HUD eases rules to speed housing
HUD eases rules to speed housing
By TOM WILEMON
tewilemon@sunherald.com
LONG BEACH - HUD Assistant Secretary Orlando Cabrera came to the Coast on Tuesday to announce that the federal agency is being flexible with $27.3 million so Mississippi housing agencies can get people back in their homes quicker.
Money normally limited to Section 8 rental subsidies can now be spent on repairs, insurance and other costs incurred because of Hurricane Katrina. The change in procedure frees $24 million for the Mississippi Regional Housing Authority VIII.
Region VIII Executive Director Roy Necaise said the money will allow his agency to better compete for contractors and shorten the recovery time. Repairs and rebuilding of its apartments in Gulfport, D'Iberville, Moss Point, Pascagoula and Gautier that might take as long as eight to 10 years to complete should be accomplished within three to five years, he estimated.
Cabrera advised housing directors not to become too preoccupied with time lines, noting that it had taken as long as 10 years to rebuild from Hurricane Andrew in South Florida.
"Let's focus on small victories one on top of the other," Cabrera said.
The setting for the announcement was an apartment complex in Long Beach where public housing employees from throughout the United States were volunteering in a "roofing blitz." The volunteers put down their nail guns and descended ladders just before Cabrera and other officials spoke.
HUD last August announced $100 million for five Coast housing authorities. Last week, they learned what portion they qualify for based on damage assessments. However, the agencies still must formally apply for the money and submit environmental studies of building sites. No time frame has been given for when that money will be put into action.