Public housing units to go back online

Morgan City officials and housing authority officials are working together to make the improvements necessary to put public housing units at Joe Ruffin Homes on Railroad Avenue back into use, they said at Tuesday’s city council meeting.
Housing Authority Executive Director Clarence Robinson presented the housing authority’s pilot payment of $143,000 to the city during the council meeting.
The city accepts the pilot payment from the housing authority once every two years in lieu of taxes, Mayor Frank “Boo” Grizzaffi said.
City officials plan to use a portion of the pilot payment to assist in renovating Joe Ruffin Homes, Grizzaffi said.
Housing authority leaders have identified 13 units at the housing development they plan to put online within the next 60 to 90 days, Robinson said. Joe Ruffin Homes has a total of 29 units. Major plumbing issues had caused officials to have to close the units, he said.
The more units the housing authority has in use, the more money the city receives, Robinson said.
“The people in public housing are paying something back to this community,” Robinson said.
Robinson became director in 2013 when the authority was “in total disarray,” he said. Robinson and the housing board are trying to re-store the housing authority’s integrity.
In August 2015, the housing board extended Robin-son’s contract as acting executive director for up to three years. That extension will allow Robinson to complete the five-year plan he is working on for the housing authority.
On Feb. 18, a federal grand jury indicted two former housing authority employees and two current employees, accusing them of issuing and receiving over $500,000 in bonus payments to which they weren’t entitled from 2007 through 2013.
Former Executive Director Charles E. Spann, former housing manager Tori D. Johnson, current accounting tech Diana L. Pace and current housing manager Sandra L. Greene were indicted on one count of conspiracy to defraud the Unites States.
The indictment also charged Pace and Greene in 14 counts of theft of government money. Johnson faces 12 counts of theft of government money, while Spann faces five counts of theft of government money.
On March 16, Spann, Pace and Greene all pleaded not guilty to the charges. Johnson’s arraignment is set for March 31. Pace and Greene, who are both classified civil service employees, still work at the housing authority.
Spann resigned as executive director in June 2013, and Johnson resigned before Spann did.
Housing Authority Chair-man Victory Ho said the housing authority has been successful in changing the organization for the better in the last four years and is continuing that process.
“Affordable housing is going to be a great asset to this city as we move on and the economy changes,” Ho said.
The housing authority will hold its regular monthly board meeting at 5 p.m. Thursday.
Also at Tuesday’s council meeting, the council approved organizers to hold the inaugural Porch Fest at Lawrence Park from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. April 16. Morgan City dentist Dr. Francis Scott Sicard got the idea from a festival he attended while living in Cleveland. The Porch Fest will allow musicians to play on the porches of several residents surrounding Lawrence Park. The event includes the Jacques O’Neal 3.17-mile run/walk and kids’ fun run.
The run is named in memory of Sicard’s son, Jacques O’Neal Sicard, who died from heart and lung complications at five months old. Proceeds from the race will benefit pediatric heart and lung research, while Porch Fest funds will be donated in Jacques’ memory to upgrade playground equipment in Lawrence Park.
The council approved an ordinance amending the requirements to become city prosecutor. The amendment no longer requires city prosecutor candidates to be residents of Morgan City, and is designed to make getting a city prosecutor easier in the future, Grizzaffi said. Leo Landry currently serves as city prosecutor.
In other business, the council
—Went through a first reading of an ordinance to amend the city’s ordinance on truck routes.
—Approved the appoinments of Dean Listi Jr. and Mandy Price to the Main Street Committee.