Yesterday the Growler attended the Council-ARHA work session with this article from the Gazette in hand, curious to see to what extent Council is true to its words.
The 2003 story is about the City's loan to ARHA to redevelop Chatham Square. Del Pepper (then Vice Mayor) was quoted stating “I want to make sure that everyone understands that this is a loan. In the past, we have loaned ARHA money and have ended up forgiving the loans. That is not the case here.”
But what took place at the work session belies that uncharacteristic display of firmness seven years ago.
First, ARHA staff softened up Council by bearing some good news. Council was told that ARHA is now preparing to start paying back the Quaker Hill redevelopment loan and will be reducing principal faster than anticipated to save on interest. The housing authority is even offering to subordinate its own developer fee to the City's lien, moving Alexandria's position as creditor up to second place immediately after the commercial SunTrust mortgage.
That news -- which is nothing more than appropriate debt management -- had the Council nearly swooning, which set the stage for the next docket item: Pendleton Park.
Council isn't concerned about ARHA buying another property one block from the Braddock Road Metro, where we've been told via the small area plan process that every scrap of land close to the Metro must be exploited to the max. In fact, the Council couldn't be more pleased that ARHA was moving to preserve affordable housing at no cost to the City. They were persuaded by ARHA Chairman Melvin Miller that there was no guarantee HUD would provide housing vouchers for the 24 current residents at Pendleton Park and that they risked being left out on the street. This, despite the fact that ARHA never seems to have problems rustling up spare vouchers in all sorts of challenging situations (like the mold outbreak at Glebe Park), and ARHA CEO Roy Priest also threw out that there were Bland-related vouchers that might be available.
So eager was Council to support the Pendleton Park acquisition that they scuffled among themselves about how they could quickly vote then and there or at the Council hearing that very night to support ARHA's low-income tax credit application to the Virginia Housing Development Authority. The tax credits are needed to buy the property and the application is due Friday, March 11. (The Growler will confirm with City staff later today that a vote was actually taken.)
Free market advocate Councilman Frank Fannon questioned why it was necessary for the City to endorse ARHA's purchase of Pendleton Park with VHDA given residents' concerns, while Councilman Paul Smedberg questioned how this acquisition was consistent with the promises made to the neighborhood and the vision of the community embodied in the Braddock Road plan. Mr. Smedberg also protested strongly at ARHA's continuing habit of withholding key information from Council before these work sessions, only providing the spreadsheets without summary or analysis just as Council are taking their seats.
To which ARHA's new vice chair Derek Hyra responded that in the past ARHA didn't give Council the information ahead of time and then asked for millions but now they are providing information at the last minute but not pleading for money. Many on Council and the ARHA board thought this was funny, but it was a jejeune comment, and just one more illustration of how Alexandria elected officials are so weak they cannot hold their overweening vassals to professional practices or standards of behavior.
Nonetheless, Council was presented a fait accompli and were more than happy to be pushed along by ARHA once again, with an external deadline serving as the proverbial gun to the head.
Finally, the issue of ARHA's delinquent 1990s loans from the City were discussed. Forgiveness will have to be docketed for an April Council hearing and voted upon, but the Council was clearly swayed by ARHA's arguments that these weren't City operating funds loaned to ARHA but federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) monies which are usually provided to constituent groups as grants rather than loans. Housing Director Mildrilyn Davis stated that the City passed-through the CDBG money as loans because they expected to be paid back from future ARHA redevelopments like Chatham Square, only to find out later from ARHA that HUD would not allow Hope VI grant money to be used for pay back.
Apparently a loan is never really a loan in ARHA's world, and Council is once again prepared to be indulgent about definitions and promises.
So readers, the Growler's conclusion is that the plunking strategy deployed in the 2009 Council election apparently didn't send a sufficiently strong message to our entrenched political establishment, like Councilman Rob Krupicka who is running for the state Senate but whose contribution to the work session yesterday was only a sudden eruption of gush about the wonderful "new ARHA."
