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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 06172008 - C.2 (2) J HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE COUNTY OF CONTRA COSTA TO: BOARD OF,COMMISSIONERS FROM: Joseph Villarreal, Executive Director DATE: June 17, 2008 SUBJECT: ARTICLES CONCERNING AFFORDABLE HOUSING ISSUES SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION I. RECOMMENDED ACTION: ACCEPT attached articles regarding affordable housing issues for the Board's information. II. FINANCIAL IMPACT: This is for informational purposes only and has no fiscal impact. III. REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION/BACKGROUND For the Board's information only. IV. CONSEQUENCES OF NEGATIVE ACTION: None. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE Joseph Villarreal,Executive Director RECOMMENDATION OF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S): ACTION OF BOARD ON APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER VOTE OF COMMISSIONERS 1 HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A UNANIMOUS (ABSENT ) TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN AYES: NOES: ACTION TAKEN AND ENTERED ON THE ABSENT: ABSTAIN: MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ON THE DATE SHOWN. ATTESTED JOSEPH VILLARAEAL,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR BY D PUTY H:\JudyHayes\MSOFFICE\WINWORD\BOARD\BO-Information Item.doc li Article I Reuters Page 1 of 1 '" RS ^rr=;rad t, EPSP ' _ [.RL'4a.l�' rft' IlkiJ Print I Close this window ARTICLE ONE '"Fight brewing" over affordable housing fund. Freak 't,e May 20,20'ifi 10,02am EDT i By Kevin Drawbaugh WASHINGTON(Reuters)-U.S. Rep. Barney Frank on Tuesday said"a fight is brewing"over a Senate agreement to finance a new federal mortgage insurance fund by taking money from a proposed trust fund.for affordable housing. "A fight is brewing on the affordable housing trust fund,"the Massachusetts Democrat said in a speech to Democrats. Leaders of the Senate Banking Committee have agreed to set up a multi- billion mortgage refinancing fund under the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)and to use money from a related affordable housing trust fund to pay for it. The agreement between committee Chairman Christopher Dodd and senior Republican Richard Shelby over the FHA fund is expected to be approved by the panel on Tuesday as part of a package of measures meant to stem a wave of foreclosures. The affordable housing trust fund was a key element in a similar housing market rescue package developed by Frank and already passed by the House of Representatives. If the full Senate clears a package from Dodd's committee,then lawmakers from the two chambers would have to attempt to hammer out a compromise measure to send the desk of President George W. Bush. On using the affordable housing trust fund to finance the FHA expansion, Frank said:"That would be one of the most contentious issues between us... So we will deal with that." He added that he remained confident of Congress sending a package soon to the White House. "I feel strongly about the affordable housing trust fund.There are a couple of other things I have to look at,but there's a great deal of agreement on this," he said. j +S' Thomson R-eUters 2008.All rights reserved.Users may download and print extracts of cotnent trom this weL•site tortheir own personal and non-commercial use only.Republication or redistripuiion af'T'honrson Reuters content,including by framing or similar rneans,;s expressly prohibited witnoul the prior Written consent of Thomson Reuters. Ihormson Reuters and its logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of the Thomson Reuters group of Companies around rite yv,rld. Tiaorn,on Reuters aura alisls are suuieil to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentralion and disclosure of relevant interests. :rare, ,jr•,,.t s,....n+,u'M E 1.> ...l-1 m.ivc.uk t..k h rv.qu i.. 1 j ir r1 os e.u,.t.a a an't"Vs r,.4jsi.rt; I _t reef:v .�inter=.acts. i I http://www.reuters.com/articlePrint?articleld=USWBT00901820080520 5/21/2008 i �I Bush Announces HUD Pick-New York Times Page 1 of 3 LL t�:.4c r�6v flork t!..t nco '9fFt.�. V ARTICLE TWO April i9,20o8 Bush Announces HUD Pick By RACHEL L.SWARMS and DAVID STOUT! WASHINGTON— President Bush said on Friday that he has chosen Steve Preston,a"consensus builder"and "experienced manager"while head of the Small Business Administration,to be the nation's new housing secretary. In a White House ceremony,the;president praised Mr.Preston as"a reformer who would act aggressively to help Americans obtain affordable mortgages"and so be able to keep their homes. Mr. Preston, 47,would succeed Alphonso R. Jackson,who resigned in the midst of a federal investigation into whether he steered lucrative housing contracts in New Orleans and the Virgin Islands to friends. Mr. Preston said he joined the Bush administration in the first place because of his belief"in the vision of helping people reach their dreams of owning a business,owning a retirement portfolio and,of course, owning a home." As for the current problems in the housing'industry,Mr. Preston said, "Our solutions must restore confidence in our markets while not erecting barriers to future entrepreneurs,investors and home buyers." Mr.Jackson attended the announcement and was lauded by