Housing authority asks county to cover $4.0 million in repairs and demolition costs; committee adds requests to reconciliation list

Chelsea Andrews, introduced in the meeting as "president of HLC," told the Montgomery County Council budget committee that the Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC) needs a package of funds to stabilize operations at several large public housing sites and to finish a demolition that encountered unexpected environmental costs.

"We currently have 22 counselors providing resources for close to 57 sites," Andrews said, describing resident services as stretched after years without additional staff. She asked the committee to support new resident counselors and two program coordinators to expand youth and adult programming. Andrews estimated the cost of a full-time counselor at roughly $120,000 including benefits and put the request for two full-time program coordinators at $290,000 total.

HOC also asked for capital funding at Cider Mill, one of its largest properties, seeking $2,050,000 to address severe structural problems with balconies that HOC has had to block off. Andrews described the balconies as "a health and safety risk" and said about 40–45 balconies are affected. HOC additionally requested $250,000 for lighting and cameras in breezeways to help address criminal activity.

Council members discussed phasing the balcony repairs into tranches to spread the cost. One member proposed four roughly equal tranches of about $500,000; committee staff agreed to add a tranche plan to the reconciliation recommendation and asked HOC to return with a prioritized list of units by condition and household needs. The committee agreed to add both the $2.05 million balcony request and the $250,000 safety package to the committee reconciliation ("rec") list for full-Council consideration.

Separately, HOC requested $1.5 million to complete demolition of the Elizabeth House public housing site after contractors uncovered environmental issues while work was already underway. Kerine Brown, introduced as "Senior Executive Vice President with HSC," said demolition began at the county's request and that the additional $1.5 million in remediation costs could not be deferred once contractors were on site. HOC said it has been funding the demolition on its line of credit and is incurring interest while awaiting a permanent revenue source.

OMB staff said they had discussed multiple options—restructuring other project schedules, loans through DHCA, or splitting costs with HOC—and promised to continue working with HOC to identify feasible funding options before full Council. OMB noted that in an earlier supplemental the county had covered half of an approved $3.0 million package, with HOC covering the remainder; asbestos and other environmental issues increased the outlay.

Committee members expressed frustration that requests to accelerate demolition were not accompanied by committed funding from the Executive. The chair said the committee would place $1.5 million on the reconciliation list and encouraged offline discussions between the Executive, OMB and HOC to resolve funding and timing before the final budget vote.

What happens next: The committee recorded a recommendation to add the HOC items (phased balcony repairs, the $250,000 safety package, staffing tranches and the $1.5 million demolition request) to the reconciliation list for full-Council review. OMB and HOC will report back with prioritization, phasing plans and possible loan or reprogramming options prior to the full-Council vote.