New contracts approved Tuesday bring the Vicksburg Housing Authority into federal compliance and save money, Executive Director Dannie Walker said.

Most of the contracts in place had not been advertised or negotiated for years, decades in some cases, Walker told the authority’s five-member board. When Walker was selected by the commission to replace 21-year director James Stirgus Sr. in July, he made it a top priority to request new bids on old contracts.

“I’m confident we’ll be in compliance with (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) regulations in the long run,” said Walker of the contracts approved unanimously. “And I do think we’ll also save money in the long run.”

Records for many of the contracts were spotty, said Walker, and in some cases could not be found at all.

OK’d were:

• Pest control: Integrated Pest Services of Jackson was awarded the contract among six bidders at a price of $3 per unit for monthly spraying of non-occupied units and $3.25 for occupied units. Gary Jones Pest Control of Vicksburg had the contract, and had been paid approximately $8.25 per unit for monthly spraying, said Commission Chairman Jay Kilroy.

• Vacated unit cleaning: Integrity Cleaning Service of Vicksburg was awarded the contract among seven bidders, at prices ranging from $85 for a one-bedroom unit to $204 for a six-bedroom.

• Vacated unit painting: Shawn Hubbard Jabez Construction of Vicksburg was awarded the contract among eight bidders, at prices ranging from $650 for a one-bedroom unit to $1,500 for a six-bedroom. Williams Pressure Washing of Vicksburg formerly had a combination contract for cleaning and painting at $500 per unit, however, Walker said the housing authority supplied all materials under that agreement and he was not pleased with the work. Under the new contract, all materials will have to be provided by the contractor.

Contracts for a federally required energy audit, utility allowance review and independent fiscal audit of the VHA were also approved:

• Energy audit: Energy Consulting Inc. of Birmingham was awarded the contract among three bidders at a price of $3,943. Walker said the audit is required by HUD every five years. He said he did not know when the audit has last been done for the VHA. Walker said he found two identical records for past energy audits with different dates on them, but added “I don’t know that the work was actually done.”

• Utility allowance review: Energy Consulting Inc. was also awarded the contract among two bidders, at a price of $1,587. Walker said the review is used in setting rents for VHA tenants, whose income also factors into the equation. Walker said HUD requires the review to be updated annually, but he could not locate records showing one had been done recently. He said the property managers told him they’ve been using the same review numbers for at least five years.

• Independent fiscal audit: William Daniel McCaskill CPA of Mandeville, La., was awarded the contract among four bidders, at a price of $7,950. Walker said McCaskill will do the housing authority’s fiscal 2009 audit, and has been assured it can be completed in 60 days. Ralph Lee CPA of Gulf Breeze, Fla., had had the contract for 17 years, and was most recently paid $4,000 for the annual audit.

Before Tuesday, new contracts for engineering services and grass cutting had already been approved by the commission, in accordance with Walker’s recommendations. Walker said he is still discussing the possibility of contracting with Vicksburg police to provide security at Waltersville. Coffie Enterprises — which charges $4,895 monthly for providing 24-hour gated security at the apartment complex — has had the contract for years. If he cannot reach an agreement with the police, Walker said he will readvertise the contract for bids.

Also Tuesday, the commission obligated the last of its $888,780 federal stimulus funds by approving a contract with Conerly Construction Inc. of Jackson to install Energy Star windows and bathroom sinks at all 150 apartments at Waltersville Estates, and to take down the razor wire-topped chain-link fence that splits the complex in two. Five bids for the work came in, and Conerly was the lowest bidder at $265,000. 

The VHA was awarded the extra funds through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, commonly referred to as the stimulus package. All of the funds are being directed to Waltersville Estates — one of six subdivisions managed by the VHA. Contracts to reroof all the apartments, repair damaged fascia boards and dormers and provide added insulation, exterior painting and some interior painting of apartment ceilings damaged by leaky roofs were all approved by the commission last month.

“We were able to get about twice as much work with these ARRA funds than we would have in the past,” said Walker, citing the slow construction industry. “Contractors are hungry.”

The City of Vicksburg appoints the five commission members who, in turn, hire a director. Funding for the agency, which manages 430 homes and apartments at six subdivisions throughout the city, comes from HUD and rent payments. A federal investigation into the VHA has been reported to be ongoing. Meanwhile, the authority remains in “troubled status” with HUD, and is required to submit an updated improvement plan monthly or face an April takeover by HUD.

Commissioners present Tuesday were Kilroy, Abraham Green, Christopher Barnett, Charles Wright and John Ferguson. The commissioners also OK’d meeting minutes from Jan. 19, invoices for January and the director’s report on Tuesday.

Contact Steve Sanoski at ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com