Mr. Bush as "a decent man, a dedicated man and a compassionate man." The announcement of Mr. Preston's nomination,which the president urged the Senate to act on quickly, comes as the Department of Housing and Urban Development,which oversees the nation's sprawling public housing stock,is struggling to help stanch the flood of foreclosures across the country. The Bush administration is counting on the Federal Housing Administration, the branch of HUD that insures mortgages,to protect hundreds of thousands of troubled homeowners from the risk of foreclosure by helping them refinance shaky subprime loans and make them stable government-backed mortgages. F.H.A. has'been sharply criticized by Democratic lawmakers,who charge that the agency has not done enough to ease the nation's housing crisis.This month,the Bush administration proposed loosening eligibility rules for people hoping to refinance mortgages insured by the federal government to ensure that more homeowners will receive assistance. i Officials said in advance of the announcement that Mr. Preston would be well positioned to handle the housing crisis, given his experience in government and in the private sector. "He has a strong financial background and understands the important role the housing market plays in our economy,"said a senior administration official. Before being named S.B.A. administrator in 2oo6, Mr. Preston served as executive vice president of the ServiceMaster Company, a multibillion-dollar corporation whose businesses include i http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/19/washington/19hudcnd.html? r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss... 5/13/2008 i i Bush Announces HUD Pick -New York Times Page 2 of 3 TruGreen ChemLawn, a lawn care company,and Terminix,a pest control company. As S.B.A. administrator,he was responsible for revamping the governments Disaster Assistance Program, which was still reeling from the Gulf Coast hurricanes of 2006 when he arrived. He was also responsible for supporting the nation's small businesses with an $8o billion portfolio of direct and guaranteed business III loans,venture capital investments and disaster loans. Earlier this year, Mr. Preston was sharply criticized when Democrats in Congress learned that his agency had given a $1.2 million contract to a former Bush administration official who lacked experience in helping small businesses compete for government contracts. I The contract went to the VBP Group, a company based in Paradise Valley,Ariz.The company's owner, Vernon B. Parker,served as assistant secretary for civil rights in the Agriculture Department from April 2003 i to January 2006. i' Mr. Preston called on the agency's inspector general to investigate. "Based on the information provided by your staff, and some research conducted by my staff,I believe there is sufficient cause for concern over the events surrounding this contractor,"Mr. Preston wrote to Nydia Veldzquez,the New York Democrat who is chairwoman of the committee. Mr.Jackson,64,prided himself on working to keep vulnerable families in their homes to revitalize public P g P � housing and to preserve affordable housing as head of the $37 billion housing department. But Mr. Jackson began stirring controversy soon after he was named housing secretary. In 2004,less than two months after his confirmation,Mr.Jackson told a House panel that he believed poverty"is a state of mind, not a condition,"provoking strong criticism.Two years later, he said in a speech that he had canceled a contract for a company after its president told him that he did not like Mr. Bush.Mr. Jackson later said he had made the story up. In March,Mr.Jackson took a pounding from senators who demanded that he respond to accusations that he had steered hundreds of thousands of dollars to friends for work at the Virgin Islands housing authority and the reconstruction in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Senior Democrats called on him to resign. One of Mr.Jackson's friends,Noel Khalil, an Atlanta developer, received a $127 million contract last year as part of a joint venture to rebuild a New Orleans public housing project. Mr. Khalil's company, Columbia Residential,has paid Mr.Jackson more than $250,000 in fees since Mr.Jackson joined the Bush j administration in 2001,for work done before Mr. Jackson joined government,the developer's lawyer said. I Mr.Jackson listed only one payment—of$35,000—from Columbia Residential in the financial disclosure forms he filed for 2001 to 20o6. Mr. Khalil's lawyer, Buddy Parker, said that his client was being viewed as a witness, not a target of the federal investigation. Mr.Jackson has declined to comment on the inquiry,saying only that he was leaving office to"attend more II http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/19/washington/19hudcnd.html? r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss... 5/13/2008 I I 1 Bush Announces HUD Pick -New York Times Page 3 of 3 diligently to personal and family matters." Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company Privacy Policy Search Corrections #t;SS + First Look H"I Contact Us Work for Us Site Maa I i i �I i i i SII i it I I http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/19/washington/19hudcnd.html? r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss... 5/13/2008 I I i i i American Small Business League,:: HUD Secretary Appointee to Field Tough Questions From th... Page 1 of 2 rf' a ,r m is. ya. x`'s A Z is •� p � e z"k �. gr'. 