SEATTLE—June 1, 2004—Residents and community members are invited to attend the 2005 Budget and Moving To new Ways (MTW) annual plan public hearing.
Seattle Housing Authority’s asset management coordinator, Andria Lazaga,and finance and administration director, Dick Woo, will present the plans at 5:30 p.m. on June 15 at PorchLight housing center at 907 NW Ballard Way.
The new plans build on past work of SHA and suggest a variety of actions that will continue the agency’s efforts toward better serving low-income residents. There are several suggested actions in the annual plan and budget that will affect current and future SHA residents and community members. Some of these actions include:
- Create 219 new public housing and workforce units at NewHolly and 184 at Rainier Vista by the end of SHA’s fiscal year 2005.
- Create 344 new public housing and workforce units at High Point by the end of SHA’s fiscal year 2006.
- With nonprofit partners, build new housing for seniors and people with disabilities at Rainier Vista and High Point.
- Sell 71 scattered-sites units and buy 71 units in more accessible locations to replace them. Ask for HUD permission to sell and replace up to 130 more scattered-sites units in fiscal years 2005-2006.
- Begin a four-year project to renovate up to 17 public housing high-rises. This would include renovations to designate Ballard House an elderly preference building.
- If Tri-Court, SHA’s first smoke-free community, proves to be a popular option for residents and applicants, consider making another high-rise into a smoke-free community.
- Study options for replacing Holly Court with a new nearby development.
- Evaluate ways to renovate Jefferson Terrace, helping to make it a better place to live.
- Plan for the redevelopment of the former Lake City Village site and next door Salvation Army.
- Make the public housing rent policy for working and TANF households easier to understand and administer.
- Design and implement changes in the Housing Choice Voucher rent policy to encourage people who are able to work to do so.
- Create and begin a new streamlined inspection system in the Housing Choice Voucher program.
- Establish site-based wait lists for Rainier Vista and High Point.
- Plan for likely continued reductions in federal funding for public housing and the Housing Choice Voucher program.
If you have any questions about the hearing on June 15 or the annual plan, contact Andria Lazaga at alazaga@seattlehousing.org or 206-615-3546.