BY KYM LIEBLER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Workers put final touches on one of 50 townhouses.
(Gary Landers photo)
| ZOOM |
|
LEBANON -- The beleaguered Warren Metropolitan Housing Authority (WMHA) is struggling to market its most auspicious accomplishment in years.
Fifty new $76,000 townhomes, with closets galore, three bedrooms and well-manicured lawns, are ready for occupants.
But there's a problem: The housing authority -- still rebounding from a disparaging federal audit released April 29 and the exodus of five employees -- is striving to fill the houses with residents. Outreach is under way to find families for the new homes.
"We have to drum up publicity for the three-bedrooms," said Mary Gilbert, acting director of the WMHA. "It's a matter of telling people, "This is an option and it's a good option.' "
With 493 public housing and Section 8 units, WMHA is the 42nd largest of Ohio's 85 housing authorities. Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority manages roughly 12,000 units and is the second largest authority in the state. Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority, in Cleveland, is the largest with 20,000 units.
An open house is set for July 17 to show off the WMHA duplexes, and the authority is posting fliers countywide to spotlight the homes.
Although 139 families are waiting for three-bedroom units, many have rejected the new duplexes for reasons out of the housing authority's control.
Twenty-six of the homes are in Mae Smith Estates in Lebanon; 24 are in Wellsbridge Estates in South Lebanon. So far, 17 are rented.
Some applicants don't want to live in Lebanon or South Lebanon, because it's too far from their workplaces. Others refuse to live where they can't have pets. Several families prefer to wait until a Section 8 unit becomes available where they want to live.
"Someone with a dog doesn't want to move into public housing," Mrs. Gilbert said. "Single moms without cars can't move to a place where they can't get to their work and day care."
On the flip side, the authority rejects applicants if background checks reveal a police record or bad references from previous landlords. Mrs. Gilbert said 15 percent of the people on the waiting list are deemed unsuitable for public housing.
Vicki Taulbee - with daughters Racel, 2, and Brittany, 4 - is pleased with her new townhome.
| ZOOM |
|
Desi and Vicki Taulbee leaped at the chance to move into one of the South Lebanon townhomes. The duplex provides amenities they coveted during the 15 years they lived with Mr. Taulbee's father in a turn-of-the-century home in South Lebanon.
"We have six outlets in the kitchen," the 39-year-old Mrs. Taulbee marveled. "This place has more closet space than we ever dreamed of having at his dad's."
In their linoleum-floored, spacious kitchen, the Taulbees tucked a washer and dryer into a discreet closet.
The Taulbees, who have three children, ages 17, 4 and 2, applied for public housing in October. They were among 15 applicants who attended a WMHA meeting in February that clinched the deal. Sixty-five others eligible for public housing did not pursue the housing. Rent is based on a family's size and income.
Because Mr. Taulbee earns less than $27,000 a year as a maintenance worker for Kings Island Resort and Conference Center, the Taulbees pay $220 a month for the duplex.
Sidewalks frame the two-story townhomes built by Dayton-based Oberer Development Co. The first floor is brick; the second story is vinyl siding, said Bob Douglas, owner of the company.
"These homes are as good a quality as the $250,000 homes we build," Mr. Douglas said. "They don't have AC (air conditioning), but the cabinets are top of the line. They deserve their money's worth just like any person."
Four of the duplexes were designed for disabled tenants and have wider doors and grab bars.
Of the 17 families living in the homes, all have young children. Edna Southerland, 28, is a single mother with four children, ages 8, 7, 5 and 4. She moved out of her mother's house in Lebanon and into one of the South Lebanon duplexes in March.
Her full-time job cleaning hotel rooms at Kings Island Resort qualifies her to pay $108 a month for the duplex.
"The kids are tickled to death," Ms. Southerland said. "My daughter's always wanted a house of her own."
Since 1992, when the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development approved the $4.7 million public housing project, there's greater demand for two-bedroom units.
At the end of June, 453 families were on WMHA's waiting list for Section 8 housing. Under the Section 8 program, low-income people can live in a house owned by a private landlord, while the authority subsidizes their rent based on their income.
Sixty-eight applicants, mostly senior citizens, were waiting for one-bedroom apartments and 241 families were waiting for two-bedroom units, said Carey Miller, WMHA's public housing manager.
The Warren Metropolitan Housing Authority (WMHA) manages a $2.3 million budget and provides housing to 580 elderly, disabled or low-income families.
In addition to 50 new duplexes, WMHA manages 145 existing public housing units throughout the county. There are 40 apartments reserved for senior citizens at Metropolitan Village in Lebanon, 25 three-bedroom duplexes that were built in Lebanon in 1991, 35 public housing units in Middletown and 45 single family homes and duplexes scattered throughout Franklin.
Internal problems at the authority dating back to the late 1980s resurfaced this spring after a federal audit revealed money set aside for housing programs was used to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit against a former director.
