MANSFIELD — Muddy conditions caused by rain and snowmelt have put a temporary damper on the county’s newest affordable project.
The Mansfield Metropolitan Housing Authority (MMHA) is undergoing an extension project at Turtle Creek Apartments. The project will add 120 new affordable housing units adjacent to the existing senior complex.
Last month, Executive Director Steve Andrews told the MMHA board an environmental study identified three “emergent” wetlands on the property.
Andrews said two of the wetlands won’t cause major problems. An entrance will be have to be moved for one wetland. A building will have to move about 8 feet to accommodate the other.
The third emergent wetland is about .28 acres in size and in the center of the proposed construction site.
Andrews said the wetland is considered “low-quality,” meaning the authority can purchase wetland credits from the state. These funds — about $35,000 — will be used to create a wetland of that size somewhere else in the state.
Andrews told the board Tuesday he doesn’t believe the removal of the wetland will impact any local wildlife.
“I’ve walked that field 100 times and it’s never wet,” he said. “There are no waterfowl moving out there. They went out during the wettest time of the year.”
Andrews said further analysis of the property and purchasing the credits will delay the project by about three months, but it won’t have a profound impact. In fact, it overlaps with another environmental cause for delay.
The authority recently discovered several trees between James and Cook Road can’t be cut down until October. Andrews said the trees have to be cut down during the winter, as they may be home to bats during the summer months. Once that bats are safely hibernating elsewhere, the trees can come down.
Andrews said more executive oversight needed on HUD exemptions
Andrews also updated the board on procedural changes at the authority.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) bars people who have committed certain criminal offenses from living in public or government-assisted housing. This includes renting with a Section 8 voucher).
People with drug offenses or who commit fraud to obtain public housing are barred. Andrews said housing authorities are permitted to issue exemptions in some cases.
Individuals may qualify for an exemption if their offense was related to the drug use only (the person did not manufacture, sell or distribute illegal substances). In order to qualify, the person must successfully complete a rehabilitation program approved by their public housing authority.
Likewise, someone who lost their housing because another member of their household committed a drug offense may receive an exemption if they can prove the offender has moved out.
Andrews has been the executive director of the Richland, Crawford and Huron county housing authorities since July 2021.
“What I have discovered is in all three authorities, that decision (to grant exemptions) was being made by the program director or the site manager each time and the executive director may not have known anything for the last ten years,” he said.
Andrews said he has instructed staff at each respective authority to notify him of any potential exemptions going forward. He said he will bring an updated policy to the board in the near future for a vote.
“If you’re going to do an exception to a HUD regulation, it’s probably wise that the executive director is aware of that.
Andrews said exemptions made without proper oversight have caused issues for local housing authorities.
Mishandled exemptions can be costly
Andrews told the board about a case in Crawford County in which a woman with a Section 8 voucher was evicted after committing “significant drug offenses.” The woman later moved in with her son, also a Section 8 voucher holder, in violation of federal law.
“I was not aware of a lot of these details until after the fact,” Andrews said.
“Had I been aware of those details, we’d have had this cleaned up two years ago. Sadly, because we have terminated her from the program, she’s now suing us in Crawford County, trying to get back on the program. She won’t win, but that’s the kind of stuff we want to avoid.”
He told the board a staff member who no longer works for the authority mishandled the case of a Mansfield woman owed the authority about $12,000 after failing to report income.
Andrews claimed he wasn’t made aware of the matter, which was discovered two years ago. Instead, the former employee decided to handle it herself.
“She met with that individual, all the paperwork surrounding that $12,000 that she owes us disappeared,” he said.
“No repayment agreement was signed, and that person is still on our program today. So we’re fixing that now.”
Andrews said the authority has to redo the paperwork related to the case.
“My hope is that (the tenant) will sign a repayment agreement that therefore she gets to stay on the program, but then every month she’s gonna have to make a payment back toward those dollars,” he said.
“If she is unable to do so or unwilling to do so, then she gets terminated off our program immediately. But she will not be able to get a voucher anywhere within the United States without paying that full sum back to us and HUD.”