46 comments:
Certainly, I won't forget this outrage when it comes to the next City Council election. And, happily, we have an even earlier upcoming election in which we can channel our anger, i.e. Mr. Krupicka's hopefully unsuccessful bid to become Senator. At least if my neighbors and I have anything to do with it.
Anybody see Del Pepper this morning choking on her own words? The Growler nailed 'em good!
"like Councilman Rob Krupicka who is running for the state Senate"
So much for Del Pepper's financial resolve. If God forbid Krupicka wins and his Council seat is vacated I hope someone like Cefaratti returns to fill the vacancy. Not raise the debt ceiling Tim Lovain. Was there no discussion of the city's ever increasing debt load? Euille's legacy is debt. Nothing else!
Frank Fannon for Mayor!
"Was there no discussion of the city's ever increasing debt load? Euille's legacy is debt. Nothing else!"
The city doesn't care about debt. It just raises property taxes to pay for their folly. I am not a tea party fan but I'm coming to understand the tea party's frustration with government.
This better make the freaking Gazette. Many who live in PG care because we experience the concentrated poverty issue first hand. Maybe the rest of Alexandria will care a little bit too - if for no other reason than it shows know how little this City Council cares about fiscal sanity.
Frank Fannon for Mayor is right!!!
"The city doesn't care about debt. It just raises property taxes to pay for their folly."
The city council certainly doesn't care about debt. In fact they will continue to incur debt as long as it helps them win the next election. Hopefully others in the city will tire of constantly higher property taxes since concentrated public housing doesn't seem to bother them.
The city can solve it's affordable housing crisis while adhereing to there commitment to dispering it by allowing accessory use of existing properties throughout Alexandria. That means that elderly folks who can barely afford to stay in Rosemont would be able to rent an added on apartment, making affordable apartments available in areas currently zoned against it. All that's needed is a change in antequated zoning.
"since concentrated public housing doesn't seem to bother them."
A. Melvin Miller needs concentrated public housing in order to have an audience. Let's not forget he unsuccessfully ran for Mayor of Alexandria.
" Many on Council and the ARHA board thought this was funny, but it was a jejeune comment, and just one more illustration of how Alexandria elected officials are so weak they cannot hold their overweening vassals to professional practices or standards of behavior".
Here's a tissue to wipe the sides of your mouth, dearest Growler. Not to worry though, there has been a lot of near foaming at the mouth in Alexandria of late over Council and School Boards/Administators "beneficent decision making" on Alexandria's behalf.
Thank you for your hard work to educate us. We ARE listening and WILL vote.
My friends: non-Parker Gray Residents read and contemplate your comments. I hear you and support you.
" i.e. Mr. Krupicka's hopefully unsuccessful bid to become Senator. At least if my neighbors and I have anything to do with it"
I will be working closely with my neighbors to ensure his lack of courage and accountability is fully exposed.
C'mon Rob, at least ask a tough question, you don't always have to stick your head in ARHA's buttocks.
"The city doesn't care about debt. It just raises property taxes to pay for their folly"
Wonder if they will mention their ARHA loans as they pass on yet another tax increase this year....
"Maybe the rest of Alexandria will care a little bit too - if for no other reason than it shows know how little this City Council cares about fiscal sanity."
Hopefully they will finally start to care when they get their tax bill and when they ask where all that so-called retail and commercial development is that was supposed to broaden their tax base.
"My friends: non-Parker Gray Residents read and contemplate your comments. I hear you and support you."
I am a Delray resident and agree with you; I am fed up with my taxes going to ARHA loans for a failed policy and a barely usable Metro site.
Seriously, Rob and Bill, this is the best you can do for the taxpayer? You can even make an appearance of actually asking a tough question or two of ARHA to make sure our taxpayer-funded loans are actually going to be spent wisely and for a policy that works?
