Affordable Housing

To the editor: Preservation of Affordable Housing Inc. (POAH) agrees with the view of Linda Irving-Craig that "(a)s housing costs skyrocket, affordable housing crucial" (Opinion, Oct. 5). In fact, our primary mission is to preserve affordable housing that is at risk of being converted into an unaffordable property. Irving-Craig's opinion column raises important questions about the Washington Gardens Apartments that deserve to be answered. This response should alleviate any concerns that she or Hagerstown residents may have about the project, while highlighting the importance of projects such as this.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- An Eastern Panhandle affordable housing consortium formed in 2006 has helped nearly 90 home buyers in the first three years of the federally sponsored HOME Investment Partnership program. Pat McMillan, Martinsburg's community development director, told the Berkeley County Commission Thursday that 38 buyers were within the county's jurisdiction, 17 were in the City of Martinsburg and 18 were from the City of Charles Town and Jefferson County. The program also benefited 13 buyers in Morgan County between the 2006-07 and 2008-09 fiscal years, McMillan said.

During his appearance last week at the Maryland Association of Counties' annual meeting, Gov. Robert Ehrlich tried to make the case that he deserves another term. Then the governor offered a list of ideas he said he would work to make happen if he were re-elected. One item that caught our attention was affordable housing. Ehrlich said that people who work in health care and public safety need to live in the communities where they are employed. Just how that will be accomplished isn't clear, but we hope that this is an initiative that whoever is elected Maryland's next governor will support.

gregs@herald-mail.com How to create more affordable housing in Washington County in a climate of rising land prices and increasing population was the topic of discussion at a two-hour forum at Hagerstown Community College on Wednesday night. At the forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Washington County, two local housing officials, a Washington County Commissioner and a local business representative shared their ideas on affordable housing as some members of the audience posed questions to the officials.

Last week the Washington County chapter of the League of Women Voters held a forum on affordable housing, a topic that Commissioner Doris Nipps admitted hasn't been on top of the commissioners' to-do list. But it would be a mistake for Nipps and others to conclude that it will take a citizens' commission, a consultant study or some other momentous effort to get this affordable housing effort started. How bad is the problem? In April 2003, the average selling price of a home in Washington County was $154,062.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. -- As the housing market struggles to climb out of its latest slump, the Waynesboro Borough Council is coming up with ways to help its economically disadvantaged residents obtain affordable housing. The council met Wednesday with representatives from Valley Community Housing Corporation and the Franklin County Housing Authority to discuss options, plans and the process for adding affordable housing in the borough for seniors and first-time home buyers. Councilman Ronnie Martin said the discussion was the very start of the process to add affordable housing in town.

CASCADE - Interfaith Housing Alliance plans to build 10 affordable housing units in Cascade between Cascade Road and Md. 550. The Washington County Commissioners on Tuesday voted 4-1 to allow the single-family homes to be phased in at five units per year. The project is planned for 23.68 acres. Four of the commissioners agreed to the phase-in to deal with any potential capacity issues at Smithsburg High School. The county's Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO)

David Preston "Kip" Koontz, 48, of Frederick, Md., a former member of the city's board of aldermen, died unexpectedly Sunday, April 8, 2012, at his home. He is survived by his devoted spouse of 19 years, J.D. Hulse. Born June 11, 1963, in Hagerstown, Md., he was the son of the late Harry E. and Karen Ann Stouffer Koontz. He was a 1981 graduate of South Hagerstown High and received his bachelor's degree from Western Maryland College in Westminster, Md. He was a history buff who shared his tremendous love of local history, especially of Washington and Frederick counties.

Holly Place, a Hagerstown organization that provides housing for senior citizens, received $485 from Housing Authority of Washington County employees. Melanie Davis, executive director of Holly Place, recently accepted the donation from Richard Willson, housing authority executive director. Each Friday, housing authority employees contribute $1 each for the privilege of “going casual,” and at the end of the year a vote is taken to determine which charity should receive the year's collection.

Policy reversal will hurt housing authorities To the editor: On July 14, the markup of the Transportation-HUD (T-HUD) 2012 appropriation in the House began. The results of a Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-commissioned study - the Public Housing Capital Needs Assessment - found that the National Public Housing portfolio has a $26 billion backlog of unmet capital needs. With appropriations for the Public Housing Capital Fund at a historic low and a portfolio that only continues to age, this information could not have come at a more inopportune time.

It's a warm spring morning and a dozen women are working hard to complete the frame of a ranch-style house in Boonsboro. There are teachers, lawyers, nurses and a handful of retirees -- all wearing goggles and hardhats. Their project looks like something from Bob the Builder with top and bottom plates, wall studs and headers, and faux doorways. Fast forward several months and the house is close to becoming a home -- a dream come true for a deserving family. Since May, members of the construction crew have spent most of their free time turning floor plans into a reality.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- An Eastern Panhandle affordable housing consortium formed in 2006 has helped nearly 90 home buyers in the first three years of the federally sponsored HOME Investment Partnership program. Pat McMillan, Martinsburg's community development director, told the Berkeley County Commission Thursday that 38 buyers were within the county's jurisdiction, 17 were in the City of Martinsburg and 18 were from the City of Charles Town and Jefferson County. The program also benefited 13 buyers in Morgan County between the 2006-07 and 2008-09 fiscal years, McMillan said.

Legislative liaison paints rough picture Ardath Cade, legislative liaison for Washington County Public Schools, gave the Washington County Board of Education a taste of what could happen during the next legislative session in Annapolis. Cade said during a school board meeting Tuesday that efforts are being considered to transfer the cost of pensions for public education employees from the state government to the county government. She said taxpayers would get stuck with the cost of paying the pensions no matter which government entity administers the program.

HAGERSTOWN -- The day he was evicted after spending the last of the proceeds from the sale of his house, Dale Hunter drove from northern Virginia to the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Martinsburg, W.Va., and checked in to the homeless program there. Almost three years later, he is living off $1,228 a month in VA disability and lives in a subsidized apartment at Potomac Towers in Hagerstown. The $285 a month he pays in rent is based on his income. For Hunter, the system worked when he needed it. The availability of more low-income housing subsidies would be a crucial step in reducing homelessness, according to Michael Stoops, who until August was executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, a national network of people based in Washington, D.C., who work to end homelessness.

HAGERSTOWN -- Tessa McCarney's dreams were raised with the walls of her new home Saturday morning in Hagerstown. McCarney and about 20 volunteers woke up early Saturday to gather at the Lanvale Street construction site to put up the walls of her house, which is being built by Habitat for Humanity of Washington County and Thrivent Financial Services for Lutherans. McCarney said she hopes to move into the home with her two young children when the work is completed this fall.

HAGERSTOWN -- Her house burned last Valentine's Day. Since then, Eunice McCaw has been staying with her daughter and working out the details of repairs with her insurance company. She hopes to move back into her home of more than 45 years before Christmas. Meanwhile, she is doing what she can to prepare for the move, purchasing replacement items as she is able. "I lost a lot of stuff," said McCaw, 78. Just down the street from her boarded-up home is a new home improvement store that could make replacing that stuff a lot more affordable.