1 f# ,su� zz. . 4 -szu ae?4a, �' 3� � r a' �' 0 '. ar PES Newswire Nx r ,. r� ,:XP47 �atiome� �Upio�d Rebase �Today"s Pdeu�,a� �itu[2�F�es3ra f�eWs IrEdustrp,��t�us �l�i�errt�rtt�nt�1 � �3ur 5ertices �InvestmgPupl�c ) AboukUs :.Gun!'�a�ClglJs ARTICLE THREE HUD Secretary Appointee to Field Tough Questions From the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs i "tivet,rr�"' PETALUMA,Calif., May 19/PRNewswire-USNewswire/--The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs is scheduled to hold hearings Tuesday, May 20th on the pending nomination of current Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA), Steven Preston as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Small business advocates expect the committee,which is chaired by Christopher J. Dodd (D-CT),to challenge Administrator Preston on his poor track record on small business. On July 10,2006, Mr. Preston was sworn in as Administrator of the SBA,assuming the position after the resignation of former SBA Administrator Hector Baretto. Baretto's tenure has been severely criticized by small business groups,the press and Congress for allowing billions of dollars in federal small business contracts to be diverted to large corporations. Prior to Preston's confirmation, a series of federal investigations and private studies found that many of the actual recipients of federal small business contracts were Fortune 500 corporations and their subsidiaries. Despite a mountain of evidence pointing to the diversion of federal small business contracts to large corporations produced prior to his confirmation, Mr. Preston has failed to recognize or implement policies to stop such abuses. The first congressional investigation into the diversion of federal small business contracts to large corporations was held on May 7, 2003. Since then there have been more than 400 stories in nearly every major newspaper and mainstream media outlet across the United States. Investigative reports by ABC, CBS and CNN have all found that billions of dollars in federal contracts intended for small businesses have actually gone to firms like: Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Rolls Royce, L3 Communications, British Aerospace Engineering (BAE)and Raytheon. (www.asbl.com) Specifically,the American Small Business League and its members expect that Mr. Preston be held accountable for the continued diversion of federal small business contracts to large corporations during his tenure at the SBA. On May 11,2007,the SBA distributed a press release titled"Myth vs. Fact: SBA and Government Contracting,"which stated that it is a myth that,"Large companies, including large, multinational corporations are taking away federal contracts specifically intended for small businesses."Additionally,the press release stated that it was a myth that the SBA had proposed a grandfathering plan that would have allowed large firms receiving federal small business contracts to keep those contacts. The SBA's Myth v. Fact press release flies in the face of Report 5-15 from the SBA Office of Inspector general which stated,"One of the most important challenges facing the Small Business Administration(SBA)and the entire federal government today is that large businesses are receiving small business procurement awards and agencies are receiving credit for these awards." Additionally, information on the SBA's proposed grandfathering plan can be found in the Federal Register dated December 3,2004. (Federal Register,volume 69, 70200, No 232) i During the last two years, Mr. Preston has fostered the continued diversion of federal small business contracts to large corporations. In June of 2007, Preston instituted a policy to allow Fortune 500 firms to keep their small business contracts for 5 more years.The policy was instituted despite recommendations for a policy that would have stopped the abuse in 2008 by:the SBA Office of Inspector General,the Office of Federal Procurement Policy,the Office of Management and Budget and the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. I In addition to these offenses, Mr. Preston has diminished transparency in the reporting of federal contracting numbers by removing the information the general public can use to determine whether a business is small or large in the Central Contractor Registration database, and by consistently refusing to release the names of the actual recipients of federal small business contracts. i Website:www.asbl.com/ .BOOKMRRK http://sev.pmewswire.com/banking-financial-services/20080519/D C2284319052008-1.html 5/21/2008 HUD Repeatedly Dismissed Staff Concerns About Contracts Page 1 of 4 washin tonpost coo THUD Repeatedly Dismissed Staff r ,k � ARTICLE FOUR jConcerns About Contracts Do. Y0'u Think the Market By Carol D.Leonnig s Heade` fbr a Fall Washington Post Staff Writer if YOU have a $500,000 portfolio, you should Sunday,May 18,2008;A10 download the latest report by Forbes c lurnn st Ken Fisher. In it he tells you !The small Texas property-management company had no where he'thinks the stock market is experience overseeing hundreds of defaulted homes across the headed, and why hisustwrosd report (country. It did have two former Reagan administration includes his latest