Section 8 & Middletown Housing Authority

Pacman wrote: Mike I had to look this one up, I take it you mean the original meaning---hoi-poloi: The upper echelon of a particular group or of society. (ED, Garret: It has been pointed out that the original meaning of hoi-poloi is, in fact, the lower echelon of a society. I.e., the common people. The submitted definition seems to be a very common subversion of the original meaning, but that's what pseudodictionary is all about.)

Pac:

"hoi pol·loi  (hoi p-loi)

n.

The common people; the masses.

---

[Greek, the many : hoi, nominative pl. of ho, the; see so- in Indo-European roots + polloi, nominative pl. of polus, many; see pel-¹ in Indo-European roots.]

Usage Note: Hoi polloi is a borrowing of the Greek phrase hoi polloi, consisting of hoi, meaning "the" and used before a plural, and polloi, the plural of polus, "many." In Greek hoi polloi had a special sense, "the greater number, the people, the commonalty, the masses." This phrase has generally expressed this meaning in English since its first recorded instance, in an 1837 work by James Fenimore Cooper. Hoi polloi is sometimes incorrectly used to mean "the elite," possibly because it is reminiscent of high and mighty or because it sounds like hoity-toity."

The problem is that our city officials do NOT WANT help from mere mortals like you or us, SolutionBased.  Also, they are VERY, VERY picky about what kind of companies and businesses they will ALLOW into our fair city.  First, nothing dirty or messy.  Also nothing that will employ the hoi poloi.

That is terrible :( Is there anyway some of the stuff could be salvaged from the houses before they are gone? If these houses were out in California, they would still be around 300K in BAD condition. I better get a move on and see if I can get my house on the historic register.

Viper:

Thank you Ward 2 candidate John Soppanish for obtaining this "PREVIOUSLY UNAVAILABLE" (??) list of residential properties targeted for HUD-funded demolition by Mr. Adkins and his City staff!

CURRENT PROPERTY DEMO LIST

215 Baltimore………………………On hold for appeal
403 Baltimore……………………..In process of sending notice
527 Baltimore……………………..On hold for appeal
1903 Casper…………………………Demo date 8-21-2009

1810 Columbia………………………Demo date 8-31-2009
520 Garfield………………………..In process of sending notice
1106 Garfield……………………….On hold for appeal
1120 Garfield……………………….Appealing

607 Malvern…………………………Completed by owner 7-13-2009
1425 Oxford State Rd………...Demo Date 8-31-2009
2115 Sherman………………………..Demo Date 8-14-2009 Bid Awarded
723 Tenth……………………………..Completed 7-14-2009
1317 Woodlawn………………….….Demo Date 8-21-2009
214 Young………………………………Demo Date 7-31-2009
1117 Young……………………………..Demo Date 9-11-2009

 

OK Solutionbased. You stated "if anyone had anything to contribute to a solution...." and "so after you stop laughing let's come up with solutions" and "toss in an idea or two to help fix it"--- SUGGESTED SOLUTION- Reduce the strain on the city's operation/resources. reputation and image and the school's burden by eliminating the overabundance of Section 8. We have 1662 vouchers for the city now. This is 2 1/2 times the number we are suppose to have. Remove the excess Section 8 from the city and distribute it back to the other Butler County cities that have less than their fair share. TYPICALLY, Section 8 creates a hardship for the police with more calls to the area , places a burden on the schools because, TYPICALLY, the Section 8 family does not put a high priority on education. TYPICALLY, Section 8/lower income families send their kids to school unprepared as to hunger, classroom work or attitude. More free lunches are given in Middletown schools due to the abundance of Section 8/lower income families.Talk to the school officials. They're not happy having to deal with all the Section 8 either. As Vivian stated, we have become the Hudtown/Section 8/ lower income capital of SW Ohio ( which will take many years to overcome) and that's not a good thing. It is shameful to us folks who have been around since the 50's. SUGGESTED SOLUTION- city operations- we, the people, are angry, frustrated and disgusted at the way the city is being run. We have tried to talk to the city leaders and have been ignored. We have indicated over the years that we want the city to go in a growing, progressive, job growth oriented, street fixing, business friendly, logical thinking, money frugal, citizen friendly, open government, private investment downtown planning, entertainment driven, income elevating type of town. We have delivered our message loud and clear to the leaders. End result, after years of delivering the message- we are ignored. SOLUTION- the damage has already ben done by the past Councils and city building leaders. Nothing we can do about that now. However, we can begin at the polls by fielding candidates that have a totally different view for the direction of the town and work to get them elected, replacing the current group who are ruining the town as we speak. If successful here, we're not done yet! The second phase of the change is to clear out the deadwood in the city building. Mass forced resignations must occur from the city manager on down, eliminating the habitual problem children like Planning Director Kohler and others like him. People like him have done so much damage to this city that it will take years to recover. SUGGESTED SOLUTION- we have gone years without producing much of anything on the job front from our so-called Economic Development Department. They have, for the most part, been a non-factor in bringing in any meaningful employment for the people in town. Pittedly little $7 /hour jobs don't count in today's world as to a livable wage. Can't have anything of any worth with that wage scale. Fire the whole Econ. Dev. department and hire a new crew with the stipulation that they will gain the city some meaningful jobs in a certain time period or we'll keep cleaning house until we find a workable combination of people.Change marketing strategy, emphasize the location factor on the I-75 corridor. Go after corporate tech centers, fiber optics companies, communications companies, environmental equipment manufacturers, etc. Don't settle for "industrial park" type positions and wages. He--, find some successful employment marketers in other cities and adjust their plan to fit this city. Use success to breed success.Jobs, jobs and more jobs!!! I relinquish the floor to the other learned members on this site-- Anyone with any other ideas for Solutionbased????? She still may not be convinced that we do have our own ideas and are not just "complainers".

