Morgan City may provide flood victims housing

Some residents displaced by the recent devastating floods in south Louisiana may be able to find a place to live in Morgan City.
The Morgan City Housing Authority began accepting applications Thursday for residents, and the authority will continue to take applications from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. each Thursday for the remainder of the year, Executive Director Clarence Robinson said.
Beginning the application process was timely with the flooding in the Baton Rouge and Lafayette areas. Housing officials already received an application from one flood victim Thursday, Robinson said. Housing officials plan to accept displaced residents as the authority has space available.
Anyone displaced by the flood who’s interested in applying for housing should bring proof that the person has applied for FEMA assistance. Applicants should also bring a picture ID, proof of income and at least proof that they have applied to receive a replacement birth certificate or social security card, if those items were damaged in the flood, Robinson said.
Displaced residents may be eligible to use Section 8 housing if the authority has vouchers available, Robinson said. Section 8 refers to privately owned residences that are leased to be used for public housing.
Units currently undergoing renovations at Joe Ruffin Homes on Railroad Avenue may eventually be able to provide housing for some displaced residents. The housing authority stopped using the units four years ago because of major drainage and plumbing problems.
Robinson plans to put all 29 units at the complex back into use. He expects to have 14 of the units ready to be completed within three to four months.
The housing authority and city of Morgan City are working together through a cooperative agreement to make the repairs necessary to the units.
Officials have done some of the cosmetic work on the building already, and are preparing to do electrical and plumbing work. A new drainage pump that the city installed “works awesome,” he said.
The H&B Young Foundation allocated funds to paint the brick exterior of Joe Ruffin Homes, Robinson said. Painting should be finished within 60 days.
During Thursday’s meeting, Robinson said he has received 105 applications for a housing specialist job at the authority. Robinson is reviewing those applications and hopes to fill that position within a month.
Robinson said in May that he had hired two temporary workers to fill the jobs left vacant by former Accounting Tech Diana Pace and former Housing Manager Sandra Greene, who both pleaded guilty to criminal charges relating to receiving improper bonuses.
Housing Authority Attorney Robert Duffy announced that newly-appointed commissioner Michael Giroir will be sworn in at the board’s September meeting. The board likely will elect a new board chairperson at that meeting, Duffy said.
Mayor Frank “Boo” Grizzaffi appointed Giroir to the board Tuesday after receiving a resignation letter Monday from ex-Board Chairman Victory Ho. Ho was arrested Aug. 18 on multiple drug charges.
In other business, the commission
—Accepted a resolution for review and approval of the Public Housing and Section 8 Program Consumption Survey and Study and Utility Allowance.
—Accepted a resolution to approve asset disposition of annotated assets for the Morgan City Housing Authority.
—Approved awarding a grass-cutting contract to Nature Calls for one year at a cost of $85,470 with the option for renewal.