Commission questions legal agency about housing issues

When an elderly Manatee County resident living in Bayside Villas sought legal help for a housing issue last year, Gulfcoast Legal Services left her “out to dry,” according to a county commissioner.

“There’s complaints of discrimination countywide,” Charles Smith said Tuesday. “We know that. ...Those issues concern me when you go to the agency to help and all of a sudden they become a double victim.”

So when a proposal to give $40,000 to Gulfcoast Legal Services as part of the county’s 2017-18 Annual Action for Community Development Block Grants went before the commission Tuesday, the previous history with the agency caused some commissioners pause. The commission ultimately approved submitting both the action plan as well as the 2017-22 Consolidated Plan to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for approval.

“There was nothing done and she was laid out to dry,” Smith said of Aliene Cox, who lives in Bayside Villas where residents have complained of deplorable conditions and conditions. “The issue of elderly being forced out of their units, that bothers me.”

But the new leadership of the Gulfcoast Legal Services assured the commission that the agency is different and the funding will allow them to bring aboard a housing attorney to address fair housing and landlord-tenant issues.

“There’s a huge need here and we do not deny that,” said Tammy Greer, interim executive director for operations. “We know there is a need and we want to help but we don’t have the staff.”

And the commission recognizes that one attorney may not be able to address all the housing issues.

“We know this is a huge issue in our community,” Commission Chairwoman Betsy Benac said.

In 2017-18, Manatee County estimates it will receive more than $1.6 million in CDBG funds, $473,491 in HOME Investment Partnership funds, $146,534 in Emergency Solutions Grant funds as well as $114,857 in CDBG carry-over funding from prior years.

With CDBG funds, Gulfcoast Legal Services will be able to educate county residents about their rights.

“That will help so much just to get the information out there because so many people don’t know they have rights to stand up to landlords,” Greer said.

This is a start, said Geri Lopez, the county’s redevelopment and economic opportunity director.

“We need to start somewhere and this is one of the only avenues that we have to be able to try to address that,” she said.

Housing is a critical situation that the county must continue to move forward and start holding people accountable, Smith said.

“I really hope we have some teeth,” Smith said. “I do believe that’s what it is going to take is one person being prosecuted to straighten out what we got going on in Manatee County an organized effort to evict elderly because they get more money from other people.”

Also on Tuesday, the commission:

• Learned that Karen Windon, deputy county administrator, will be leaving the county on Monday after nearly 37 years. County Administrator Ed Hunzeker, who will leave in January, said he will not be filling the position but leave that to the new county administrator. Windon, who was previously the public safety director, said she plans to stay in the area but is not ready to make public her plans. “I work with the best bunch of people around,” she said. “They have become my family.”
• Directed county staff to go ahead and look into the unsolicited proposal sent to Manatee and Sarasota counties to provide transit operations as a single entity.
• Asked for a future work session on an animal abuser registry ordinance, which could prohibit animal shelters, rescues and others from allowing convicted abusers to adopt animals.
• Heard from Commissioner Charles Smith that he wants the Confederate moument moved from outside the historic courthouse to the Gamble Plantation. “I think it should be removed,” Smith said.
• Authorized a letter to be sent to U.S. Department of the Treasury detailing the county’s “Direct Component Multi-Year Implementation Plan for local expenditures under the RESTORE Act,” according to agenda materials.

This story was originally published July 25, 2017 at 4:47 PM with the headline "Commission questions legal agency about housing issues."