At the September board meeting of the Corbin Housing Authority, Executive Director Robert Hayes announced that he had recently been presented with a new High Performer Certificate from the U.S. Department for Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The certificate is awarded yearly to agencies who display exemplary performance under the Public Housing Assessment System (PHAS).
Hayes also addressed the board regarding some consulting work that he has been doing in Winchester recently, saying, “As a regional executive director, I am continually reaching out to other agencies in my area to see if they might need assistance in any manner, and just to network. I am always looking to collaborate, and I will reach out to other if I need assistance.”
Hayes described the Winchester Housing Authority as being “in transition,” adding that “things are turning around big time and looking great.”
In return for helping the Winchester Housing Authority navigate out of some difficult circumstances, Hayes said that he is hoping to “at some point” acquire some sort of payment from the agency that can be put towards expenses in Corbin. He referred to this potential future payment as a “consulting fee,” and specifically mentioned vehicle cost as one area where the money could be used.
Board Chairman Mark Daniels said that Hayes’ work in Winchester represents a big leap in progress from where the Corbin Housing Authority was in the past.
“This is a tremendous difference from where we were, compared to having to be on the other end and being the ones who needed to be consulted with,” Daniels told the board.
Speaking generally about collaborative efforts between housing authorities, Daniels said, “I think that it makes everybody better, because you see things that you need to improve on by working with other agencies. If you work in a silo, then you get used to doing things in certain ways that may not be the best. That can degrade over time.”
Other topics discussed at the board meeting included:
– Hayes said that he is “super excited” to see dirt being moved at the future site of a new playground area that is being constructed at the housing authority’s Madison Street location.
– Hayes is organizing an “integrity, transparency and compliancy” training seminar through the Kentucky Housing Association that will take place in the near future at Cumberland Falls State Resort Park. City commissioners, mayors, county judge executives, housing authority directors and housing authority board members will be invited to attend and learn more about topics including cooperative agreements, fiduciary responsibilities, the utilization of guidelines found in Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) and more. Additional details on this event will be provided in an upcoming edition of the News Journal.