stock market prediction, lofficials at the helm and warm relations with senior plus research and analysis you can use in Republican appointees at the federal housing agency. your portfolio right now, Don't miss it! ,During a few weeks in 2004, the three-employee company, 'Click Her — ot ;Harrington, Moran and Barksdale Inc. (HMBI), went from no government work to landing $71 million in contracts with the U.S. Department of Housiniz and Urban 'Development to oversee the upkeep and sale of defaulted homes. It had previously managed a handful of apartment buildings and development projects. The company's meteoric rise -- and HUD's willingness to bend the rules to accommodate it -- surprised veteran agency contracting specialist Gloria Freeman. "After you've been in the business awhile, you get to know the signs -- 'This is a friend; let's help him out,' " she said in an interview. Not long after Freeman complained to her supervisors, she was asked to return to her previous policy job. i Federal investigators are still sorting through HUD contract awards to friends of Secretary Alphonso Jackson, who resigned last month amid a criminal probe. But some career staff members and agency observers say problems in the agency's contracting process run much deeper than Jackson and involve officials who promoted certain companies while rebuffing concerns about their performance and qualifications. i The contract awards that staff members questioned took place within programs, heavily promoted by Jackson, to help small, minority-owned businesses get a bigger share of the roughly $1 billion in public contracts HUD awards each year. During Jackson's tenure, the proportion of contracts awarded to small black- and Hispanic- owned businesses, including under the Section 8(a)program, rose from 6 percent to nearly 35 percent. The proportion of contracts open to full competition decreased from 71 percent to 33 percent, federal records show. HUD spokesman Jereon Brown said limiting competition on some contracts was critical to helping "minnows" in the small-business community grow into "whales." "Nothing is more American than giving the little guy a chance to shine," he said. "The 8(a)program is good for business, good for innovation, good for the agency and, ultimately, good for America." i A Washington Post examination of HUD's contracts shows that HMBI and two other companies won hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts under Jackson while career contracting staff repeatedly raised questions. A Miami property-management company,National Housing Group,which contributed to President Bush's reelection and other Republican campaigns, won$50 million in contracts from 2003 to 2007. Now, its second in command has been indicted for allegedly falsifying reimbursement requests to HUD. Regional staff members at the agency had expressed concern about the company's small size and inexperience. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/17/AR2008051702336_pf html 5/21/2008 i i i r jHUD Repeatedly Dismissed Staff Concerns About Contracts Page 2 of 4 Drayton, Drayton& Lamar, of Georgia,,is another minority contractor that has recently had significant i success in winning HUD work. Through 2002, the company had received almost $1 million in contracts. But since 2003, it has won$35 million in data-technology and.information-management contracts at HUD, despite concerns about its performance. Its president has socialized with a HUD official. J Brown said political clout and internal agency connections do not determine contract decisions. "We don't 'believe any contractor received special treatment. . . . We look at qualifications," he said. Jackson faced criticism in 2006 after acknowledging that he took note of political loyalties. He bragged in a Dallas speech that he had canceled a contract with a business owner who said he didn't like Bush. "Why should I reward someone who doesn't like the president, so they can use funds to try to campaign against the (president?" Jackson said. "Logic says they don't get the contract." IA subsequent investigation by the HUD inspector general uncovered no proof that Jackson had canceled the contract but found some instances in which he had privately urged staff members to help pro-Republican businesses. Federal procurement laws forbid'basing decisions on political views. Jo Baylor,then head of the office of procurement and contracts,testified that Jackson complained about a contractor who openly criticized Bush and that he expressed hostility toward hiring contractors who were Democratic contributors. Jackson's chief of staff, Camille Pierce, and Deputy Secretary Roy Bernardi also said they had heard Jackson tell political appointees to help Republican-owned businesses. i HMBI, of Fort Worth, was led by Republicans with significant HUD experience. Chief executive Maurice. Barksdale was an assistant secretary to Reagan-era HUD Secretary Samuel R. Pierce Jr. and became a minor 'figure in a 1980s political favoritism scandal. Its vice president, Albert Moran, also worked at the agency during the Reagan years. i Listed as having three employees in 2004 when it won its first contract, HMBI has accumulated$282 million in HUD work, all but$18.8 million of it in small-business awards. Former and current contract officials said staff members questioned HMBI's qualifications. i Contract