Housing agency moves on long-term plan
The plan will address what direction the authority wants to take, and where the authority wants to be in 2020. Prior to entering in the contract, the board members had a lengthy discussion about the need for such an expense.
Andre Walters, director of funding and asset planning, explained that a similar long-range planning process was last undertaken in 2001. He said that planning process led to the demolition of Lemon Wood Acres and the construction of Laurel Estates on the North Union Township site, the application of HOPE VI funds to refurbish Bierer Wood Acres in South Union Township and plans to demolish or rehabilitate Fort Mason Village in Masontown.
Walters said the consultant would handle such things such as facilitating a two-day strategic plan workshop, writing a 10-year plan, working with the housing administrators and figuring out ways to market the properties.
“It’s a plan for 10 years,” Walters said.
Executive director Thomas Harkless said the plan would not focus on operations. It would be a “vision-type thing about how the housing authority will look in 2020.”
When board member Ernest DeBlasio said the firm should be doing a lot of consulting for $60,000 per year, Walters said consulting firms charge more than $100 an hour. He added that he doesn’t think it will take more than a year to do the plan, and the plan may not even cost $60,000.
Harkless said everyone who wants to be involved gets together, such as officials, planning members and others and then the plan is written.
“When the board adopts this, that’s the roadmap I use as the housing authority’s business plan,” Harkless said.
Walters said money to pay the consultant would be paid through the capital fund.
Harkless said in doing the last plan, the authority found out there was too much housing in the wrong places of the county. He said since the last plan, 150 units at Lemon Wood Acres was torn down as was 100 units that comprised Dunlap Creek Village in Redstone Township. Also, he said plans that didn’t get accomplished were eliminating the 56 units at Bierer Wood Acres and rehabilitating Fort Mason Village.
“So, you’re looking at this as a tool to move forward,” said board member Robert Onesko.
Solicitor Jack Purcell said while some strategic plans are developed and just sit on the shelf, an organization the size of the housing authority needs a plan.
Purcell said it was known in the late 1990s that some of the units needed torn down, but a plan had to be put in place to do it.
Walters said he would like to hold the two-day informational workshop to start the planning process something in November before Thanksgiving.
When Harkless took over the reigns of the authority in the fall of 1999, there were 1,700 public housing units in 21 sites throughout the county.
There are now 1,322 units at 19 sites, according to Harkless. While 378 units have been demolished or converted, plans are under way to raze even more, including 55 at South Hills Terrace in Brownsville.
While there have been plans to demolish the units for more than a year, the authority recently received approval from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to complete the work.
The authority approved a contract Thursday for $163,000 with Ritenour and Sons Construction Co. Inc. of Connellsville for the demolition. Ritenour submitted the lowest of the seven bids received for the project. The remaining bids ranged from $197,000 to $377,000.