From the waiting list at the Chauncey Apartments, you may think that occupancy reservations are at 100 percent.

Thursday, December 14, 2000

From the waiting list at the Chauncey Apartments, you may think that occupancy reservations are at 100 percent. Well, you’d be wrong.

Apparently potential residents are looking for two-bedroom apartments, instead of the one-bedroom, one-bath units waiting to be reserved.

"There are over 100 people on the waiting list, but they either want a two-bedroom apartment or they want to wait a year before moving in," said Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) Executive Director Kermit Mahan in a Wednesday night meeting.

Mahan reported that construction on the facility is two months ahead of schedule. Currently, the windows have been installed, workers are drywalling and painting and brick and stonework are being placed.

Another construction project, Murphy’s Creek, was approved as a tax increment finance district resolution, as a follow-up to Tuesday night’s Planning Commission meeting. It will be passed to the City Council for final approval.

Mahan added that the HRA staff, Zoning Administrator Craig Hoium and City Engineer John Erichson worked diligently to create a plat for Murphy’s Creek with aligned streets.

A third project, the railroad yard, was discussed. The area was purchased from Craig Johnson of Chicago Milwaukee Corporation. The HRA is planning a serious site clean-up of the area in the spring.

 

The airport project was discussed in the meeting as well. To expand the runway to comply with FAA standards, the HRA is creating a larger clear zone by acquiring parcels of land around the runway. Demolition has not been the first choice in this phase. "Selling the houses and moving them is the central part of our effort," Mahan said. Phase II of the development will involve acquiring parcels which do not contain structures.

In other HRA business:

n Dick Chaffee asked the HRA to review the parking facilities at Picket Place. Twelve to 14 steps separate the upper and lower parking decks, which makes parking upstairs difficult for some elderly residents.

n A motion to increase administrative salaries by three to three and a half percent was approved, which will bring the salaries in alignment with those in comparable cities. These increases will have an effective date of Oct. 1, 2000, in order to comply with a re-adjusted fiscal year.

n The HRA approved a series of HUD-evaluated performance indicators on the operations of public housing programs in Austin. Included in the evaluations were improvements in management, physical inspections and residents’ satisfaction, all of which were already rated considerably well last year.

n Deputy Director of Community Development Tom Smith was honored with an Minnesota Housing Finance Agency award for "providing home improvement loans for minorities in the community," said Mahan.

n The HRA has acquired H & S Carburetor through money from grants.