The
Legislature’s New Housing Committee: Seeking the next generation of solutions
This session, the Washington State Legislature is convening a
Housing Committee for the first time since the early 1990s. It is
startling to realize that our state ranks near the bottom—45th out
of 50—in terms of homeownership. In Washington, only 66% of the
population own their homes compared to 68% nationally. Two percent
may not sound like much, but with more than 2.25 million households,
we would need to get an additional 45,000 families into their own
homes—just to equal the national average.
Representative Mark Miloscia, 30th Legislative District
Chairing the committee is Representative Mark Miloscia of Federal
Way. Mark is serving his fourth term representing the 30th
Legislative District, and has considerable prior experience in the
public sector as Executive Director of Federal Way Youth and Family
Services and Manager of Goodwill Industries of Tacoma.
I recently met with Mark over lunch and he is passionate in his
support for affordable housing. He wants to address the entire
spectrum of housing issues, which he breaks down into three
objectives:
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Develop a ten-year plan to end homelessness
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Address the needs of low-income individuals including the
elderly, the mentally ill, the physically handicapped and
victims of domestic violence
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Move people up the housing continuum from temporary housing to
rentals to homeownership
In King County particularly, the challenge of homeownership is not
limited to the unemployed or at-risk segments of the population.
Mark talks about his own family situation as a way of illustrating
the issue: “Back in 1985, I was a captain in the Air Force and my
wife and I could afford a new house in King County for $76,000.
Today, my son-in-law is a captain in the Army and he and my daughter
can’t afford a house in King County; they have to live out in the
rural areas to afford their own house. That’s a snapshot of the
problem that’s developed over the last 18 years. We have to address
that concern.”
The nine-member Housing Committee formed at the beginning of the
year. They are now in the process of creating their agenda. Mark
says that the Affordable Housing Advisory Board (AHAB)’s Housing
Advisory Plan 2005-2010 will provide a valuable blueprint for the
committee. (For more information, see the previous edition of My
View, where we discussed the plan with Hugh Spitzer, AHAB’s Chair.)
Because of the scope of the affordable housing shortage, and its
urgency, Mark says that he expects to make use of all the resources
available to him. “Any solution,” says Mark, “will require the
cooperation of the private sector, agencies like the Commission and
the government sector working together in true partnership. What has
been done in the past by all the people and all the major players is
impressive. We already have a strong network of alliances and
partnerships in place. The Commission plays a key role by bringing
people to the table all across the spectrum of business and
government at all different levels.” Mark concludes: “What I’m
trying to do is build on what has been done in the past to take us
to the next level. We are a new generation with new problems to
address. Now we have a new committee and we’re going to solve those
problems.”
For
the Bremerton Housing Authority, Bigger is Better:
The BHA is expanding its role in Washington State and beyond—and
benefiting its community at home
In recent years, housing authorities in the State of Washington have
been blazing new trails. People here are leading the nation, going
beyond the traditional role of owning and managing affordable
housing in their communities. There are numerous reasons why this is
a growing trend, not least because we in Washington have some of the
most visionary and capable housing authority directors in the 50
states. But why are they choosing this path? And where are they
taking us?
Clarence Nelson (left) and Merrill Wallace
Bremerton Housing Authority
In exploring this trend, we can think of no better place to start
than the Bremerton Housing Authority (BHA), and its director,
Merrill Wallace. Under Merrill’s leadership, the BHA has been
breaking the mold in its role, since 2000, as a contract
administrator across the state for HUD’s Section 8 rental assistance
program. But when I heard that BHA had gotten a contract last year
from Hawaii to administer its Section 8 rental subsidy program, I
was curious.
When I asked, “Why Hawaii?” Merrill Wallace, who’s directed BHA
since 1983, wants to take the answer back much further—to the early
1970s. Way back then, he points out, HUD was already attempting to
outsource contract administration as it sought to bring more private
owners and developers to the affordable housing table. HUD hooked up
housing authorities and private developers in efforts to expand the
development of affordable housing projects. The administration of 18
of these, located throughout the state of Washington, was handled by
housing authorities. BHA was one of them.
