Page 17 - Florida Sentinel 11-4-22

Local
Dianne Hart Addresses City Council On Housing Complaints
State Representative Di- anne Hart addressed the Tampa City Council on Thursday, October 20, 2022. She was not there to discuss state business, but to clarify some complaints about housing repairs involving the East Tampa Business and Civic Association (ETBCA), and complaints from contractors who felt they were not getting equal work.
Ms. Hart is the Presi- dent/CEO of the East Tampa Business and Civic Associa- tion. She and a staff mem- ber, Veda Virgil, Housing Director of East Tampa Business and Civic Associa- tion, were there to dispel some incorrect rumors.
Councilman Orlando Gudes told the other coun- cilmen that he had been re- ceiving complaints about how the program run by Ms. Hart was being operated, and how elderly citizens were being neglected.
Ms. Hart shared infor- mation with the Council about how ETBCA operates with the City of Tampa Housing Program and the East Tampa CRA. Many of them had questions because they were not familiar with the total process and the number of people involved.
She clarified that ETBCA does not select applications, assign or approve the resi- dents who will be served. The City approves or denies the residents to be served. And, any funds used from the East Tampa CRA are only used in the boundaries of East Tampa. Funds from the city ($3.9 million over 12 months, used as line of credit) are used for residents all over the City of Tampa. However, new construction is not included in this pro- gram. A portion of the funds received cover insurance on the repaired properties.
She said the process works in this way: The City of Tampa provides ETBCA with a list of properties for repair. She works with a team of 10 contractors. ETBCA prepares a scope for
the amount of work that needs to be done. After the scope has been completed, ALL 10 contractors meet to see if anything has been missed in the scope and to bid on the property.
Through the city’s hous- ing program, ETBCA can only cover 4 components – electrical, plumbing, roofing and AC units. “We cannot do any outside cleaning or painting of the structure,” Ms. Hart said.
The contractors bid on the property, however, she added that, “we don’t always take the lowest bidder. We take the bid fairly so as not to have a lot of change or- ders.” She gave an example of a change order that is ac- ceptable: a roof, saying when the contractors remove the roof, there may be bad wood that needs to be replaced.
The program allocates $50,000 per home for re-
DIANNE HART
pairs.
Councilman Charlie
Miranda expressed grati- tude to Ms. Hart for the thorough explanation she gave about the housing pro- gram.
Also, other Councilmem- bers expressed gratitude for the explanations.
Councilman Gudes
wanted to find out how the
JOSEPH CITRO ...City Council Chair
homes that are repaired can- not be painted. He said that should be included in the rehab to bring the property value up.
East Tampa Business and Civic Association has com- pleted repairs on 39 homes in the CRA District since 2018; and 111 completed re- pairs throughout the City, spending approximately $3.6 million. There were other residents who pulled
out of the program and oth- ers who did not qualify for the program.
The conversation evolved into how Code has a part in liens being placed on prop- erty and residents losing their property or not being able to get it repaired be- cause of liens. That conver- sation will continue on November 3, 2022, when Ms. Nicole Travis, Ad- ministrator of Development and Economic Opportunity for the City and Ms. Abbye Feeley, of the City’s Hous- ing Dept. of Development and Growth Management, would both be in attendance, along with Ms. Hart to an- swer questions that have been filed with Ms. Travis from the community.
In conclusion, Ms. Hart asked for Trust dollars from the City so that residents whose property remains in the name of a deceased per- son and the program is not eligible for them.
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