Council tables property conveyance to housing authority amid HUD audit questions

City Council opened a public hearing on an ordinance to convey a 6.4-acre parcel at 1200 Shenandoah Avenue to the Waynesboro Redevelopment and Housing Authority (RHA) for a proposed workforce/affordable housing project. City staff said a portion of the parcel is currently used for regional social services offices and that transferring and subdividing the property would allow the RHA to pursue development.

Council members asked about a HUD performance audit score that had recently been communicated to the city and the RHA. The council was told the RHA did not score well in a recent review because of two errors: a late FDS (financial data submission) that was submitted “a few seconds late” and an occupancy reporting error that recorded occupancy at 91.67% instead of the actual 99.16%. The RHA representative said an appeal letter had been submitted to HUD and the authority expected a response within about 30 days. "We should be at the standard performance as we were once our appeal is approved and we received the points for the 99% occupancy that we actually were," the housing authority representative said.

Members expressed concern about voting to convey city property before HUD completes its review. One council member moved to table the ordinance until the next meeting to allow time for follow-up and additional documentation; the motion passed 4-1. The mayor and staff stressed that the conveyance in the draft resolution was conditional on loan approval and that, if funding did not materialize, the city would not transfer the property. No public speakers signed up to speak during the hearing. The item will return to a future agenda once the council has requested follow-up information from staff and the RHA.