NWGHA awaits OK to take over in Cave Spring
♦ Completion of the Parks Homes project on Reservoir Street may be delayed.
The Northwest Georgia Housing Authority is still waiting on formal approval to take over management of the Cave Spring Housing Authority and its operations.
The heart of the issue involves debt payments to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for 32 Section 8 rental housing units.
“Hopefully, come January, that will be paid off,” said NWGHA Executive Director Sandra Hudson. “There is one more payment that is due and I think that is $82,000.”
The authority is also keeping close tabs on renovations to the 100-unit Park Homes community off Reservoir Street.
There is some concern that the project might not be completed by the end of the year, which would cause a delay in the issuance of tax credits to investors.
Boston Capital Columbus Tax Credit Fund agreed to invest $ 7.3 million to assist with the financing of the $12.23 million project.
The question is whether there would be a financial penalty associated with the delay. Rea Ventures is partnering with the authority on the renovations at Park Homes while Great Southern is the general contractor.
While Rea Ventures is primarily responsible for the guarantee, the authority’s attorney Stewart Duggan said he is not sure if the developer’s fees the housing authority would receive could be subject to the financial penalties.
Modernization Director Howard Gibson said eight of the units are supposed to be turned over to the authority next week but issues in other buildings — particularly plumbing problems — need to be completely repaired before the authority signs off on the work.
“We’ve moved some residents in; now we have to move them out,” Hudson said. She said there is a three or four page list of items that still have to be completed to the satisfaction of the housing authority.
The tax credits can only be issued after the project has been completed.
Gibson also told the authority that he has received certificates of occupancy for four new units at the Joe Wright Village community off Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in North Rome.
The NWGHA also adopted a stricter housekeeping policy to mandate public housing tenants keep their homes clean. The new policy will allow the authority to terminate the lease agreement with tenants who fail routine inspections three times during a calendar year.
Housing Director Melvin Scott said the change is designed to deal with the relatively small number of tenants whose homes are in a grossly negligent state of upkeep and have the potential for insect infestations.
When an infestation occurs, Scott said, it can take a couple of months to correct the problems and lease the apartments again.