Then, in the mid-1990s, HUD wanted to take a bigger step toward
privatizing the contract administration side of its operations. This
led to the initiative to create Section 8 Performance-Based Contract
Administrators (PBCAs) in some 38 states. Bremerton Housing
Authority bid on, and won, a five-year contract to administer a
significant portion—about three-quarters—of HUD’s rental assistance
program in Washington state. In total, it covers about 367 contracts
and more than 16,000 units. Here’s where Merrill tells me to
don my Hawaiian shirt. A housing authority colleague from Nevada,
also a holder of a HUD PBCA contract, wanted to take a look at BHA’s
operations. His agency had been asked to handle HUD Hawaiian
contracts. He was so impressed with how BHA was able to manage its
projects from a distance that he gave Merrill the tip on Hawaii that
got the ball rolling.
“This was a real vote of confidence,” Merrill recounts. Hawaii was
on the verge of losing their contract for non-performance. They
faced a laborious competition for a vendor to come out to the
islands to take on compliance. As a public corporation, BHA was able
to sail through many legal hoops that a private corporation might
have taken months to navigate. And BHA’s operational structure meant
they could almost instantaneously hit the ground at a fast clip. The
process from contact to completion was speedy—not the kind of timing
you’d normally expect of a public agency.
Now the BHA does the vouchers and contract renewals for both
Washington state and Hawaii in Bremerton and maintains a satellite
office, with a three-person staff, in Honolulu. They handle 47
contracts on the Hawaiian Islands—about 3200 units.
Why
did Merrill make the initial leap? Because they can—BHA knew the
territory and is experienced at doing it well—and because they
believed that their efforts would bear fruit for their local
community as well as the property owners and residents impacted by
the contracts.
Clarence Nelson, BHA’s Contract Administration Director, puts it
this way: “Housing authorities have been at a crossroads.
Smaller housing authorities are under pressure in the current
climate. It’s becoming an issue of whether you’re going to be
smaller or bigger. BHA chose to get a lot bigger.”
Merrill voices the real payoff: with resources dwindling from other
HUD programs, these contracts allow BHA to secure additional
revenues that it can use to provide more affordable housing within
its community. “And they’re an economic development booster,” he
adds. “We have a tremendous number of talented people here. The
additional jobs have been a big plus.”
The contract that BHA sought from HUD in 2000 was the catalyst for
it to make the leap to 21st Century operations. Through a Web-based
system, BHA employees have access to its entire database—anywhere
they can get a signal and connect to the Internet. Wireless, laptops
and an agency-wide intranet enable them to work productively from
virtual offices.
Merrill believes his team has brought significant benefits to the
larger community of property owners and tenants in Washington and
Hawaii. During their first year on the Washington contract, they
focused almost entirely on educating housing owners and residents. A
number of multi-family housing units had been neglected for years
because of lack of manpower on HUD’s part.
“From our standpoint, it’s been very successful,” says Merrill.
Tenants are more aware of the standards they’re entitled to, and are
better informed about whom to contact with questions or concerns.
Owner membership associations have become partners with BHA,
participating in joint training efforts.
In fact, because the PBCA has worked so well, HUD is starting to
look at other programs using it as a model. HUD currently has an RFP
out for comments from potential bidders that would take on the rest
of its portfolio, following a similar arrangement. But there’s an
interesting twist: anyone can bid on this one, even private
organizations—and HUD is also bidding on the work itself.
So where is BHA now?
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The 5-year contract with HUD for Washington State has been
so successful that HUD has decided not to solicit competing
bids this year. In fact, a 15-year renewal with BHA is
currently under consideration. That contract is worth about
$3.2 million in revenue to BHA.
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BHA is also a subcontractor to Kitsap County Consolidated
Housing Authority, which is also a Contract Administrator
through HUD on properties in the Pacific Northwest.
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And BHA currently has two additional PBCA contracts pending
in Nebraska and Utah. This would increase their
portfolio by more than 280 contracts. They hope to hear
HUD’s decision on this by the end of the year.
Let’s see: Hawaii, possibly Nebraska and Utah, subcontracting
with Kitsap County, leveraging state-of-the-art operations across
projects, improved communications with residents and more
multi-family residences in compliance, more funding for affordable
housing in Bremerton—and more jobs.
In this case, it certainly sounds like bigger is better. I
look forward to discussing innovations similar to BHA’s with other
pioneering housing authority directors in our state, and sharing
their perspectives in upcoming issues of this newsletter.
