BEDFORD – The Housing Authority City of Bedford Commissioners met Thursday to discuss updates to their number of tenants, the number of those on waiting lists, and the addition of two new commission members.
Rowena Cross-Najafi and Kevin Andry were introduced as new commissioners to begin the meeting.
Currently, there are 57 on the waiting list for open units, nine for Hauck House and 48 for Hamilton Courts. There are currently two open units at Hamilton Courts and one at Hauck House.
Bedford Housing Authority Executive Director Bobbie Ames also noted there are five Hauck House units that the maintenance team is working to prepare for new tenants that should be ready soon.
Ames said Hauck House has recently experienced a high rate of turnover with them also finding it difficult to fill units once they become available.
“It’s been kind of a challenge to find people. Our list is going really quickly,” she said. “It’s almost to the point where they’re not going to be able to replace the ones who are leaving.”
Ames suggested the issue could be due to increased housing options in the area, with some applicants saying they’ve already found another place to live once they’ve made it through the waiting period.
Ames also said that Hauck House recently experienced a bed bug outbreak, after a tenant failed to disclose that they had them, before spreading them to five more residents. The outbreak occurred on the top floor of the building. Those rooms were heat treated and the issue was handled, Ames said. The building will be further inspected for bed bugs again in March.
Ames said the outbreak cost them around $12,000 to remove.