Solutionbased

    I also grew up in Middletown moved away and then returned. When I returned I was upset with the condition of many areas of the city and I'm sorry to say it has only gotten worse over time.
    I do not believe that anyone on this blog is against the HUD or Section 8 programs for those that need it. I don’t believe anyone on this blog wants to see a family homeless or hungry. HOWEVER…What we are against is the fact that City Hall in its greed has made us into “HUDTOWN”,
    Like many government programs that started out to help those in need has now become a beast with a life of its own. When a program cost 50 to 80 cents of every dollar to administer, it is no longer operating to help the poor but to fill the pockets of those that run the programs. I believe this is part of the current problem here in Middletown. SOLUTION: We need to reduce the number of Section 8 rentals. City Hall should be frugal with these government funds and cut cost of administering these programs. Use these government funds to help the citizens of Middletown and not their personal pet projects.
I disagree with you on the matter that the number of Section 8 has no effect on our city. All studies show that it effects the schools, health care and crime rates.
    And we have the major problem of education. Our schools are a mess and therefore we do not have a well educated work force. When the children grow up and can't get a job they find other ways of making money that are not legal and the crime rate goes up and the cycle begins. Young girl have babies with the boys that can't get a job and they drop out of school and the cycle continues. SOLUTION: Head Start Programs need to do a better job of getting our children ready for school. Parents need to get involved in the education of their children long before they ever start school.
    I have tried to solve a few of the above problems however without LEADERSHIP from City Hall and School Board little can be accomplished.
     
   

 

City Government and the future of Middletown ............ We're lost, but we're making progress? 

I agree with you on a couple of points Spiderjohn, the area is an eyesore and I'd bet that none of you know this better than me. You see, I grew up on the Southwest side of Mtown and have seen the drastic change in the community. I visit home less and less due to the depressed spirit that resides over the city. And I'm not just speaking of the southwest side of town, I'm talking about from that sad little exit sign off of 75. You see and feel the lack of life right before you enter the "city".

SECTION 8 -- MORE HYPOCRISY FROM CITY HALL & SELECTIVE LOCAL "REPORTING"

 

Eddie -

 

Amongst the volumes of information that I foolishly provided you about the waste and mismanagement of HUD funds, please check your e-mails, etc. regarding Section 8.  You will find information that conflicts with today's news article about the highly-controversial Housing Choice Voucher Program in Middletown!

 

Shortly after assuming the Community Development Administrator position in January 2007, I was approached by the two Housing Code Specialists and the two Neighborhood Improvement Advisors that I supervised.  I learned that these CDBG-funded personnel were previously directed by senior Planning Department staff NOT TO HANDLE Section 8 properties as they would all other code deficient properties.  Their rationale was that the long-time Section 8 administrator already had HUD-paid staff to take care of this matter.

 

Please note that I changed this policy immediately.  I informed these four staff members to notify the Section 8 administrator and me whenever they found housing code violations during their routine cavassing of neighborhoods.  Also, please note that there were many e-mails and phone calls made by me to the Section 8 administrator each and every time a violation was found.  I dictated that follow-up site inspections take place between my staff and the Section 8 staff to ensure that all International Property Maintenance Code violations were satisfactorily corrected.  I hope that this overview enlightens you!  Your comments about Judy Gilleland's role in addressing this matter needs to be re-examined.

 

Eddie, you also point out issues involving Housing Choice Voucher background checks and the possible lack thereof.  In March of 2008 I was contacted by Middletown Police Department personnel regarding this matter.  Even though Judy Gilleland and Marty Kohler had taken over all Section 8 matters of any importance, I recall setting up one or two meetings with Sgt. Cunningham, etc. and C.O.N.S.O.C. to discuss this matter and to find mutually acceptable solutions.  This resulted in closer dialogue between C.O.N.S.O.C. and the Police.  I hope that this overview enlightens you!  Your comments about Judy Gilleland's role in addressing this matter needs to be re-examined.

 

You also fail to mention that it was me who started the process of requesting monthly databases of Housing Choice Voucher properties and owners from C.O.N.S.O.C. in the latter part of 2007.  I don't believe that this occurred before.  I made certain that Middletown Police, Les Landen, Judy Gilleland, Marty Kohler, my staff and the Water Department received these lists.  Major Hoffman and others can attest to this!

 

Shortly after my employment ended with the City of Middletown in January of this year, one of Miss Gilleland's weekly newsletters mentioned the departure of a key staff person who administered Section 8 as well as the CDBG and HOME Programs.  She failed to mention that I had little to nothing to do with Section 8 about one year before as noted previously and that I was "railroaded" out of my position.  Do you remember using the term "railroaded" when I finally agreed to meet with you in person and your boss at Pisanello's Pizza in Franklin about six days following my official departure in late January of 2009?

 

If I sound angry ......................... wouldn't you be?  Please report the facts as they actually occurred!  You have more than enough information to FINALLY set the record straight about so many abuses of HUD funds!

 

 

 

 

Mike