THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, June 24, 1996 TAG: 9606240047
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KATRICE FRANKLIN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: 120 lines
Money from the state helped Helen White get running water and put a new roof over Ruby Ward's house.
Others in their Huntersville neighborhood may not be so fortunate: A state grant for homes with plumbing or other serious problems is in jeopardy because city officials are having trouble designating an organization to manage it.
Until two years ago, it was hard for Helen White to visualize running water in her Huntersville home. Nearby resident Ruby Ward was resigned to using buckets to collect the rain that poured through her roof.
White, 59, and Ward, 74, were among many in their subdivision with houses in similar condition: barely standing and no city water or sewerage.
Now the neighborhood - along Town Point Road, near the Chesapeake and Suffolk border - is slowly solving its housing problems. Residents have developed a vision of how they want their subdivision to look, and they are holding neighborhood clean-ups to do what they can to turn a dream into reality.
Area residents say changes in their neighborhood are in part due to indoor plumbing grants - close to $100,000 - that were used last year.
The grant is designated for homes without indoor plumbing or with serious plumbing problems, but it can also be used to repair other problems if a house is unsafe.
But the city has a July 31 deadline to select an agency to manage the program. And the agency must form a plan and sign up residents. Otherwise, the city will lose its chance to spend the grant money this year.
Jay Smallwood, a Suffolk resident and business owner who managed the program last year, has offered to oversee the city's $118,000 grant and continue his work in Huntersville.
``There may be some other alternatives that we can use, but we just haven't gotten a chance to explore them,'' Cindy Rohlf, assistant to the city manager, said last week.
While $100,000 doesn't seem like much for a city the size of Rhode Island, the money means a lot to folks like White and Ward and others in Huntersville.
``I didn't have a bathroom before,'' White said. ``Now I have that and a new home. It's wonderful.''
To others like Dora Adams, who is still waiting, the money represents a chance to receive something they never thought they'd have.
``I've never had indoor plumbing,'' Adams, 68, said. ``Before momma and daddy passed away we got a faucet, but having indoor plumbing, it would make me feel like I'm somebody.''
Huntersville residents met Smallwood two years ago, when the Suffolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority allowed the Portsmouth Community Development Group to spend Suffolk's grant money in the city. The Portsmouth organization hired Smallwood to help manage the funds.
He chose to spend the money in Huntersville after learning that the city had identified the subdivision as one of its neighborhood revitalization projects. Hall Place is the other.
The neighborhood project was set up jointly by the city and the housing authority last year to fix the housing needs in subdivisions with residents who were willing to do a lot of work on their own. The city and housing authority were supposed to set aside matching funds, but the program has been put on hold until the authority's new director starts.
Smallwood, owner of MECCA Foundation - a non-profit organization based in Suffolk that seeks to help educate and assist citizens wanting to build homes - said his organization has taken on Huntersville as one of its projects. He is also president of New Dominion, another non-profit organization in Newport News that owns several apartment complexes and also assists residents with housing concerns.
Smallwood said with this year's money, he had hoped to give plumbing to at least six of the 13 Huntersville residents who are in need.
``I'm frustrated because we are geared up to administer the program ourselves and we have already been through the training,'' Smallwood, 38, said. ``It's a complicated program and there is money available only through the end of next month. We have people on the waiting list.
``This is more about the people we serve, giving them access to the resources available,'' he said. ``We have to tell them, yes, we were in line with the work, but the city and housing authority should do it. And that's all right if they do, but what if they don't?''
City officials said the housing authority was initially chosen over Smallwood because of the agency's experience. Three years ago, the authority administered the funds and spent much of the money in Huntersville.
Rohlf said the city was also interested in designating a public agency, such as the housing authority, to administer the program because the city is interested in spending the grant money in places that have been identified in this year's capital improvements plan.
``Because we are signing off on the money in the city, we have to make sure the money is spent effectively,'' Rohlf said. ``Our goal is to get the benefit of the money. There are people out there in the community who need it, and we want them to have the opportunity.''
The city is also concerned with the program guidelines, she said. The state has changed the grant, making it a partial loan program in which residents have to reimburse 50 percent of the money. That makes it difficult to help residents, she said.
Because of the guidelines, Carl Rasnic, the state's program manager for the indoor plumbing program, said about 14 other communities have not signed up to use the money.
Rohlf said the city is still looking at alternatives for managing the program, such as a neighboring housing authority, but doesn't want to hand out money to another organization for a short time. Even though the housing authority has turned down managing the program for this year, the board is interested in taking over the program next year.
``Our goal is to help residents spend the money, but more importantly we want a good, strong effective program,'' Rohlf said.
In the meantime, folks like Adams will have to continue waiting for relief. ILLUSTRATION: MICHAEL KESTNER
The Virginian-Pilot
Until two years ago, Helen White had never had running water in her
Suffolk home. With the help of a state grant, the Huntersville
neighborhood has solved some of its most serious problems.
PLUMBING PROGRAM
What is the program? The indoor plumbing grant is a program that
gives money to residents who lack plumbing or who have serious
plumbing problems. Money can also be used to fix other problems if
the house is unsafe.
What is the problem? The grant is in jeopardy because city
officials are having trouble designating an agency to manage it.
What is at stake? If the city can't find an agency that it
approves of, then this year's money won't be spent, and there are
residents who need the money. Some are have been waiting for years. by CNB