"“This will allow us to preserve affordable housing that has been in this neighborhood for 40 years and if ARHA receives the Low Income Tax Credits, they will be able to rehabilitate a project that is aging,” said Vice Mayor Kerry Donley. “That is good for the people who live in that project and for the entire neighborhood.”"
Oh is it, Vice Mayor Donley? Did you ask folks who live in the neighborhood for their opinion on Pendleton Park and on ARHA?
Growler, is there any way that residents of the Parker Gray neighborhood could send letters to VHDA expressing our opposition to the acquisition of Pendleton Park by ARHA, and outlining ARHA's history of property and fiscal mis-management?
Since our Council gives no voice to people in the neighborhood who might not believe Resolution 830 and ARHA are the greatest policies for providing affordable housing to local residents, I feel like there has to be some way or someone to whom valid concerns can be expressed.
“I am not going to support this because I have heard from many people who live in this neighborhood that they would prefer a private developer to redevelop the property and build a new building there,” said Councilman Frank Fannon. “By writing a letter of support for ARHA, we are expressing a preference about who the buyer should be. The Church can sell to whomever they want and I think we should let that happen and not give ARHA an unfair advantage.”
Why is that Fannon actually listens to reason, while so many councel members lick ARHA's feet?
After looking at VHDA's Web page, the Growler believes the appropriate contact person is:
James M. Chandler
Director of Low Income Housing Tax Credit Programs
Virginia Housing Development Authority
601 S. Belvidere St.
Richmond, VA 23220
jim.chandler@vhda.com
Time to do what voters did today in Bell, California - oust the corrupt and vote in a new slate of council members!
"“This will allow us to preserve affordable housing that has been in this neighborhood for 40 years and if ARHA receives the Low Income Tax Credits,"
Hoorah! Jim Crow. Because blacks were geographically confined for so many years, hell let's keep it that way.
Have any owners of the Asher noted that this could seriously hurt their chances for retail and sales/rent at their new development? I am sad when I see the empty storefronts on Henry and Oronoco.
Council is pandering to political special interest groups with Krupicka leading the way. My compliments to Smedberg and Fannon for holding true.
This one hurts me more than Bland. 1 BLOCK from the metro. In 2011. As Arlington continues their redevelopment around metro stations. And we get this? Each space at the surface parking lot at Pendleton should be coated with gold for what it's worth. Who agrees to lock in public housing ONE BLOCK from the metro station for decades to comes in the year 2011? Oh yes, the fine city of Alexandria.
From alexandrianews.org
According to a March 8 press release on the University of Delaware’s website, Alexandria City Councilwoman Alicia Hughes has a new job. She is now the associate director of the Delaware Biotechnology Institute in Newark.
According to the press release, as associate director, Hughes will have responsibility in the areas of grants strategy, leadership and professional development, program development, education outreach, marketing and communications, and community relations.
"I am delighted that Alicia Hughes has joined the DBI leadership team under Kelvin Lee. Alicia's considerable prior experience will clearly be an asset to DBI as she assumes her new responsibilities at one of UD's premier research institutes," said Mark Barteau, senior vice provost for research and strategic initiatives.
“We are very excited to have Alicia as a part of our team,” said Lee, DBI director and Gore Professor of Chemical Engineering at UD. “She has a wonderful background that includes life science, technology transfer, and public engagement. We had input from a broad set of key stakeholders and there was significant enthusiasm for bringing Alicia onto our leadership team.”
Bob Dayton, president of the Delaware BioScience Association, which has a longstanding relationship with DBI, said he is pleased with the selection of Hughes as associate director. "As we continue to provide a unified voice for the local and regional bioscience community and continue to work with DBI to expand access to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) through greater public outreach, we are fortunate to have Alicia on board as DBI's associate director,” he said.
Hughes said she is “thrilled to be on board at DBI, an academic-public-private partnership done right,” adding, “However, I realize that as time and circumstances have changed, so too must DBI change to remain critical to the success of life science enterprise in Delaware. I look forward to merging all facets of my civic and academic backgrounds to further the Institute's vision of creating a better future through leadership in life science research in a manner that sustains our relevance.”
