DeCarlo quits Affordable Housing board

December 23, 2005


PAT LITOWITZ
plitowitz@ncnewsonline.com

The board of Affordable Housing of Lawrence County has shrunk again with the resignation of Karen DeCarlo. DeCarlo, a New Castle city councilwoman, said Dec. 22 she had mailed her resignation to the nonprofit group on Dec. 19.

She follows Lawrence County Housing Authority executive director Robert Evanick and attorney Frank Natale in leaving the board. Both stepped down earlier this month.

"With my job and with council, I don't have any more time to spare," she said Dec. 22. "The meetings were always during the day, and I can't miss work during the day."

The organization was formed by the housing authority in 2003, with the objective to construct housing for low-income families and the handicapped. Instead, the group has purchased eight properties in New Castle with the intent to rehabilitate them.

Board member Bill Bonner, a First Commonwealth Bank official, wonders what will happen next.

"It sounds like it's collapsing," Bonner said Dec. 22. "There's not too many people left. I have not talked to Rev. (James) Blackwell," one of the three remaining board members. "I trust he is still there.

"I don't know who's still on the board at this point in time."

Bonner, Blackwell and Donald "Ducky" Conti, also a member of the board of the Lawrence County Housing Authority, are the remaining members of Affordable Housing's board.

Asked if he is going to resign too, Bonner said, "I'm not even going to address that at this point."

Blackwell could not be reached for comment.

The board approved the purchase of seven city properties. The mortgage agreement with First Commonwealth Bank for $250,000 was finalized Dec. 7.

Three of the purchases were near or below county and state market values.

The four others were either owned or co-owned by Nick DeRosa and John A. Orlando. Valued by the county at a total of $135,100, houses on Frank, East Wallace, Highland and Florence avenues sold for $214,500.

Overall, the seven structures were purchased for $327,500.

Orlando is retired from the Pennsylvania-American Water Co. DeRosa is the assistant superintendent of the New Castle Area School District.

One of DeRosa's roles is transportation supervisor for the school district, which has a busing contract with Laidlaw Transit. DeCarlo is Laidlaw's manager.

DeCarlo said she did not know of DeRosa's association when she agreed to the purchase.

"When we made the decision on that, we were not given the owners of the houses," she said. "We were just given the information that there were these houses available. These were the prices that were given.

"I didn't know until I read in the newspaper who the owners were."

Asked what she would have done had she known, DeCarlo answered, "Probably ask a lot more questions."

As a city council member, DeCarlo voted for a $45,000 lawsuit settlement involving DeRosa and Patricia G. Moosally. The issue, which council approved unanimously Dec. 22, involved an East Washington Street property DeRosa and Moosally once owned.

DeCarlo said she did not see a conflict in her vote.

"I am not in the decision-making process with the (busing) contract," she said. "That is all done with higher-ups from me."

DeRosa could not be reached for comment. School officials said he is expected to return Dec. 23 from a scheduled vacation in Florida.


Copyright (c) 2005, New Castle News