Housing Authority hears updates on renovations, center to help residents

Projects are moving forward within the Forrest City Housing Authority as laundry contracts are being reviewed and the agency is gearing up to begin renovations in apartment complexes throughout the city.

During a regular meeting of the FCHA Board Thursday evening, members heard an update from FCHA Director Denise Grady on the proposed laundry contract, along with updates on the renovation of two-bedroom apartments in the Dawson Homes complex and the upcoming care center in Linden Heights.

This was the first regular meeting of the FCHA which saw Ernestine Weaver take over as chairman of the board.

According to Grady, the proposed laundry contract is a seven-year contract, however, she said she felt like there were unanswered questions within the wording of the contract itself.

"Mrs. Weaver wanted me to get a copy of our laundry contract so we can look over it," said Grady. "I hope everyone got a chance to review it. I'm unsure if you all plan to go with this company or if you all need more information."

"There are some words and phrases in here that worry me," said board member John Pope. "What is your understanding of this contract?"

"It worries me a little bit also," said Grady. "Some of the wording on here, especially where it talks about liability and that the laundromat would be tied in with them. I want to get some more understanding from this company because I do not want to sign something like this. My understanding of it is that if one of their pieces of equipment wasn't working, we couldn't move their equipment out to replace it with our own temporarily."

"We have legitimate questions about this contract that we need answers to," said Weaver. "Madam Director, this needs to be further investigated to get a clearer understanding and meaning before we move forward."

Grady said there is still a lot of red tape and paperwork between the agency and the Department of Housing and Urban Development regarding the renovations in the Dawson Homes complex.

"We are getting ready to start the ceiling work of our twobedroom renovations and remodeling in Dawson Homes," said Grady. "We are still red taping things through HUD. There is a lot of red tape and paperwork that has to be sent back and forth and back and forth to ensure HUD that we are

not demolishing them, but renovating them. We have blueprints, and I can bring them to the next meeting."

According to Grady, the care center for the Linden Heights complex would be open by the end of this month.

"We have talked about a care center in Linden Heights where people could donate things," said Grady. "Sometimes, we have tenants who move in and do not have anything. They don't have beds or furniture or anything. The care center would allow tenants to come in and get goods and other donations. We are going to get them all fixed up so that people can go in and get the things they need. It will be opening at the end of October. We will not have mattresses because a big problem that a lot of housing authorities have and that we have had are bed bugs.

So we will not have mattresses. We will have bed frames and other things, though."

During the meeting, Weaver told members she has requested information to speak with the board’s attorney regarding an upcoming grievance hearing following the termination of a supervisory employee within the FCHA.

"I had asked for the attorney's name and phone number so that I could contact him," said Weaver. "I was told by Director Grady that she had to get permission from the attorney to give his name and contact information to the board. If he is the board’s attorney, we should automatically have access to his information. If the attorney is on retainer, we need to know this."

"There are different attorneys for different situations," said Grady. "There is one for insurance, one for employees and so on. The board does not have just one attorney who covers everything."

"We were talking about the grievance hearing during our next meeting," said Weaver. "I wanted to be sure of who could and could not be a part of this hearing. I needed to talk to the attorney to get that information. If he is not on retainer, then we can get a different lawyer for each case we have. It is good to know who you are working with. The director works for the board. We hire and fire directors and if she is working for the board, she should be responsible for getting the information requested by the board without having to go down all of these lanes to do so."

"I am new to this so everything I do, I try to consult with them first before bringing it to the board so that I do not bring something to the board that I didn't need to bring to the board," said Grady. "It's not that I am hiding anything, it is just that I want to make sure what I bring is right."

The board has not yet determined the date to hold the grievance hearing.