For the past four and a half years, Hughes has been employed at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria. She was elected to the City Council in 2009, at which time she faced voter challenges concerning her Alexandria residency. She did not attend last night’s council legislative meeting and her status as an Alexandria elected official is unknown.
"Council is pandering to political special interest groups with Krupicka leading the way."
Unfortunately I have to agree. Krupicka sold us out just as he did with the off-siting at Bland.
What I don't understand is this. The City Council and staff treats Resolution 830 as if it were carved in stone, to the point that they just spent literally millions to comply with it.
Yet there is also the Fair Share Resolution which requires them to oppose any project which concentrates publicly assisted housing in areas (such as PG) which are already saturated. Surely, the Pendleton Park project would qualify. Can anyone explain this?
So why is it they feel free to ignore the Fair Share Resolution.
"After looking at VHDA's Web page, the Growler believes the appropriate contact person is:"
I plan to write to this gentleman to let him know there are better ways to spend money to provide affordable housing.
And that the neighborhood is not behind this decision.
"Why is that Fannon actually listens to reason, while so many councel members lick ARHA's feet?"
The simple, crass response: Because Fannon is not beholden to ARHA for votes. The other Council members are.
Robs cowardly performance with ARHA over the years is an instant negative for me as a registered Democrat.
"Who agrees to lock in public housing ONE BLOCK from the metro station for decades to comes in the year 2011? Oh yes, the fine city of Alexandria."
This is all part of Mayor Euille's "safe, livable, walkable" community.
"
Unfortunately I have to agree. Krupicka sold us out just as he did with the off-siting at Bland. "
He's always been cowardly and a sellout in his dealings with ARHA. The "new" ARHA? Until Mr. Miller retires, its the same old ARHA with the same old outdated thinking.
I guess Rob doesn't think there are any Democrats in Parker Gray. We will remember, Rob.
If Alica Hughes resigns, I say Growler for City Council!!!!
It didn't take long for Donley to revert to form. I thought his quote in alexandrianews.org insulting. Do the pandering Dems really think these black churches still have a voting membership? Shiloh Baptist's members are mostly Marylanders and look what a mess it, with the city's help, made of their Duke and Payne Streets seniors home. Does Donley really think ARHA will not come back to the city for additional money to "renovate" Pendleton Park? It's formula camel and tent.
From an article in alexandria times
http://www.alextimes.com/news/2011/feb/23/an-official-unofficial-count/
"The city council received a presentation on the 2010 census, but it is not a “concrete, holistic solid picture” of the city, Mayor Bill Euille said."
What is Mayor Euille so scared of? A "holistic solid picture", what the hell does that mean? It's the census, nothing more, nothing less. What does he expect a collage?
What if this were a white mayor reporting an increase in non-whites in his city and was cautioning people not to overreact?
So if ARHA was planning to buy Pendleton Park (thereby increasing the number of Res 830 units in this neighborhood anyway), why the hell did we just give them 6 million taxpayer dollars to buy offsited units? This makes NO sense.
The end result is the City has spent millions of taxpayer dollars to offsite and we end up with MORE public housing units in the neighborhood than we started with.
I mean, really, WTF????
"Not raise the debt ceiling Tim Lovain. Was there no discussion of the city's ever increasing debt load?"
If you remained awake Lovain was positioned as the last speaker at the budget hearings. He pounded, pounded, pounded for the business add-on tax as it pertains to the US Route 1 corridor. Lovain's been useful to the Dems and most likely will reap a political reward. Of greater concern is the Northeast-Old Town buzz. Patricia Schubert's BIAG replacement -- god rest her soul -- is a Northeast transportation jock.
"What if this were a white mayor reporting an increase in non-whites in his city and was cautioning people not to overreact?"
