VERMILION COUNTY, Ill. (WCIA) — Officials in Vermilion County are celebrating the launch of a new county-wide program: The Vermilion County Demolition Program officially began on Tuesday.

The initiative helps communities all across Vermilion County tackle blight and dangerous structures. It was passed by the county board a couple months ago, but the program went live on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the Vermilion Advantage President explained exactly how this program works.

“We’re just very excited about the launch of this program and there’s more to come,” said Vermilion Advantage President Mike Marron.

The Vermilion County Demolition Program is up and running and it’s aiming to get rid of blight in areas across the county.

“There’s a way that we can help actually get rid of that problem, make the communities healthier and safer, and give the community a facelift,” Marron said.

Marron said the initiative is being funded by the county board and overseen by Vermilion Advantage.

“We have $400,000 to basically match a community that is wanting to do some blight removal,” he said. “And so, we’ve had a lot of responses already.”

Marron also said it’s a partnership to shoulder the cost of removing blight. Once the county has control of a property, municipalities can ask for help if it’s considered to be a health or safety hazard.

“They can apply to us and say that we’re going to put, say, $5,000 towards the demolition of this property,” he said. “And we would ask for that number of dollars match from Vermilion Advantage to help with the demo of that property. So, we would match them dollar for dollar.”

This initiative has the end goal of empowering Vermilion County communities to reset the areas that need it.

“This has been an important initiative of the county board and of Vermilion Advantage trying to address the blight issue,” Marron said. “And this is just the opening round. We’re going to try to make as much impact as we can.”

Municipalities are applying for this program through the Vermilion Advantage website.