ATLANTIC CITY — Daniel Sherrod, the lone member of the city’s housing authority board, was back in the resort Thursday to attend his second-ever board meeting in person in front of a packed crowd of residents.
Sherrod, an official with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, has been overseeing the agency’s operations since HUD took it over Aug. 11 after determining it was in substantial default.
Over the past month, Sherrod said he has met with residents while working on changing the attitude within the agency.
“The residents have been wonderful since our last board meeting, and I know some of them probably had a few choice words for me, but we’re coming together,” Sherrod said. “The staff has also done a great job understanding the urgency of the situation, and they have started to hold each other accountable for their performance. I’ve seen significant attitude adjustments. Everyone seems to be embracing this change.”
Thursday’s meeting took place at the Charles P. Jefferies Tower on Vermont Avenue as opposed to the agency’s offices on Arctic Avenue so people could attend the meeting without cramming into a small room. Sherrod said each monthly meeting will be held at a different authority-owned complex.
Throughout the three-hour meeting, Sherrod listened to residents’ concerns and voted on several resolutions. He then provided explanations as to why a resolution was approved or denied.
A hot topic raised by residents was heating issues at Stanley Holmes Village, which is a problem that plagued the housing complex long before Sherrod’s arrival.
The Atlantic City Housing Authority was taken over the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development after years of issues in August
However, there seemed to be a path forward as Sherrod voted to confirm a declaration of emergency relating to underground heating and hot water piping at Stanley.
To ensure residents have dependable heat, Sherrod said the plan is to install new pipes in case the original pipes fail before eventually doing away with the old pipes all together.
“They are going to be installing control valves underneath the buildings, and then 40 inches below the dirt, they are going to be trenching and running the new pipe to every building because we don’t believe the current pipe will hold through the entire winter and we’re confident the distribution system could fail,” Sherrod said. “We know what sections are the worst, so we’re going to be focusing on those first and then go to everyone else. Residents are going to have heat, but we’re making a backup plan.”
Sherrod said heat interruptions could occur during the work, but not everyone would be affected. All residents will be informed days in advance, he said.
“We’re going to be able to isolate each building,” Sherrod said. “We can cut off one building, install the valve and make repairs, turn it back on and move on to the next building. If we have to make one repair right now, we have to cut everyone off.”
Sherrod is expected to meet with residents before Oct. 15 to go over the finalized plans.
The last resolution Sherrod voted on was related to how the agency would function in the event of a government shutdown. Sherrod said everything would be “business as usual,” but he would have to come back to approve certain actions.
“This is a just in case,” Sherrod said.
Contact John O’Connor:
609-272-7247
joconnor@pressofac.com
X @acpressoconnor
Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox!
Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.
* I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
John O’Connor
Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily!
Your notification has been saved.
There was a problem saving your notification.
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Followed notifications
Please log in to use this feature
Log In
Don’t have an account? Sign Up Today