By Mark Lisheron
The housing authority in Port Arthur will lose the balance of a $725,546 federal stimulus grant for its mishandling of two low-income development projects.
In a report issued late last week, Gerald R. Kirkland, regional inspector general for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Fort Worth, is asking that the Housing Authority return $67,640 the authority already spent on the project.
Kirkland’s report criticized the Housing Authority for planning to use the American Recovery and Reinvestment grant for a development at the city’s Carver Terrace public housing development in conjunction with federal disaster recovery funds that were not available. The authority changed direction and committed the stimulus funding to build a learning center at the Gulfbreeze Place public housing development.
According to the report, the Housing Authority failed to practice sound financial controls, violated procurement regulations, failed to meet stimulus reporting requirements and failed to get environmental clearance before beginning site work.
Cele Quesada, executive director of the Port Authority, disagreed with nearly every conclusion in the report in a vigorously argued response included in the inspector general’s report. Quesada told Texas Watchdog today that while he continued to disagree, there appeared to be no recourse but to repay the money spent and give up the grant.
