Respectability a goal Affordable didn't reach

April 04, 2006



BY PAT LITOWITZ
PLITOWITZ@NCNEWSONLINE.COM

(Second in a series)

Roger Smith is the money man.

His fundraising efforts have secured millions of dollars for the Human Services Center in New Castle, where he works as director of community services. As president of New Visions, he works to beautify the city's downtown. He also promotes community causes.

Smith -- who has an undergraduate degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a graduate degree in community development from Harvard -- has a special touch. And Affordable Housing of Lawrence County wanted it.

"I knew he was good," said Robert Heath, Lawrence County Housing Authority chairman. "I knew he was honest. "I knew they were in trouble when he left."

When Smith agreed to help the housing authority spin-off, Affordable Housing gained a foothold on legitimacy. To succeed, Smith told members of the board of the nonprofit housing group, they needed to have the respect of the community.

FAILED TASK

That respect never came, but not for lack of Smith's efforts.

Affordable Housing failed in the one major task Smith had assigned it -- have a board of 15 to 20 members who represent the county's diverse population.

"That to me was absolutely essential before moving forward," Smith said. "Their reluctance to expand the board to that size led me to discontinue my working with them."

Smith saw the promise of the new agency. He prepared the paperwork necessary for the organization's coveted nonprofit status from the federal government.

"That took a considerable amount of time," Smith recalled. "That had to be done in order to move forward with anything else in terms of fundraising.

"I wrote every bit of that."

Dale Country Estates was meant to be the prized result of Affordable Housing's efforts. The facility, to be located in Union Township, was to include 20 units for low-income elderly and four for adults with serious physical disabilities. Six other units were to be rented at fair market rates.

"This was housing that would have enabled them to stay in their homes with some community supports," Smith pointed out.

THE COSTS

Dale Country Estates' cost was slated at $2.5 million. In August 2004, Smith secured a Federal Home Loan Bank loan of $168,000 to assist with the venture.

"I anticipated that we probably would have been successful in raising those types of funds for Dale Country Estates," Smith said. "I think it would have been fairly easy to demonstrate the need for housing like that."

Some Affordable Housing board members, such as Robert Evanick, blamed Union Township officials for the development's ultimate failure. They cited the reluctance of Union's representatives to meet with those of Affordable Housing.

"If we were able to work something out with Union Township ... that would have been a nice project," said Evanick, the housing authority's executive director and former Affordable Housing board president.

"That would have been something to be proud of."

NOT APPROACHED

Union Township Supervisors Kevin Guinaugh and Pat Angiolelli and former supervisor Steve Galizia, countered that Affordable Housing never formally approached them.

"They were correct. In a formal way, they weren't," Smith said. "And I wasn't in favor of approaching them in a formal way until the board became a really viable board."

Smith's call for an expanded board served two purposes: it represented the complexion and interests of the entire county and allowed Affordable Housing access to larger funding sources.

"Some of the sentiments were, the larger the board the more unwieldy it becomes," Smith said. "That's just the price you pay for diversity."

It wasn't until March 18, 2005, that Affordable Housing's six-member board called for increasing to 15 to 20 members. By then, Smith had limited his relationship with the group.

"I thought when we had Roger Smith it was going well," Evanick said. "When Roger quit, the lines of communication ... it just fell apart."

Asked why Smith had left, Evanick responded, "He said he was too busy."

For his time as a consultant with Affordable Housing, Smith received $2,065. His successor, Robert Ratkovich, was compensated $61,659 over a two-year period.