specialist Freeman said she first ran,into trouble when she insisted that the company follow procedures and post a required bond. She said her supervisor proposed waiving the requirement. Freeman prevailed, and HMBI posted the money. Tensions mounted again when Freeman objected to a fifth contract award that HMBI was seeking. She and others at HUD feared that the company could not handle more work. Her bosses did not want HMBI to fail or to trigger a Small Business Administration review of the company's abilities, she said. Freeman opposed her bosses' rule-bending efforts to try to avoid that review. Later, she said, she and another official persuaded Barksdale to withdraw the bid. I "'At that point, the top procurement people --Jo Baylor and Annette Hancock -- decided my services would no longer be needed because I was a pain in their neck," she said. After moving back to the policy job, she retired in 2005. HUD officials called Freeman a respected expert but said the agency's handling of HMBI contracts was proper. The Government Accountability Office rejected a competitor's allegations that HUD was biased toward HMBI, and six other protests involving the company were rejected. Questions and phone messages relayed to Barksdale were not returned. Miami's National Housing Group (NHG), whose employees and their spouses gave $32,500 to Republican candidates, grew from a 10-employee firm with$490,000 in sales in 1997 to a multimillion-dollar HUD I http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/coritent/article/2008/05/17/AR2008051702336_pf.html 5/21/2008 II I I THUD Repeatedly Dismissed Staff Concerns About Contracts Page 3 of 4 ';contractor by 2003. Since then, it has won HUD contracts worth$50 million to manage multifamily properties n.default, with$41 million of that amount closed to any competition. Before the company's selection, HUD staff members questioned its ability to manage such a sizable project, ;according to records and interviews. After the company's work began, agency staffers in Atlanta and Fort Worth reported they believed that NHG was billing'for unexplained work and breaking rules. Jackson defended the company, telling investigators in 2006 that the criticisms were unfounded. The company got into a payment dispute with HUD that led to the end of Ed Girovasi's 33-year contracting career. Girovasi was tasked with reviewing an NHG claim for$8 million in payments. He concluded in December 2005 that the firm had exaggerated its claim and instead owed HUD $250,000,records show. He was reassigned to a policy job weeks later, although agency spokesman Brown said Girovasi took the job voluntarily. The dispute simmered for another six months. Girovasi's successor reached the same conclusion, and HUD rejected the company's claim. Girovasi, who retired a year after his transfer, declined to comment. He told investigators in 2006 that "the high- level interest in NHG was peculiar and caused a delay in issuing a final decision on the claim." This year, after a series of complaints,NHG has no HUD contracts. In February, company principal Wynee Joyner was charged with falsifying claims for HUD reimbursement. i Brown said the firm's contracts were properly awarded,but he added that "not all contractors perform as well as expected." NHG, which has sued HUD for.unpaid claims, did not return calls seeking comment. Joyner's attorney declined to comment. The contracting success of Drayton, Drayton&Lamar(DDL) fit a similar pattern. Since 2003, it has won $35 million in information-management contracts. In the previous years, it had received just under $1 million in HUD work. When the inspector general investigated Jackson in 2006, an unidentified HUD employee reported concerns that "DDL continues to get contracts despite its poor performance," according to a report. The employee alleged that the company had a patron inside HUD's contracting office. DDL President Robert Drayton had socialized with Frank Davis, a'close Jackson ally who is now second in command at the office of housing. Davis headed HUD's contract management review board. Brown said the review board does not make final contract decisions. A review of a sample of DDL's contracts, he said, "did not find any evidence of anything improper." Drayton said in an interview that his company wins contracts because of its performance. "I don't think, maybe I'm wrong, that anybody at HUD can just give you a contract," he said. "I don't see how knowing him has been some special help to me." Research editor Alice Crites and staff researcher Julie Fate contributed to this report. I View all comments that have been posted about this article. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/17/AR2008051702336_pf.html 5/21/2008 I i HUD Repeatedly Dismissed Staff Concerns About Contracts Page 4 of 4 Post a Comment View all comments that have been posted about this article. You must be logged in to leave a comment.I..o in I Register I ; I Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site.Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain"signatures"by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally,we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards,terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions.You are fully responsible for the content that you post. ©2008 The Washington Post Company Ads by Google FHA Refinance Program Qualification form for FHASecure Refinance Program. Nerhfxr hcocf�ssis#arca.cenvr;lA Search Foreclosure Lists Lists Of Preforeclosures&HUDs.Designed For Investors.Free Trial! � tv�.