Mayor Euille has said so many stupid things that I'm beginning to lose count. His comments about people not wanting to send their kids to the City schools because of its racial make-up just about took the cake.
Given his latest census comments, what I can't figure out about him is whether he is just an outright racist or whether he just cynically prefers African Americans as constituents, believing they'll be more likely to reelect him.
Count me in. I plan to write VHDA today.
"Does Donley really think ARHA will not come back to the city for additional money to "renovate" Pendleton Park? It's formula camel and tent."
I think The Growler's Del Pepper quote answers the question.
The City Council actions come as no surprise. Many of us spoke with Frank Fannon, specifically on the Pendleton Park issue and he agreed that the building should be sold commercially, not to ARHA. The next step is to repeal Resolution 830 and get the ARHA board to agree that recipients of public housing must have jobs, be drug free, have no felony convictions of any kind and be willing to act like decent hard working members of society. Otherwise... They can move to someplace they can actually afford to live.
This is really getting tiring, I vote, yet the council still spends my money on crap I don't want. We need some nice businesses, places where young professionals want to hang out. We need nice town house dwellings that don't cost a million bucks, and attract mid level professionals with families. We need great schools. What do we get? More super-low income housing for folks who have no interest in living in an integrated society. What to do?
"What is Mayor Euille so scared of? A "holistic solid picture", what the hell does that mean? It's the census, nothing more, nothing less. What does he expect a collage?" The guy has unresolved race issues. In recent years Parker Gray was perceived as a black bastion that is now mostly white. Maybe two-thirds of the blacks live in public housing and the city is clutching. They hope to blur the numbers by using ethnicity to increase race totals. Any fool can get the numbers for Census Tract 16 from the US Census Bureau's website. I'm a statistician who knows how pols play the game.
RE: Euille's race comments. It would be interesting to know what portion of the African American population in PG vs. the City at large is subsidized by the taxpayers. Just from an anecdotal standpoint, the ARHA residents are overwhelmingly black with a couple of hispanics. Doesn't seem like a healthy way to achieve or maintain diversity to me.
"Doesn't seem like a healthy way to achieve or maintain diversity to me."
Diversity is not the point of public housing in Alexandria. Its the excuse used by many apologists to justify the warehousing of the poor in certain sections of the City.
You ever see Krupicka demanding that ARHA "diversify" its units, by moving more of them to Delray?
It would be interesting to know what portion of the African American population in PG vs. the City at large is subsidized by the taxpayers. Just from an anecdotal standpoint, the ARHA residents are overwhelmingly black with a couple of hispanics...
---------
According to some HUD documents available online, about 80% of ARHA residents are black, 41% are single mothers. ARHA residents must earn less than HUD's maximum wage limits to qualify for public housing. The lowest limit? About $12,000 a year for one person. To keep this in perspective, pretty much ANY retail position in the region working 40 hours a week would earn you more than $12,000. So folks really have to do almost nothing to meet that wage limit. (it qualifies them to live in Hopkins Tancil, but not some newer ARHA properties.). Pure and simple, the public housing in Alexandria is keeping folks at a low wage level, because if they went out and got real jobs, they would no longer qualify to reside with ARHA
I'd like to see a limit set on the amount of time a person can reside in an ARHA property. I'd also like to see more conditions imposed, such as one must be actively seeking employment, etc.
Although anyone can fall on hard times, it is not fair to the rest of us who work every day to have to give our tax dollars to others who choose not to do anything. I'm happy to contribute to people who cannot support themselves due to disability, but not to lazy people. And I find it particularly repugnant that people who choose not to work or support themselves bring children into this world and then fail in their responsibilities as parents, as they are failing in their responsibilities as citizens.
Do we have any options to intervene in the Pendleton Park sale? If it's something as simple as gathering all us together and walk the neighborhood carrying signs and making hell, let's do it. Since the small area planning meetings from a few years ago, people haven't gotten together in masse to show the discontent through our numbers. Time to start making it into the newspaper and TV news.
Post a Comment