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Topic: Why Flint keeps paying back HUD $
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

The Hardy House Restoration Grant (CDBG 2003-04) for $80,750 generated a great deal of anger within the Carriage Town Community. Flint West Village was to be the agency managing the work, however FWV Director never insured the building. After spending only $2,876 the roof of the building was struck by lightning and caught on fire in June o 2004.
The bidding process had been started for HVAC and electrical. There was a need to hire an architect for the framing. The City had completed an environmental review and a Certificate of Appropriateness was issued to fix the fire damage of the roof.


Last edited by untanglingwebs on Fri Sep 08, 2017 2:15 pm; edited 2 times in total
Post Fri Sep 08, 2017 1:14 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Greater Eastside Community Association (GECA) had a $203,916 (HOME 2003-04) grant for Purchase/Rehab/Resale and a $15,000 CHDO Operating HOME grant to cover their administrative costs.
At the time of the review the CHDO had been expended as well as $81,530 of the HOME grant.
Staff reported two houses had been acquired and inspections had been completed, but no lead abatement. They also focused on the fact that two houses had been built On Delaware and were told a third was to be built. Had staff been able to inspect these newly acquired homes as I did, they would have found the homes open and vandalized. I asked for a second inspection and the homes were condemned. A third home on Maryland, east of Franklin was to be rehabbed and GECA had received the money to purchase the home. However, the home had been owned by GECA and sold on a land contract. When I reached the Land Contract purchaser, the lady said Kate Fields of GECA had promised to buy the home back but nothing had materialized.
Post Fri Sep 08, 2017 1:37 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

In a HUD contract, construction is expected to start within a year. GECA had expended all of their administrative funds and had yet to begin construction. Karen Morris had been firm in advising GECA to begin construction. A lawsuit by the City against GECA for contract noncompliance forced GECA to sign over the two houses and return the funding for the third. The City was not interested in restoring the two homes.

I filed a FOIA with MSHDA for their communications regarding the financing of the two new homes. In these documents MSHDA cited excessive construction costs. They restructured the grant in order to prevent a HUD finding and allowed GECA to have a small amount of money. They refused to build a third house. It appeared they just realized this was a major gang neighborhood.

Also, MSHDA was not happy that GECA owed the City thousands in back taxes and demanded they be paid prior to their continuance of a grant to rehab 3 additional homes.
Post Fri Sep 08, 2017 1:57 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

The Flint HUD office was upset about the sale of the 2 new homes. In one sale, the woman had not disclosed the presence in the home of her ex-husband, who was on disability, Also the second home was sold to a retired GM executive. Flint HUD official Jason Gamblin openly voiced his opinion that this was not the targeted market for this home.

MSHDA had originally disapproved the contract with Agree construction as documentation indicated Agree had designed the home specifications. Of the 3 bids,Mary Rolfe of MAR bowed out and GECA cited a conflict of interest with the winning bid because the company listed the company owned by City of Flint employee Jesse Buchanan as the electrical contractor. HUD finally allowed Agree to do the construction.

Obviously HUD was unaware that MSHDA had sanitized the grant so as not to show a finding, because they praised the paperwork.

When the three MSHDA homes were completed,they looked good from the outside. However they did not sell. MSHA gave the Shelter of Flint money to buy the homes. I found it ironic that one of the homes on Delaware was the previous home of "Hercules" who had been caught up in the RICO case.


Last edited by untanglingwebs on Sat Sep 09, 2017 2:52 pm; edited 1 time in total
Post Fri Sep 08, 2017 2:12 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

June 22, 2005 Monitoring Review
CDBG #B-03/04 -2600018
HOME M-03/04 MC-26-024
ESG S-03/04-MC 260018

These reviews are designed to determine applicable laws and regulations, as well as the City's capacity to continue to implement the programs in a timely manner.

