THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 28, 1995 TAG: 9501280233
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
The Suffolk housing authority has two new board members, a new chairman, a relatively new executive director and possibly a new headquarters.
But one thing hasn't changed: The authority and the City Council still have trouble communicating.
The authority left the council, which appoints the authority board members, virtually in the dark on its plans to purchase a new headquarters downtown.
When the Suffolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority this month signed a contract to relocate its offices to the old Paul D. Camp Community College building, it did so without informing the council.
The authority will spend about $400,000 to buy and renovate the building - outside Suffolk's ailing downtown business district.
The move is seen by some Suffolk officials as running counter to the city's efforts to revitalize downtown, where the city has promised to build a $13 million courthouse.
``I was concerned that we were not officially approached with regards to their desire to be downtown,'' said Mayor S. Chris Jones. ``I don't know if we could have worked something out, but I would have liked to be given the opportunity.''
Councilman Richard R. Harris said he was ``dismayed'' by the lack of communication over the agency's move but did not think the council and the authority were isolated from each other.
``With the effort and the money that will be spent by the city downtown, I think your government functions . . . should be in close proximity,'' he said. ``Had a formal request been made, it's possible a suitable facility could have been found downtown. Now, it's inconvenient. It just came as a surprise.''
The authority's executive director, James P. Armstrong, said the authority remained silent about the purchase not to sidestep the council but to stay competitive in the bidding process.
``In hindsight, yeah, there were problems in getting information back and forth,'' said Armstrong. He said he has met with new City Manager Myles E. Standish to work out an arrangement to stay in touch with each another.
``The end result,'' said Armstrong, ``is that we're both interested in staying in close enough touch to avoid this in the future.''
The communication problems have cut the other way as well.
In December, the council caught housing authority board members off guard with a move to cut their terms by six months.
City officials said then that the move to change the terms for members of the city's boards and commissions was designed to make all the terms begin and end at the same time.
As a result of the change, two authority members - Irwin Davis and John Monroe - lost their positions Dec. 31. They were replaced by Jean L. Copeland and the Rev. John H Kindred.
On the day the two new members were installed, the authority voted to oust Chairman John B. Faircloth and install a third newly appointed board member, Leroy Bennett, former president of the Wilroy-Nansemond Parkway Civic League.
Faircloth, who served as chairman of the authority for several years, will remain on the board. He could not be reached for comment.
In 1993, the housing authority was accused by federal and state officials of mishandling a $1 million federally funded rental rehabilitation program. One week later, executive director V. Janette Rountree resigned.
Armstrong, a former housing official with the city of Hampton, replaced Rountree last year. ILLUSTRATION: James P. Armstrong, left, is executive director of the Suffolk
authority; the authority's ousted chairman, John B. Faircloth, is at
right.
KEYWORDS: SUFFOLK CITY COUNCIL SUFFOLK HOUSING AUTHORITY by CNB