Connecting
the Dots: New CHOC director wants to increase awareness of
resources available to homebuyers
Because the Community Home Ownership Center (CHOC) has offices on
the same floor of the same building as the Commission, it has been
easy to get to know their new director, Jeff Caden.
Jeff Caden, Executive Director
Community Homeownership Center
Jeff brings a 25-year marketing background to CHOC. His background
includes commercial expertise as a homebuilder and fundraising
capabilities in the not-for-profit sector. Most recently, he was at
Lindal Cedar Homes. He’s also been the development director for the
Easter Seal Society in Washington state and he serves on the
national board for the LAM Foundation.
Keep in mind that Jeff has only been on the job for 60 days at this
point, so all of the details are not yet nailed down. In general, he
says his plan of attack will be familiar to every marketer: First,
get to know his audience. The clients for CHOC’s services are
primarily people in Washington state who want to own a home. The
secondary audience is service providers—including the Commission—but
also local housing authorities, lenders, realtors and anyone who
impacts housing issues. CHOC is in the process of surveying both
segments of their audience in an effort to get a county-by-county
picture of home ownership needs and available resources.
After collecting and analyzing the data, Jeff plans to initiate
communications programs. These will be targeted to alert potential
homebuyers of the different programs and resources available to
them. These include homebuyer education classes, one-on-one
counseling and referrals to local lenders, realtors or legal
resources that support people who encounter predatory lending
practices or discrimination. Jeff sees CHOC’s role as the
initial point of contact for potential homebuyers. CHOC is an
information portal or triage center. His team greets people, finds
out what they need and then refers them to the agencies or other
resources will be most helpful. CHOC can connect the dots at the
outset of the process for all of us involved in promoting affordable
housing in Washington.
Obviously, CHOC’s success can help all of us work more effectively
to increase homeownership in our state. For example, over the last
five years the Commission has gotten good use of CHOC’s survey of
more than 5000 participants in homebuyer education classes. The
survey focuses on obstacles to homeownership, and it has revealed
significant changes: Five years ago, the biggest obstacle was price;
today it’s the down payment. The Commission uses this information to
adjust our programs and adapt them to better meet the needs of
first-time buyers.
We wish Jeff all the best. If you want to find out more, CHOC’s new
website will soon be accessible at
www.homeownership-wa.org. Or you can call Jeff directly at (206)
287-4475.
A Tip of the Hat to Pete
Modaff: Affordable housing expert / advocate in Congressman
Norm Dicks’ office is changing focus
Congressional staffers are a breed apart. They are true movers
and shakers, and work incredibly hard to make this a better world
for all of us—but they shun the limelight.
This article is a tribute to Pete Modaff of Congressman Norm Dicks’
office. We recently found out that Pete, after close to a decade of
incredible, focused contributions to affordable housing concerns, is
now working on other issues that impact Rep. Dicks’ 6th
Congressional District. Pete’s been around the longest of any staff
member dedicated to affordable housing in our Washington state
delegation, and he represents the epitome of the kind of team-minded
professional you’d like to work alongside. Pete has always been
completely on top of the issues, accessible, hard working, and
competent in every respect. He’s also totally self-effacing.
It took nearly a half nelson to get him to talk a bit about himself.
Originally from the Midwest, Pete’s been working for Norm Dicks for
ten years this month—since January 1995. He started out working with
a delegation from his native Indiana in 1988. But affordable housing
has been a focus for Cong. Dicks even longer. “Norm Dicks has always
championed affordable housing since he was elected in 1977,” says
Pete, adding, “and before: he started on Capitol Hill working for
Senator Warren G. Magnuson in 1968.”
What is Pete most proud of in terms of the accomplishments made by
Norm Dicks and his delegation? Rather than take any credit, he
is quick to give kudos to efforts on the ground here in Washington
state. He says his job was made much easier because of the
cooperation and guidance from housing organizations that kept Dicks’
office informed about what was required to get things done.
But, when pressed, Pete shared with us a few of the high points in
terms of what Norm Dicks and his Congressional colleagues have
accomplished in housing during the past decade. These included
co-sponsoring tax legislation to provide funds for affordable
housing. And, he says, “Over the past 10 years, there have been
efforts within the U.S. Congress to scale back or eliminate federal
funding for subsidized housing. Norm Dicks always made it a priority
to protect affordable housing, and continue Section 8 programs.”
