Balle elected new head of Housing Authority board | Columbia County

Randall Martin, the group’s former chairman, resigns from the board of commissioners.

Smith and Balle were nominated for the presidency. Ball received five votes and Smith received one.

Smith and Robert Davis were named vice presidents. Smith received five votes and Davis received two.

Wolff and Claire Cousin were named treasurer. Wolff received four votes and Cousin received three.

“I think it will be a very active board over the next year. Funding for Bliss [Towers] and improving access to affordable housing in Hudson are high on the list,” Balle said of her priorities as president.

Balle has been on the board for just over two years, she said.

Ball previously served as vice president and served as treasurer for a few months prior, she said.

The position of treasurer had been vacant for several months, Balle said.

Wolff has been a member of the committee since the fall of 2019. “I am pleased to serve as treasurer in hopes that I can provide good ongoing oversight of the HHA budgeting process,” Wolff said.

Smith joined the committee in May. Involvement in the committee seemed like a duty to her, she said.

“I was honored to accept the position of Vice Chair of the HHA Committee,” said Smith. “Being born and raised at Bliss Towers and Columbia Apartments, I felt like it was a duty and a necessity for me to be part of this council, for tenants and people in the community.

“My goal on this council is to get all units back up and running offline, to let tenants know about all the programs and help available to them, and also to fight for more affordable housing.”

Martin’s resignation follows an increase in demands from his company, Martin Audio Video Services, a Hudson-based television production company, and the launch of a regional black-owned business directory, HVBOB.com, he said.

“I am very proud of the accomplishments that my fellow board members, HHA staff, and I have been able to accomplish during my tenure as commissioner, vice president, and president of the HHA,” he said. declared.

Improvements to the HHA during Martin’s tenure included major renovations and repairs to critical building systems, upgrades to apartments and common areas, installation of a computer lab for tenants, removal of ‘a black iron fence that surrounded the property, hiring a diverse and inclusive staff, increasing support services for residences, increased safety and security and helping establish a base financial with their rental assistance demonstration, or RAD, conversion, he said.

The council has also successfully navigated the COVID-19 pandemic with regulations that have led to no confirmed cases, Martin said.

The council’s transition to RAD will give the Housing Authority greater control of its ownership, particularly in relation to funding, said the Authority’s executive director and secretary of the Board of Commissioners, Tim Mattice.

The opt-in provides financial flexibility to preserve public housing in Hudson for 50 to 60 years, Mattice said.

“We are now able to leverage funding through the private market to deliver the improvements we need,” Mattice said.

The Housing Authority plans to carry out major repairs to Bliss Towers and low-rise housing, such as roof repairs and new lifts, Mattice said.

There are 25 off-market units the council wants to rehabilitate to acceptable standards, Mattice said.

“They are of inferior quality. They were damaged by former residents,” he said.

There have also been water seepage issues with off-market units, he said.

“We wanted to rehabilitate them to an acceptable level to rent out to residents,” Mattice said.

With RAD, the Housing Authority can leverage debt for long-term repairs, Mattice said.

The option to join the RAD came after the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, which oversees public housing in the United States, acknowledged that it did not have the funding to hand over housing from the Housing Authority in standard condition, Mattice said.

The Housing Authority can use private loans from federal and state funding programs because it owns its assets.

Last year’s board did the work to get RAD, Mattice said, and it’s up to the new board to get a loan for the upgrades.

“We had great advice and we have great advice,” Mattice said. “They’ve been very productive over the past year.” The three newly filled positions are for one-year terms.