Action council considers selling units to housing authority

by Chrystal Doucette<br>Herald Staff Writer
| January 22, 2007 8:00 PM

GRANT COUNTY — The North Columbia Community Action Council is discussing whether to sell 40 units of low-income housing to the Housing Authority of Grant County.

"We originally got involved with housing because we saw a need, and we think the housing authority has done a great job of filling that need and they've got the expertise," said action council Executive Director Ken Sterner.

On Thursday, the housing authority board of commissioners agreed to discuss acquiring the units with the council. The units are located in Mattawa, Ephrata and Quincy.

The council is considering a sale because of the time it takes to manage housing, Sterner said. Transferring the homes to the housing authority would allow the council to focus on its programs aimed at self-sufficiency, he said.

"Managing housing, I think most property owners and landlords will tell you it's an eight-day-a-week, 25-hour-a-day job," Sterner said. "When you have 40 units, it can draw a lot of time and a lot of process, and sometimes it can take away from what we really need to do and that is working on getting people self- sufficient."

Most of the units have tenants, Sterner said.

The action council has owned the homes for the past 10 to 12 years, he said. Other programs the council plans to continue running include asset development, energy assistance, housing counseling and homeless programs. The council is retaining its transitional housing units, he said.

Housing Authority Executive Director John Poling said the housing authority's next step is to see whether it can afford to renovate the units and manage them.

"We have developed a few hundred units in the past 10 years, so this is well within our line of business," Poling said.

Discussions of transferring the properties were conducted on and off for the past 10 years. Sterner and Poling agreed the timing seems right.

Commissioner Larry Peterson said Thursday the issue was worth looking into.

"It makes sense if financial analysis supports it," Peterson said.