Pete singles out the Salishan HOPE VI housing project in Tacoma for
special mention. This project received $35 million in funding in
2000: “Our office worked on this from start to finish. We received
strong support for this application and Congressman Dicks did
everything he could to promote it. We continue to work with the
Tacoma Housing Authority to ensure the success of this program.”
If you’re in housing, developing relationships with your
Congressional delegation’s staff members is a critical tool for
doing your job effectively. At the Commission, we can’t
overemphasize the importance of having Congressional staffers who
understand the issues, have longevity, and have the real trust of
their Congressman, who make a difference in terms of what happens in
housing programs nationally. It really effects how things are
going to play out on the local level. That’s been Pete Modaff to a
T.
Who’s going to fill Pete’s big shoes on the housing front? Jamie
Burgess, a Tacoma native, is now Cong. Dick’s legislative assistant
in this arena. We look forward to working with her.
And what’s Pete up to now? He’s still a part of the Dicks
team, but his portfolio has changed a bit. Since May of last
year, Pete’s been working with the Interior Appropriations
Subcommittee, of which Norm Dicks is the ranking Democrat. The
subcommittee funds myriad departments and services, some of which
include the National Park Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and
the National Endowment for the Arts.
We wish you well, Pete—thanks for everything.
Governor
Gary Locke Earns A Friend of Housing Award: Recognized for his
commitment to improve farmworker housing
On January 10th, two days before his second term ended, Chairperson
Karen Miller of the Commission, Janet Abbott from the Department of
Community Trade and Economic Development (CTED), Senate Committee
Assistant Michael Herman and I had the pleasure of presenting
outgoing Governor Gary Locke with a Friend of Housing Award for his
commitment to improve farmworker housing in our state.
Governor Gary Locke
While many people are not familiar with the significant achievements
of Governor Locke’s administration in the area of farmworker
housing, these successes were mentioned in a January 9, 2005,
Seattle Times editorial.
Here’s how it came about. In 1998, after a flurry of turbulent
hearings and media coverage and at the request of farmworker
advocates, Governor Locke vetoed a Senate bill that would have
reduced the building codes for temporary farmworker housing. After
the veto, Governor Locke promised he would not let the issue of
better farmworker housing die. True to his word, in 1999 the
Governor proposed a $40 million, ten-year commitment to improve
farmworker housing through the Housing Trust Fund. He also created a
cabinet level task force led by one of his most trusted assistants,
Rich Nafziger.
The first $8 million of the money was approved by the Legislature
that same year. Later, the task force negotiated an unprecedented
agreement between government, growers and advocates allowing
temporary farmworker camps to be developed using OSHA standard tents
for short periods during peak harvest seasons. This created a new
paradigm for work on temporary farmworker housing that has had a
lasting impact.
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CTED, working with county governments and through
contractors, currently houses more than 920 workers per year
in temporary camps and emergency shelters in central
Washington each harvest season.
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Since 1999, the Housing Finance Commission, the Housing
Trust Fund and a multitude of other funders have financed
the development of almost 900 units of permanent apartments
for farmworkers throughout the state. Another 250 are
currently under development.
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In cooperation with private growers and using money obtained
by Senator Patty Murray, CTED has developed an
Infrastructure Loan Program and a Rent-A-Tent program to
house more than 3,450 persons on-farm in temporary housing
during the growing season.
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CTED has also coordinated several projects using innovative
design and construction materials in an attempt to lower the
cost of temporarily housing farmworkers.
Thanks to the fine efforts of Governor Locke, Washington is now a
national leader in the provision of both temporary and permanent
housing for farmworkers. Not only did he keep his promise to make
farmworker housing a state priority, his dedication led to a
cooperative working environment between government, growers and
farmworker advocates that will continue to have an impact in the
future. For his leadership and dedication, the Commission was proud
to present Governor Locke with our Friend of Housing award.
NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE
About Us
The Washington State Housing Finance Commission is a self-supporting
agency that provides below-market financing to buy, build or
preserve affordable housing and nonprofit capital facilities. The
Commission builds partnerships with the private sector to raise
capital needed to further these social and economic objectives at no
cost to the taxpayers of Washington State. For more
information about the Commission and its work, visit
www.wshfc.org or call
206-464-7139 or 1-800-767-HOME (4663) toll free in Washington State.
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