the code violations of some properties, meaning that the program is destined to make only a dent in rectifying the overall need. Still, as the old saying goes, “every little bit helps,” and, beyond that, don’t become discouraged.

Thus, the county should explore other funding possibilities beyond money from deed recording fees — both for homeowners who do not receive grants during the first application process or for those successful applicants whose grants do not go far enough toward correcting identified problems.

Granted, not every property owner who would qualify to receive money will apply for a grant; a way should be found to introduce the program to such property owners.

Not doing so will pave the way for some properties to fall through the proverbial cracks and remain problem properties, some of which might evolve eventually into too-dangerous-to-live-in houses.

And problem houses of that kind tend to endanger property values of nearby structures, thus damaging the desirability of their neighborhoods to attract new residents.

It is important for every county and municipality to identify problem properties and determine ways to resolve their needs, especially when they are owned by needy individuals without the financial means to pursue corrective measures on their own.

Grant recipients should strive to pass information about their good fortune to others who could benefit, if or when additional money were to become available.

“Blair County has a very high older housing stock and low-to-moderate income elderly households who cannot afford basic repairs that are code violations,” said Melissa Gillim, housing coordinator for the county’s social services department.

By introducing the program, Gillim said, it is hoped homeowners can avoid proceedings in magisterial district courts, as well as fines.

It will be property owners’ responsibility to obtain at least two bids for work needed to address code violations. The county’s housing trust fund board will review applications most worthy of being funded.

Hopefully the $50,000 in question will be the beginning of a program that will continue to exist and make progress.

Meanwhile, other counties and their municipalities should take note of what is happening in Blair and see how they too can be productive on the same kind of front, even if on a small scale initially.