Flint's Major Grants was where the meeting was held on April 21, 2005. Present at the meeting:
From Flint- Tamar Lewis , Provisional Administrator; Karen Morris, Monitoring and Evaluation Manager; Glenda Dunlap, Program Supervisor; Cynthia Cheshier, Financial Specialist; Suzanne Wilco, Major Grants Specialist

From the Detroit Hud office- Mr. Raymond Perry, Program Manager; Mrs. Marguerite Sykes and Mr. William Osiis, both Senior Planning and Development Representatives from the Detroit Office of Community Planning and development.
Post Sat Sep 09, 2017 3:47 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

HUD stated a correspondence system needed to be implemented as The major grants Department had failed to correspond to six citizen complaints and two communications from HUD. They should have had a response within 15 working days.

There were five complaints dealing with Salem Housing.

*Open monitoring findings Section 108 Loan Guarantee Projects,. (response was due July 12, 2004.

* Salem Housing hotline complaint NO. HL 04-1547. (response was due July 30, 2004.

* Citizen complaint from Mr. Benny Spense regarding work at 1031 Root Street. (response was due July 30,2004)

* Citizen complaint from Ms. Elizabeth Franklin, (Response was due July 30, 2004)
Post Sat Sep 09, 2017 4:21 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

* Citizen complaint from Ms. joyce Jones regarding her treatment and repairs at 1614 Avenue A. (response was due May 12, 2004.

* Citizen complaint from Ms. Colette lewis regarding rehabilitation work at 626 Begole.
(a response was due April 28, 2005)

Monitoring response for Phase ! monitoring report ( a response was due on April 15, 2005)

Failure to respond to citizen complaints and HUD correspondence is a violation of Section 91.115(j) of the regulation, and a demonstration of lack of administrative capacity on the part of the City of Flint.

"Continued wilful neglect in a recommendation of grant condition and the loss of future funding."
Post Sat Sep 09, 2017 4:34 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Overall management of the Major Grants Department was an issue. "Due to delays in implementation, the City will forgo up to $4,671, 717 in program and administrative funding by December 2005. There is a need to establish overall management systems."


Mayor Williamson had fired the former Director Flo McCormick because she went to a conference after being denied the time off. Actually, it made sense to stay as the office was in complete disarray. It may have been the intense media coverage of the poor construction by Salem Housing that made individuals decide to make complaints. Both the Mayor's office and mine were flooded with complaints from construction companies and employees. Some of these complaints were copies of HUD complaints.
In addition, Kurtz had made two last minute funding resolutions to Flint West Village and Greater Eastside Community Association (GECA). Mayor Williamson was aware that Flint West Village had lost about 125 properties to tax foreclosure and still owed taxes, so he was not about to give the money to them
GECA had criticisms about the Executive Director using the agency car as a private vehicle and also the credit card. Flint HUD Director Jason Gamblin criticized the overall performance of the two new homes in construction and GECA owed taxes and had failed to perform in at least two grants.
Post Sun Sep 10, 2017 9:36 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

The City is to keep time sheets that break down the project the employees are working on. Unlike Parker, McCormick sometimes went off the rails. She once took a large number of individuals from the office to a Michigan "Cool Cities" meeting while most were not going to be working on that project and thus could not bill for that time. The City was on the hook.

I was working with Salem's records and beginning to believe the allegation that they maintained two set of records. (HUD also saw that as a possibility) Between visits numbers were changed, making me glad I had requested copies.
Before I could finish, I had to go to meeting at Flint West Village as the board was contemplating dissolution of the agency. Kurtz's money would have kept them afloat, but would most likely have resulted in a larger city payback as they already had multiple grants they could not complete because of a lack of funding. They couldn't use this money to complete the other projects.
Then the Director of the Flint Area Enterprise Community went to the mayor and requested that I be assigned to assist in a thorough review of the Flint Area Investment Fund.
Post Sun Sep 10, 2017 10:00 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

The money came from the federal government as a pass through the State of Michigan. The state was to review the yearly audits of the fund on an annual basis. However, FAIF, under the direction of Director Harold Hill, had not had an audit performed n nearly three years and would not allow Nancy Jurkiewicz to monitor the files. Jukiewicz needed the leverage of the mayor's office to gain access to the records.

