Tag: approval

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Housing Authority approves repairs, upgrades, new cameras to improve resident safety

By Ethan Wright

Athens Housing Authority board members gather for a public hearing on March 30, 2023 at their 300 S Rocksprings location. The agenda covers multiple upgrades and repairs for the remainder of the fiscal year. (Photo Courtesy/Ethan Wright)

ATHENS, GA — The Athens Housing Authority, led by new CEO Connie Staudinger, held a public hearing on Thursday to discuss upcoming budget requests and development updates, with a significant focus on upgrades and repairs in the Athens community. 

Two major projects on the agenda are the NDAthens and Columbia Brookside. The NDAthens project is slated to redevelop the 12-acre Bethel Midtown Village and has begun construction on Phase I, with Phase II expected to follow in a year or two.

Upgrades at Columbia Brookside are progressing steadily, with multiple projects including floor replacements and exterior painting nearing completion. These projects aim to address the housing crisis in the city, with rising rent prices and unemployment rates.

Trey McElveen, the chief operating officer of the Athens Housing Authority, discussed the low-rent operating requests for multiple projects at the Nellie B. Housing Project in East Athens and other surrounding communities.

“Unfortunately, we were not selected in that lottery. But it was kind of kept on the back burner,” said McElveen, referring to a grant application from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that would have offered grant dollars for future projects.

The expansion involves installing higher-resolution security cameras and new light poles, and upgrading infrastructure from a cellular-based delivery system to broadcast-based cameras.

After reviewing the financial report, some cash will be available to complete some of the upgrades. These upgrades would increase the budget by $3,909.01 per month, totaling an additional $11,727.03 for the last three months of FY 2023.

The number of cameras would increase from the current eight to a total of 15, and the Athens Police Department will have access to the system to increase security presence for residents.

In addition to the security upgrades, the board approved funding of $6,827 for window repairs in the Nellie B. community, and ratified expenses for tree removal in the Parkview housing community, totaling $15,700.

The board approved the agency’s 2023 annual plan and the acceptance of the 2023 Capital Fund Program grant. As part of the five-year CFP plan, the Nellie B. Housing Project in East Athens will convert from gas to electric stoves, following a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission discussion on banning gas stoves.

Athens Housing Authority vice chair, James Smith, examines a map of the property impacts and ROW needs for a future project near Bethel Midtown. Plans include green streets, green infrastructure and parks. (Photo Courtesy/Dabney Duuncan)

The board also approved plans to upgrade the mid-sewage lines in the Comer community, funding for the LEAD Athens Sponsorship, and updates on the Columbia Brookside development.

“Columbia Brookside is rolling, and I mean really,” said Athens Housing Authority Commissioner Frank Platt.

The board approved the annual statement and performance and evaluation report for fiscal year 2019 of the CFP. It also authorized resolutions for the revised agreement of the Community Development Block Grant program for fiscal year 2023, and ACT I Home 173 S. Billups Street resolution plan, which will cost the AHA approximately $65,000. Additionally, plans were approved to revert to pre-pandemic personnel policies on May 11, 2023.

The next regular board meeting is scheduled for April 27, 2023, at 10:00 a.m.

Why I Wrote the Story:

Athens Housing Authority approves upgrades and repairs budget of $15,700 for the Athens Public Housing community, including $6,827 for window repairs and $3,909.01 per month for security camera upgrades at Nellie B. Housing Project. In the time I sat in on the Athens Housing Authority meeting, multiple items on the agenda were discussed. Most referred to budgets, write-offs, and other financial matters, but a few directly addressed the AHA community. Of those select few items (window repairs, LEAD scholarships, gas stove conversions, etc.), I thought that the camera upgrades were most beneficial to residents. The community that received the upgrades had inadequate resources to ensure the safety of the people it housed; I felt, though this was only an open meeting, hearing about new repairs and upgrades could give the AHA residents hope. With that being said, this assignment helped me figure out ways to find relevance for readers in large meetings and conferences.

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Mayor Kelly Girtz says he is ‘positive’ Georgia Square Mall redevelopment will move forward

By Ethan Wright

Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz speaks to UGA’s Grady college JOUR3190 students. Girtz focuses on the Georgia Square Mall redevelopment project on Friday, Feb 24. (Photo Courtesy/Dr. Andrea Hudson)

Athens, GA – Mayor Kelly Girtz discussed the most recent updates on the Georgia Square Mall Redevelopment Project with Grady college journalism students on Feb. 24 at the University of Georgia’s South Instructional Plaza.The project aims to convert the 75-acre mall into a mixed community center featuring housing, retail, entertainment, green spaces, biking and walking trails and public transportation.

The project is priced at $500 million, with only $189 million coming from public funding, and calls for the construction of 1,200 new houses with 10% of these new houses set to be permanently affordable housing, a reduction from the initial proposal of 20% a month earlier. The remodel is expected to increase the population by around 2,057 residents and could affect traffic. To address this issue, the Georgia Department of Transportation plans to reconstruct Loop 10 to ease some of the existing congestion. The project also includes additional sidewalks, walking and biking paths and public transportation.

Before the project can proceed, it requires approval from the Mall Redevelopment Committee, the Leaven Group,  the Clarke County School District, whose role hasn’t quite been defined, and the Athens-Clarke County Commission.

Despite the benefits of the project, there are also downsides. The initial plan to include 20% affordable housing is no longer in the works, and the choice of affordable retail stores will depend solely on private contractors. Belk will be the only store left from the mall, leaving the remaining stores to find new locations and employees to find new jobs.

Girtz remains optimistic about the upcoming vote, saying, “You can’t just feel positive. You have to do the things that get you to feel positive.”

Due to Georgia zoning laws, the project has been extended as far as possible, with the initial budget set for Feb. 7. With the final session approaching in the next two weeks, Girtz said, “If it doesn’t happen by then, the developer will have to resubmit. So you know, [that] doesn’t kill it forever, but it creates just a dramatic difficulty that I don’t believe has to exist because I think we get to the finish line.”

The developers and officials will reconvene on Mar. 7 to take another vote.

Why I Wrote the Story:

Mayor Kelly Girtz discusses plans to convert Georgia Square Mall into a mixed community center  with 1,200 new homes, retail, entertainment, and green spaces. Despite some drawbacks, the project’s fate now rests with the Mall Redevelopment Committee, the Clarke County School District, and the Athens-Clarke County Commission. During the process of completing this story, i learned how to keep my biases out of my work and let the audience decide their own opinion and I also learned the importance of fact-checking your work multiple times. This story connected to my beat because I was covering the government beat and what better local government figure to interact with on your beat that the mayor.