�x.Por�:;ic�:�resCc!r HUD Homes-$10.000 Buy a HUD Home at huge 50%savings.Register to search your area. www,i wixorer.,ivseo.ran i I I ! i http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/17/AR2OO8O517O23 36_pf.html 5/21/2008 i I i f i' i ARTICLE FIVE Public housing might be halve. Amid funding cuts, CMHA wants to tear down 6 of its biggest sites and give tenants vouchers to rent private apartments Monday, May 12,2008 3:15.AM BY RITA PRICE TTIB CQLUMIIUS DISPATCH This much Maliki Bey has always known: The high-rise apartment he calls home is also an exercise in social policy. "I don't want to lose it,"he said. But time, money and political support are running out for much of the city's, and the nation's, public housing. The Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority wants to tear down six of its largest and oldest public-housing communities and give the residents Section 8 vouchers so they can rent privately owned places. The five-year plan hinges on approval from the U.S. Department of Housing and.Urban Development,which regulates public housing and.issues the vouchers.Nearly 1,700 units, or about half the CMHA-owned total,would disappear, including historic Poindexter Village. Dennis Guest, CMHA executive director,said he sees little choice. "We're bleeding, he said. Double-digit percentage cuts by HUD have drained more than $7 million from the authority's operating subsidy since 2003.Nationally, advocates say,housing authorities have been underfunded by nearly$12 billion over the past seven years. "Columbus is clearly a harbinger of what is to come,"said Sunia Zaterm.an, executive director of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities. "Housing authorities across the country are struggling.They are in a very deep hole." Guest said the plan, approved Friday by the CMHA board,would be rolled out gradually for the approximately 2,700 people who live in communities slated for demolition. Sawyer Tourers tenants would go first,moving between March Zoog and,.Tune 2010. Lincoln Park would begin emptying in December Zoog and clear by March 2011; Riverside-Bradley, from June 2010 to March 2011; Sunshine Terrace, from December 2010 to December 2011; Marion Square,from December 2011 to March 2013; and Poindexter,from September 2011 until March 2013. CMHA also is asking HUD for permission to sell about 130 units at Canonby Court, Reeb Hosack and other scattered sites to a private owner,with relocation being an option for residents. Maplewood Heights and Bollinger Towers,both senior public-housing complexes with a total Of 171 units,probably would be sold to a CMIIA nonprofit affiliate and converted to Section 8. Residents would not be affected. I I� i I i I I� The city supports the restructuring, according-to a.letter from Mayor Michael.B. Coleman to Guest. "We know there are going to be long and hard discussions, and the city of Columbus will be sitting at the table," said Boyce Safford, city development director. "But I think deconcentration has good economic benefits for the community." Councilwoman Charleta Tavares said families who want out of impoverished., crime-ridden complexes probably will welcome the change. "My concern is whether there are going to be enough units available.Are there enough landlords who accept the vouchers?" Recent IJUD policies have forced a shift toward vouchers,which Guest said is not necessarily a bad thing. The difference in program cost might be"a wash,"he said,but"what we pick up with Section 8 is more flexibility." Problems arise because no formal process has accompanied the change. Rather than getting adequate funding, public housing has been choked of support and left to die slowly, he said. "It's haphazard. That prolongs the pain." Zaterman said the nation undoubtedly needs a"mixed public policy"on low-income housing, in the forth of a split between authority-owned units and vouchers.The Bush administration, j she said, is "stepping away from the mission.We dun.'t have a process.What is happening is a consequence of underfunding." The administration also is imposing new accounting regulations for housing authorities that will make it impossible to transfer money from relatively stable complexes to shore up aging money-losers, Guest said. CMHA officials have notified communities of the demolition plan and met with all the residents' councils. "While there has been some resistance,there have also been many residents who said, 'OK. Give me my Section 8 voucher and.let me go,'" Guest said. Diane Scott said she and her husband.want to leave Poindexter as soon as possible. In the two vears they've lived in.the Fast Side public-housing project,the city's oldest,they have seen roaches,bricks flying through their window and.a body in the nearby trash bin. it "I want out,"Scott said. Bey feels differently about his home at Sunshine Terrace, a Franklinton high-rise. Disabled.arid. dependent on a wheelchair, the 58-year-old likes his apartment and.the on-site social services. "It seems that there's an avalanche of people who are against low-income housing," Bey said. "But public housing has helped a lot of people.Where would we go?" i i i I I I i j i