I didn't want to go because like the old expression "I was up to azz in alligators". Hill had to be forced by the mayor's office to release access to the documents. Nancy Jurkiewicz and I spent the better part of a month going through the records and making copies of relevant materials. There were a great number of missing documents, which we noted. Good thing as Hill later blamed Jurkiewicz and I for losing them.

As we dug into the material, it was an obvious case of mismanagement. The proper means of protecting the assets were done improperly and thus lawsuits were lost. We found out that equipment from foreclosures and even cars were appropriated by Community Capital Development Corporation, the agency approved by former Mayor Stanley to administer the fund. The Director's family was driving one vehicle and Hill sold the car on a Saturday to a Dover with no explanation or proof that value was received.
Post Sun Sep 10, 2017 10:24 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

That was following a communication I wrote to Hill demanding an explanation regarding the vehicle. I found out about the other equipment and supplies after a phone call I made to one former client. Bitter and angry the man threatened me if I ever call again and said the agency had the computers and supplies. Jurkiwiecz followed up and located the missing equipment. We never located laundry and dry cleaning equipment from a closed facility on North Saginaw Street.

We found CCDC Board members allowed to vote on FAIF loans. There was a home loan to an elderly family member of the FAIF board and the property was later transferred to her and her daughter. A loan was made to the son and business partner of a CCDC Board member in an area outside of the target zone for a tuxedo shop in Mt Morris.

When a catfish business applied for a loan and was in default on a CCDC loan, the company was approved for a loan which also paid off the CCDC loan.
Post Sun Sep 10, 2017 10:42 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Although council had written me out of the Mayor's office budget I went to the meeting that the City had with Harold Hill, Board member Charlotte Edwards and some other board members with my 12 page draft report itemizing the HUD noncompliance issues. The board was angry, because it was their failure to monitor the agency that resulted in the problems. I felt Charlotte Edwards was particularly abusive and at one point I stood up,planning on leaving. I became aware of a movement on my right side. Here was 5'2" Jurkewicz lying across the table with her fingers pointing at Hill shouting that he ran the agency like a "slush fund." I left so that Jurkewicz could regain control of the meeting as my presence seemed to trigger a lot of anger. The two city staff members were very quiet.
Post Sun Sep 10, 2017 10:58 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Here is what HUD wrote :
"Economic development activities are in need of closer review and oversight by the City. The lack of public benefit documentation and ineligible expenses were found during the review. Additionally, the Community capital Development Corporation suspended operation, without notification to the City, during the monitoring review. Diligence by Ms. Glenda Dunlap and the Flint Area Enterprise's Executive Director, Ms. nancy Jurkewicz, kept the program records intact and began to develop protocols for the transferring of CCDC assets to the City of Flint."(page 2")

From the April 21, 2005 Monitoring Report by HUD regarding a CDBG grant from HUD The public benefit of economic development activities were not tracked or evaluated. Performance of these activities was not measured. The loan program operated by Community Capital Development Corporation (CCDC) had unreported program income and ineligible expenses of $31,799.
Post Sun Sep 10, 2017 11:21 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

HUD continued:

The executive director of the CCDC , resigned; and the Board of Directors laid off all of the staff ; effectively stopping all operations of the agency. However, the CCDC Board did not provide a written notification of these actions to the City of flint. This in violation of the Community Block Grant Development regulations and a breach of the contract between the City of Flint and the Community Capital Development Corporation."
Post Sun Sep 10, 2017 11:39 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Page 12 of the HUD Aprril 2005 review:
A City of Flint representative and the HUD reviewer had a meeting on February 23,2005 to review the CDBG loan portion portfolio for CDBG loans. Executive Director Harold Hill did not show up and the staff person present could not provide any files. A second meeting was scheduled for for February 28, 2005.

Earlier in February, the Flint Area Enterprise Community Board of Directors voted to take over the loan portfolio from the Flint Area Investment Fund, which was formed during th Stanley administration using CCDC to administer the Enterprise community fund. Mr Harold Hill submitted his resignation to the Board of CCDC on February 25, 2005. With the funding takeover and Hill's resignation, The CCDC Board laid off the two remaining employees, the secretary and the accountant.
Post Sun Sep 10, 2017 4:36 pm 
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