Morris Court - Not Mr Rogers Neighborhood

Members of the Greater Pensacola Community Organization, along with Director, Richard Papantonio, traveled to Tallahassee on Friday June 1, 2007 to meet with representatives of the Florida Housing Finance Corporation, which is providing funding for the proposed Morris Court relocation/renewal project. The FHFC is a public corporation, with part public, and part private responsibilities and interests; answering to HUD, the Treasury Department, and administering some state programs.

The Morris Court Community Improvement Group, represented by Kathy Bascomb, President, Evelyn Pate, Vice President, and two members-at-large, wanted to make the FHFC aware of the plight of Morris Court tenants affected by the project. GPCO served to set up the meeting, so that residents might be heard by those in authority, but once removed from the impact, and human suffering, caused by the Pensacola Area Housing Commissions handling of the relocation of tenants.

Meeting with the group were Steve Auger, Executive Director of FHFC, Vicki Robinson, Deputy Director of Finance and counsel for the Corporation, Hugh Brown. The FHFC is covered by Chapter 420 of Florida Statutes, and serves as Floridas affordable housing bank. The Governor appoints FHFC Board members. The FHFC has granted $500,000.00 in Predevelopment Loan Program funds for the Morris Court Project for activities such as rezoning, title searches, legal fees, appraisals, engineering fees, and other predevelopment costs. The meeting began with a roll call. Each person introducing themselves and stated and why they were in attendance.

Pastor Michael Williams, of GPCO, presided. He prayed that the gathering be fruitful, and the efforts blessed. He read the credentials of GPCO and deferred to Mrs Bascomb, who described some of the hardships experienced by residents during the relocation process.

Some of the case scenarios cited included:
A single mother of two children, employed full time with the state education system, received four days notice to move. Family was moved to smaller quarters in Sanchez Court, having to leave some of their furniture behind. The unexpected expenses left the family in a financial bind.

An elderly retired couple, given only four days to move, had to hire someone to move their belongings. The wife is bedridden and her 75 year-old husband could not do it alone. They were moved to a rougher area of Sanchez Court, where noise and drug activity are very unsettling. One year later, the apartment they moved from sits vacant.

A 91 year-old woman, who originally lived in Aragon Court, is being relocated for the 4th time in five years. Each move has been to more uncomfortable surroundings, and away from familiar neighbors.

Morris Court had been a HUD-administered project since its inception. By the mid 80s HUD had given the land to the City of Pensacola to build affordable housing. It came under the administration of the Area Housing Commission, a 501(c) 3 corporation. Because the project is no longer under HUD jurisdiction, there is no provision for financial assistance to residents who must move.

A fourteen-year resident stated that around June of 2006, rumors began to spread that Morris Court was scheduled to be demolished, and residents would have to move. With no formal individual notice, tenants were advised that they had to move by a flyer posted on a bulletin board by Mike Rogers, Director of Housing for the AHC. This notice gave some tenants only four days to relocate to Sanchez Court nearby. Some had to move into smaller quarters, forcing them to leave behind some of their belongings.

Mike Rogers supposedly has told tenants that, according to HUDs area median income figures ($52,000.00), many residents will not qualify for housing in the new development. Of 100 new units, only 10 to 15 units will be set aside for low income residents; this, in Escambia County, which is currently listed as 17th poorest in the nation. The tenants question why the current Census figures are not used to determine median income. Steve Augers response to that question is that the IRS Code calls for the use of HUD figures to qualify for Section 8 housing. It would take an act of Congress to change that.

When asked, How do you see this issue? Mr Auger stated that it seems like the relocation plan was not handled well at the local level. Morris Court is a post WWII facility, and the buildings are not up to current code. The units are scheduled to be torn down and fewer units will be rebuilt. Issues with the relocation process need to be taken up with the Area Housing Commission.

Question was asked, how was developer Carlisle, out of Miami, chosen for this project, and why no minority developer was sought. Mr Auger replied that the FHFC has no control over who gets the job, once approved. He also does not know if the $500,00.00 Predevelopment Loan Program (PLP) grant has been closed or not.

Further discussion revealed some interesting facts and statistics:

Under the current Morris Court plan up to 2000 low-income families face the possibility of becoming homeless.

The University of Floridas Schaumberg statewide rental needs study indicates 40% of income goes to housing.

State and federal funding for housing assistance has dwindled in recent years from 15,000 individuals served, to 8,000 per year.

The Florida Administrative Code, Chapters 6748 and 6741 call for public meetings to be held in the funding cycle, to determine what questions need to be placed on applications for assistance.

Provisions written into the loan contract strictly regulate funding granted by the FHFC. Some of these provisions include:
Land use restriction usually 30 to 50 years
Design type
Features and amenities
Annual monitoring for income level
Federal timelines for tax credits
2 to 3 year place-in-service requirements

Some Federal programs created to fund individuals 30% below the Average Median Income level include:

State Housing Initiatives Partnership

Bond Programs

Elderly Housing Community Loans

To get PLP approval from FHFC, a developer must meet certain requirements, such as, a site plan, local government funding, etc.

As a result of this meeting, GPCO and MCCG members determined that the next step should be to concentrate on getting answers from local officials, question actions of housing board, check for legality of all requests, and ask for any directives in writing.