Housing authority adopts new plan
The Fayette County Housing Authority has adopted a five-year strategic plan that will slice 255 units from its housing inventory through demolition and eliminate another 33 units through conversion of row housing into larger units. Board member Angela M. Zimmerlink cast the lone vote against the plan, noting that while she agreed with the $2 million demolition component, she saw no need to spend another $7.2 million converting row housing that everyone admits is a conceptual failure.
“You’re still going to have row housing. Only it’s going to be better row housing,” said Zimmerlink after Friday’s board meeting. She also said the five-year plan contains nothing on homeownership initiatives even though board members and staff have professed to be “gung ho” on that front.
“Why isn’t it in the plan? I was really disappointed when I saw (that it wasn’t),” said Zimmerlink. “They’re trying to address the needs, but (this plan) doesn’t address the needs.”
Board Chairman Kenneth L. Johnson and board members the Rev. Howard E. Dantzler Sr. and Beverly Beal voted to adopt the five-year plan, with Beal noting that the authority’s well-publicized long-term plans have generated excitement from residents and elected officials.
“My dream is to see Lemon Wood (Acres demolished),” said Beal, who added that she shares that view with Johnson.
Executive Director Thomas L. Harkless said the next three to five years “will determine if the housing authority is around in 20 years” and proclaimed the blueprint “a good plan” for orchestrating an organizational facelift.
“I think everyone realizes that we have too much public housing, so we need to do demolition,” said Harkless. Noting that 55 percent of the authority’s housing was built prior to 1960, he added that current construction standards and storage requirements would prohibit those units from being built today using federal funds.
Andre Walters, the authority’s director of technical services, said the goal at all levels of the operation is to maximize available federal grants to aid in the turnaround. He said the authority plans to apply for special HOPE VI demolition and revitalization money that, if awarded, could greatly accelerate the transformation schedule.
If the authority gets HOPE VI funding, it wouldn’t have to use its own capital grant program monies that are earmarked to carry out the demolition and revitalization schedule over the next five years.
Should the authority be fortunate enough to win a substantial HOPE VI allocation, it would use that money to carry out the transformation in a shorter time frame. Even if the HOPE VI money doesn’t come through, the authority plans to demolish 54 units this year at a cost of $226,323. The wrecking ball will knock down four buildings at Bierer Wood Acres and three buildings at Lemon Wood Acres.
Additionally, the authority plans to convert one building at each of those sites from eight units to five larger units, as part of a pilot project to thin out its remaining housing and make it more attractive inside and out.
Counting six losses through consolidation, the authority will eliminate 60 units this year.
In defense of the plan to consolidate and renovate existing row housing, Harkless said that even though everyone knows that in an ideal world single-family housing is best, it would be financial folly for the authority to build 1,400 of those units at $110,000 each.
“We’re working with what we have,” said Harkless, who noted that after he and Johnson discussed the renovation plan on HSTV, 50 people contacted the authority to apply for improved units that don’t yet exist.
Harkless said that of all the people who’ve provided feedback on the five-year plan and its companion annual plan, Zimmerlink is the only one who’s voiced dissatisfaction.
“The residents have all accepted this with open arms. It’s all been positive,” said Harkless. “There’s only one person who’s talked to me who thought it was a bad plan. Angela is the only one who doesn’t support it.”
Zimmerlink said that spending $7.2 million to renovate units that aren’t needed, in a housing concept that doesn’t work, “does not make any sense at all.” She said the conversion plan turns 13 of the remaining 52 family housing units into elderly housing, an area where the authority already has vacancies.
Additionally, Zimmerlink said she is opposed to the five-year plan’s inclusion of $2.2 million to construct a new administration building for the authority, especially considering that its current Route 51 office complex is relatively new.