Housing Authority approves CMGC contracting for Forest Grove supportive-housing project and adopts bad-debt write-off policy

The Housing Authority of Washington County voted unanimously on March 3 to exempt the Forest Grove permanent supportive housing project from the traditional design-bid-build process and to pursue a competitive construction manager/general contractor (CMGC) contracting approach, staff said.

Deputy Director Jill Chen told the board the project at 3127 Pacific Avenue would provide up to 60 apartments with on-site supportive services and be sited near transit and community amenities. "We are here to present the Forest Grove permanent supportive housing project, construction contract exemption and alternative contracting process," Chen said, explaining staff’s recommendation to seek a CMGC selection to improve constructability, accelerate delivery and create cost transparency.

Joe Penzone, capital improvements project manager, described the CMGC approach as a way to allow early collaboration between contractor and design teams, reduce surprises and produce a guaranteed maximum price under an open‑book model. "It will include up to 60 apartment homes serving individuals and couples, exiting homelessness," Penzone said.

Why it matters: staff said the CMGC process supports early risk identification, reduces change orders and allows overlapping design and construction phases to speed delivery on a project that includes culturally specific supportive services through partners such as Centro Cultural and Care Oregon.

After a public hearing with no speakers, the board adopted findings and a resolution authorizing the CMGC method and granting the competitive-bid exemption; the motion carried unanimously, 5–0.

Separately, the board considered and adopted a formal bad-debt expense and write-off policy that applies only to federal programs the housing authority administers with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funding (including Housing Choice Vouchers, VASH and the public-housing portfolio). Ryan Bonsbach, deputy chief financial officer, described a three-step practice: pursue collection efforts and participant payment plans; identify doubtful accounts and follow an approval cadence; and post accounting entries.

Under the new policy, staff proposed delegating authority to the executive director to write off semiannually amounts below $25,000 in aggregate and below $5,000 per account, with larger amounts returned to the board and an annual report to increase transparency. Bonsbach said fiscal year 2025 write-offs were approximately $220,000 and estimated 40–50 covered cases in a year for federal programs.

Board members pressed staff about collection practices and timelines. Bonsbach said the housing authority generally works directly with participants—using payment plans—rather than routinely sending accounts to outside collections. He said accounts are typically considered for write-off after 90–180 days of nonpayment, but outreach and retention efforts usually begin earlier. "We would be coming to the board with a formal agenda item that would detail out what it was that we were requesting be formally written off," Bonsbach said.

Public comment at the Housing Authority meeting included Bob Terry, a former county commissioner, who asked for clearer definitions of what staff described as "relatively small" write-offs and questioned fiscal impacts of the policy. Megan Hill, president of the Oak Hills Homeowners Association, urged the authority to publish written transitional-housing eligibility and exclusion policies and asked the board to clarify its oversight role and consider a dedicated work session on governance.

The board approved the write-off policy unanimously, 5–0. Staff said they would provide follow-up information requested by directors on caseload counts and collection processes.

What's next: staff will proceed with the CMGC RFP selection process and report back under the county’s procurement and reporting framework; the housing authority will implement the write-off policy and include the specified semiannual/annual reporting to the board.