Full Interview with Dr. Paulette Coleman (9/10/20)
Appointment
As you know Mayor Cooper appointed me to the MDHA Board in October 2019 and I attended my first meeting December 10, 2020. After the Mayor’s recommendation, there is a meeting/interview with the Council Committee that reviews the Mayor’s recommendations for boards and commissions. That Committee makes a recommendation to the full Council and the full Council votes the recommended person, up or down.
- What is the purpose/plans of the MDHA Board that you have been appointed to?
Role and Purpose of MDHA
The MDHA Board of Commissioners is comprised of seven members, two of whom are residents of MDHA housing. The members are appointed by the mayor. The Board of Commissioners meets on the second Tuesday of every month at 11:30 AM. At these monthly meetings, the Board of Commissioners establishes policies, approves expenditures and gives guidance to the staff in carrying out the Agency’s programs, and hears reports from the Executive Director. The Board works through several committees known as Development, Finance and Audit, Management Review, Housing and Community Services, and Personnel and Career Development.
The meetings are open to the public and usually take place in the Gerald Nicely Building, located at 701 South Sixth Street. During the pandemic and in accordance with Governor Lee’s Executive Orders, meetings of the Housing Agency are held virtually.
MDHA was established in 1938 to serve the citizens of Nashville by providing safe, decent, and affordable housing. Initially, MDHA had a singular focus on public housing. Over time, that focus has evolved to include development and redevelopment districts, TIF (Tax Increment Financing), CDBG (Community Development Block Grant Program), PBRA (Project Based Rental Assistance) under RAD, the Voucher Program, etc.
Questions
What is the purpose/plans of the MDHA Board that you have been appointed to?
1) Partially addressed above. Part of MDH’s strategic plan includes a policy of de-concentrating poverty through the recapitalization and transformation of its legacy public housing developments starting with Cayce Place, Sudekum Apartments, Napier Place, and Edgehill Apartments. In January 2020, MDHA successfully completed the RAD (Rental Assistance Demonstration) conversion, which is a major shift in the character and operation of current housing. Given the continuing decrease of HUD funding for traditional public housing, MDHA’s move to RAD conversion is positive and proactive. This change is not without its critics and challenges, but all change in public policies produces increased scrutiny and that is healthy. MDHA is a high-performing PHA and is at the forefront of RAD conversions nationally. As outlined in the Public Housing Authority Plan, the following is a summary of MDHA’s plans:
A. Continue replacing its legacy family housing with new mixed income housing developed with a multiplicity of funding sources including Low Income Housing Tax Credits, Community Investment Tax Credit (CITC) and market rate bank loans, HOME grants, state and federal Housing Trust Fund grants, Federally insured multi-family loans, private donations, and MDHA equity.
B. Conversion of Public Housing to Project-Based Assistance under RAD
C. Project Based Vouchers MDHA Board of Commissioners approved up to 1,400 of its allocation of Housing Choice Vouchers to be converted to Project Based. MDHA has issued an RFP for 900 of these units.
Goal 1. Increase the supply of MDHA-Owned Housing
Goal 2. Increase and improve the Supply and Access to Housing Choice Vouchers
Goal 3. Sustain Viable Communities and the Urban Core
Goal 4. Pursue the Best Housing and Business Practices
2) How does the appointment correlate with NOAH’s AHTF goals? My appointment to the MDHA Board is related to the work of the NOAH Affordable Housing Task Force in that it provides an opportunity for NOAH’s commitment to addressing Nashville’s affordable housing crisis and increasing the inventory of affordable housing to be an integral part of the discussions, deliberations, policies, and actions of the MDHA. Even with the RAD conversions, the inventory of affordable housing units is not significantly increased, because the units being built are largely replacements for demolished units. Though they are new, modern, and attractive and within a mixed-income development featuring workforce and market-rate apartments in the same building.
NOAH’s commitment to an Office of (Affordable) Housing staffed with best in class civil servants, a dedicated and recurring source of funding for the Barnes Fund, and other goals are beyond the scope of the MDHA’s mission and function. These goals cannot be accomplished by MDHA alone. With the presence of two current members of the NOAH Affordable Housing Task Force as MDHA Commissioners, the opportunity exists for MDHA to be an ally as NOAH seeks to respond proactively, innovatively, and justly to Nashville’s affordable housing crisis.
3) What has been achieved so far? Having served less than a year as a Commissioner, I would be hard pressed to say that xyz has been accomplished in that time frame. With most current commissioners having served for less than three years, I can say that there is an incredible expectation of greater transparency of how information is conveyed to the Board and shared with the public. The work of MDHA necessitates much advance planning; long range time lines; periodic reviews, evaluations, and adjustments; extraordinary collaborations; and an agility to comply with HUD, state, local, and other rules, regulations, and polices while producing more affordable housing.
One of the major and very significant transitions within MDHA is a greater emphasis on the H in housing, rather than the D in development in it current work and future plans. While MDHA may not be the driver for solving Nashville’s affordable housing crisis, it has unique capabilities and experiences that should inform those developing solutions.
4) What are your feelings about MDHA? My feelings about MDHA are that it seeks to put tenants first. This was demonstrated to me in MDHA’s swift and empathetic responses to tenants whose homes were damaged by the tornadoes. They were rehoused in good hotels until their damaged units were repaired. They were provided meals, and provided new accommodations, if needed. I think they also received vouchers to assist them through the difficult post-tornado recovery period and I believe, counselling, if warranted.
Another example of this is the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Voucher households program which promotes homeownership and economic empowerment. Among MDHA residents, there are a number who are dialysis patients. Getting back and forth to treatment was problematic. MDHA was able to get a dialysis unit on site to overcome the transportation problem. MDHA went further and then developed a training program so that residents could receive training to be become dialysis techs and earn somewhere around $15/hour. I believe 11 residents have completed the training and been employed during the four years that the program has been in existence.
My final example of this relates to MDHAs response to COVID-19 and how best to protect residents. The voluntary testing of all residents and special precautions applied to the residences for seniors have resulted in very few positive results in the senior residences. The start-up of voluntary testing may have been a little awkward and flat-footed, but MDHA immediately self-corrected and made adjustments and testing is proceeding well. In all of these examples, sensitivity to realities, a humane response to each situation, careful monitoring, flexibility and capacity to adjust, collaborations, and good community relationships have all contributed to the success of the examples cited.
MDHA is a very complex organization with lots of moving parts that are strictly regulated by HUD. I had the opportunity to attend the PHADA (Public Housing Authorities Directors’ Association) Conference in Phoenix and saw first hand the high regard with which Jim Harbison, the Executive Director, and MDHA as an agency are viewed by his and its peers. Regarding RAD, MDHA is a rock star and is the only PHA that has converted fully to RAD, though the final outcome is still a work in progress. There are very hard working, ethical, and talented employees at MDHA.
5) What do you hope for? With the recent resignation of the MDHA Executive Director, I hope for the continued and expanded success of the agency. I also hope and pray for MDHA to be a leader in helping to address Nashville’s critical affordable housing problem in the near term. I would also like to see a comprehensive plan for affordable housing in Nashville, with MDHA being involved in that process. At the recent MDHA Board meeting on September 8th, Ms. Denise Cleveland-Liggett, the US HUD Southeast Regional Administrator announced virtually another singular honor for MDHA of receiving the designation of an Envision Center, the first in Tennessee. There are four Envision Centers in Kentucky, two in Georgia, and now one in Tennessee at MDHA. Envision Centers are important because they connect low-income households with a variety of resources and tools that offer pathways to economic opportunity and self-sufficiency.