Franklin Housing Authority Continues Post-Fire Rebuilding

Above, Fox 25 "screen capture" of April fire coverage.
The Franklin Housing Authority Board of Commissioners met Monday afternoon in the Community Hall a 1000 Central Park Terrace, their first regular meeting since July, to review a range of financial matters, ongoing repair work to fire-damaged buildings and other initiatives.

But first up was the introduction of Sean Pope, the Authority’s new Maintenance Supervisor.

Pope, a licensed contractor in both Rhode Island and Massachusetts, briefly described his extensive experience in the Providence public housing and subsequently in San Francisco, which operates some 54,000 unites, 6000 of which were Pope’s personal responsibility.

Pope also provided some personal background, including his career as a golf pro and his wife’s work for the Federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) organization.

The members present, including Chair George Danello, and members Diane Padula, Chris Feeley, Peter Brunelli and Andrew Kepple, then dealt with approval of minutes for June, July, and August; accounts payable for June, July, and August, and Capital One (expense) charges for May, June, and July.

A number of exceptional costs were noted, mostly having to do with housing or moving tenants displaced by the fires.

Housing Authority Agent (the executive in charge), Lisa M. Audette reported on several matters including upcoming opportunities for board training (she noted most board members were already fully certified).

She also highlighted a student who grew up in Franklin Public Housing and won a series of competitive public-housing oriented scholarships and is heading to college.

Audette noted that the Franklin Fire Department and Rotary Club will host a joint event at the Community Center on Oct 19 in which the Fire Department will provide fire safety education and the Rotarians will provide pizza.

Audette noted that one resident had been slated for eviction for cause but found other housing before the process proceeded. She noted that are only a handful of vacancies but a waiting list with 7920 applicants.

She also noted that the Authority had about 200 people wait listed for the two congregate living facilities (a shared living arrangement).

An update on the work of the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) was provided by Feeley, who also serves on that body.

He noted that the CPC had recently committed to help pay for a large open space purchase to the tune of about $200,000 per year but said that once the expected funds begin to accrue – probably about $1.3 million annually, even before state matching funds –there should be money available for public housing.

That money should begin to be available in November of 2022, he said. And, he stressed, a specific portion of those funds are reserved for housing.

Audette then reported on a letter she had written to Town Administrator Jamie Hellen regarding a problem she had encountered with the 911 dispatcher (Metacomet), when she had been checking on a tenant and found the individual to be deceased. “I was very disappointed in how I was treated and wanted to make sure the Town Administrator and Fire Chief knew my feelings on what had transpired,” she said.

The upshot is that in the future, Fire or Police units will perform wellness checks and handle issues if someone is found to be deceased. The Board expressed support for her actions and agreed that having first responders handle such issues made sense.

Parenthetically, she noted that the 911 center was very apologetic. The individual who caused the problems had only recently completed training and has since been sent back for additional training, she said.

Audette then discussed some administrative details, including the management of Norfolk public housing, which Franklin handles on a contract basis. Audette highlighted a new staff member who will help provide support for older individuals who might otherwise need to go to a nursing home. She also highlighted the work of a public-school teacher, hired over the summer to help residents secure housing funds they are entitled to. Her work led to some $37,000 in additional funds coming to the Authority after just a few weeks.

Audette also updated the Board on progress toward reconstructing fire damaged units. She said one unit may be finished by December and the others probably in February or March. “The biggest issue is materials, things like windows that are very hard to obtain,” she explained.

In her 20 years with the Authority, Audette said there had been almost no insurance claims – and then the two fires came along. And, she noted, an additional claim has now come in connection with one unit that suffered mold damage. She said the problem occurred in a crawl space where a small leak had turned into mold damage. She said the areas are extremely difficult to access. In fact, in many units, the only way in is through a removable floor section in a tenant closet, and once through there, a maze of dark and very narrow gaps must be navigated to inspect or repair.

“Now we know we will have to find a way to inspect these older buildings more regularly,” she added.