Short of state money, communities find a way to save rundown public housing
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HADLEY - Even the director of the housing authority had to admit it: The conditions at the Golden Court apartment complex were appalling.
When a maintenance team replaced a sink in one unit, vibrations from the work caused tiles to fall from the wall in the adjacent apartment.
"The plumbing, the electrical, the floors, they were completely rotted," said Hadley Housing Authority Director Howard Koski.
"These are not just maintenance issues. These [places] just don't last for eternity. We got 50 to 60 years out of them," Koski said of the 40-unit apartment complex, which was constructed in 1960.
At one point conditions were so bad that 12 of the apartment complex's units were not fit to rent, he said. That was 2010, the year Koski, also a member of the Hadley Finance Committee, signed on as director.
The Hadley Housing Authority turned to Hadley voters and Community Preservation Act funds for assistance. The authority oversees Golden Court, which provides subsidized housing to elderly and handicapped individuals, and the nearby Burke Way, a 12-unit public apartment complex built in 1990 that provides housing to low-income families.
The CPA fund, which communities choose to adopt, levies a surcharge of up to 3 percent on property taxes to fund affordable housing, as well as recreation, open space and historic preservation projects. The state then matches the funds raised by the community with a contribution of its own.
In fiscal year 2011, for example, Hadley raised $203,000 in CPA funds and the state contributed $109,214 toward the program, meaning the town received a "match" of approximately 56 percent, according to the Community Preservation Coalition, a nonprofit organization that supports the program.
Over the past two years, Hadley Town Meeting has approved $250,000 from the fund for renovations at the two housing complexes.
Traditionally, Massachusetts' 237 housing authorities rely on state subsidies to help cover their operational and capital costs. But with the state witnessing a reduction in revenuedue to the down economy and public housing complexes facing years of deferred maintenance, many have turned to unorthodox funding sources to finance their repairs. Others have simply closed doors.
"It is a system-wide problem," said Peter Gagliardi, executive director of HAP Housing, a Springfield-based nonprofit that manages public housing complexes in Hampshire and Hampden counties. "We should be ashamed of the conditions of these places."
Extensive improvements
Today, there are just two family-size apartments left to be refurbished at Burke Way, Koski said. At Golden Court, all the units are rented, marking the first time in years that the complex is at 100 percent occupancy, he said. Part of that can be attributed to an increased demand for public housing, he said, noting that the tough economy and recent weather crises have put more people out of their homes.
But the space at Golden Court would not have been available if not for the renovations.
In many apartments, the bathroom floors have been completely redone. Old electrical wires have been replaced, and cast-iron plumbing has been replaced with ABS and PVC piping, which is much easier to maintain, Koski said. Four of the complex's six buildings have new roofs.
"If it wasn't for the goodness and generosity of the people of Hadley we'd be in rough shape," Koski said. "We'd be closing doors otherwise. The money from the state isn't close to what is needed."
The Golden Court repairs are especially significant because they come at a time when state assistance for public housing authorities has shrunk. According to the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, a liberal think tank, state funding for housing authorities has declined by $6.3 million when adjusting for inflation, going from $68.8 million in fiscal year 2009 to $62.5 million in fiscal year 2012.
The Hadley Housing Authority gets an annual subsidy of just over $50,000 to supplement its $192,000 budget. Such subsidies are meant to enable housing authorities to offer below-market-rate rents to their tenants, who provide the rest of the revenue for the authorities' budgets. In addition to its annual subsidy, the state has allocated $90,000 to be spent over the next three years for ongoing repairs at the authority's properties, Koski said. The money is helpful, he said, but it is not enough to cover the work that needs to be done.
Joe Fitzgibbon, who chairs both the Hadley Housing Authority and Community Preservation committees, said while CPA funding has made up for a lack of state funds, he doubts it is a long-term solution.
"I would say the state has to take a whole different look at public housing," he said, including limits on tenants' stay. Maintenance and operating costs have risen in recent years, he said, and state funding needs to keep pace.
Because of his dual chairmanships, Fitzgibbon said he recuses himself from housing-related votes that come before the Community Preservation Committee, which recommends CPA-funded projects to Hadley voters.
Other towns, too
Other Hampshire County communities have also turned to the CPA to keep apartments open.
In 2010, Amherst approved $350,000 in CPA money to match $350,000 in state funds to rehabilitate 17 family units run by the Amherst Housing Authority, said Denise LeDuc, the authority's executive director.
LeDuc, who took over Amherst's housing authority in January and served as the director of finance at the Franklin County Regional Housing and Redevelopment Authority before that, said she had not seen CPA funds used this way in the past.
Nonetheless, she said, "I can see how it would be beneficial to the community."
Easthampton approved $99,000 in CPA funding in 2010 to refurbish several low-income family units, $23,000 to help complete $1 million in renovations to a 13-unit complex on Adams Street in 2008 and $20,000 to upgrade the sprinkler system at the 30-unit Dickinson Court in 2004. The repairs were necessary to keep apartments open, said Easthampton City Planner Stuart Beckley.
"We're finding that the state isn't able to provide the resources to maintain their properties," Beckley said. "Therefore sources like the CPA are crucial for both the safety of the tenants and to keep units available for use."
Easthampton has also used CPA money for basic renovations. These include $50,000 in 2009 to install new railings and walkways at Dickinson Court and $16,500 in 2010 to repair an access ramp at a housing complex on Holyoke Street.
Statewide problem
The situation in Hampshire County is not unique, said Gagliardi, the HAP Housing director. All housing, public or otherwise, requires substantial upkeep, he said. But a lack of state commitment to public housing over the last two decades has led to a considerable decline statewide, he said. Recent efforts by Gov. Deval Patrick to remedy that have been limited because of the state's financial struggles, Gagliardi said. Patrick's proposed budget for the coming fiscal year calls for increasing funding for public housing authorities by $4 million, for a total of $66.5 million, he noted.
"Work has begun again, but there is an incredible backlog of deferred maintenance," Gagliardi said. "The state has not met its obligation to keep its state-supplied public housing in good condition."
Gagliardi said some municipalities have used federal Community Development Block Grants for housing complex upkeep. But in many areas, housing authorities have had to shutter apartments at a time when they are in the highest demand, Gagliardi said.
"Its a travesty," he said.
More to do
Back in Hadley, renovations continue. Two of Burke Way's family units will remain closed until they can be refurbished.
Koski pointed out the problems during a recent tour. One apartment had been well maintained by its former longtime tenant and appeared only in need of routine repairs that would be expected after years of use.
In the second unit, holes had been punched in the walls. Water damage from the bathroom shower had rotted parts of the floor. A new hot water heater is needed.
Koski said the authority will use some of the $70,000 remaining in the town's CPA fund to complete the repairs so that the apartments are ready to rent by March.
"Normal wear and tear gives you a lot of work to do, but this was above and beyond," he said of the level of decline at Golden Court. "The maintenance guy was working on so many emergencies at once he couldn't do maintenance."
But thanks in part to the CPA and the efforts of the last year, Golden Court has "managed to turn the corner," he said.
"We're trying to make this place shine," Koski said. "We want people to have pride in this place again."
Ben Storrow can be reached at bstorrow@gazettenet.com.
