Jasmine Wright Photo
The Ansonia Housing Authority met on Sept. 25.
ANSONIA – The Ansonia Housing Authority held their monthly regular meeting on Sept. 25. Here are the highlights.
Elections For Resident Commissioner Coming Soon
The housing authority said letters will be sent out soon to inform tenants of the upcoming resident commissioner election.
The resident commissioner sits on the board and has input into the authority’s policies. The seat has been vacant since March, when the previous resident commissioner, Kim’mula Eason, moved out of Ansonia.
To be eligible, a resident commissioner must either currently reside in a property that the housing authority owns or manages, or they must receive housing assistance under a program administered by the authority.
Annual Plan Meeting
An “annual plan meeting” was held recently to discuss what residents would like to see going forward.
Executive director Jared Heon said that one takeaway was that residents felt they could use more assistance with in-home support services. He said the authority is waiting to hear back on an application for a federal grant that would allow them to hire for that purpose.
“One thing that I took back from that meeting was that everyone here feels that they really could use someone to assist them with procuring health, homemaking, just general assistance, being able to help with finances, bringing in various human services, and that’s the purpose of that grant,” Heon said.
Heon said the authority had also applied for the grant last year. He said their application was accepted, but that it was not funded.
If received and funded, the Resident Opportunity and Self-Sufficiency grant would allow the authority to hire a “service coordinator” who would connect residents to supportive services in the area.
The authority is also currently processing a “safety and security” grant that it was awarded last year. The grant will fund security cameras and an intercom system at 70 Woodlawn Ave., according to Heon and the linked grant description. He said the authority is currently working on getting price quotes for the work.
Office Transition Continues; Direct Deposits For Landlords
Cement was poured for a sidewalk outside the authority’s new office at 230 Beaver St. Heon said that a handicap ramp will be installed soon and the sidewalk will connect to parking space.
Inside the new office, work is continuing on a project to digitize the authority’s records. That’s been going on for all of this year.
The authority has also begun paying landlords who participate in the Section 8 program via direct deposit, as opposed to checks. Heon said that the authority had been a victim of check washing under the old system, and that direct deposits will end that problem.
The authority will also be looking to hire a new full-time maintenance mechanic soon, Heon said.
Next Meeting Rescheduled; Budget Season Incoming
The authority’s next meeting date was changed. It will now be held on Oct. 16 at City Hall at 5:30 p.m. A Zoom option will also be available.
During that meeting, the budget for next year may be discussed. The housing authority’s fiscal year begins in January and ends in December, unlike the city’s budget. That’s because the housing authority is part of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Several revisions to this year’s budget were also adopted during the meeting, and a series of financial policies were adopted. Heon said that the new policies are just to formalize the way the authority already operates, and that they won’t change anything.
