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| | Email this article • Print this article | Meeting could help settle Park Street differences
by Nancy Busiahn
A solution to the dispute between residents of Park Street Apartments and the building's owner could be in the works. Jack Cann, an attorney with Housing Preservation Project, said this week that he's trying to set up a meeting between residents of Park Street Apartments; John Bergstad, the owner of the building; representatives from Housing and Urban Development (HUD); Southeast Minnesota Multi-County Housing and Redevelopment Authority (SEMMCHRA); and Housing Finance Agency (HFA). Cann hopes the meeting will provide an opportunity to iron out differences over Bergstad's plan to drop out of section 8 and switch the building to assisted living. Residents say the change will mean many residents will have to move. A date or other details about the meeting have yet to be determined.
Cann mailed two letters to Bergstad earlier this month about the matter. The first included a court order prohibiting the termination of the Section 8 contract until Bergstad complied with applicable laws, and a full year had passed since Bergstad notified building residents of his plans. "Because the contracts automatically renew at the end of the term for another five year period, we believe that you may not terminate these contracts before the end of that five-year period," Cann wrote.
A second letter from Cann chided Bergstad for failing to market or rent two vacant units, as required by law, so they could be prepared for assisted living. This letter threatened a lawsuit.
Cann said this week that Bergstad called him after receiving the letters, but that confusion remains. Questions remain about what position SEMMCHRA, the local housing authority based in Wabasha, will take, and how an enhanced voucher program would interact with Bergstad's plans, Cann said.
The standard Section 8 rent voucher covers any rent amount, over 30% of the occupant's income, based on fair market value, as long as the rent doesn't exceed the amount set by the housing authority. If the tenants used this voucher to remain at Park Street, Cann said, they'd have to pay 30% of their income, PLUS any amount over the base amount set by the housing authority.
Congress has established an enhanced voucher which applies when a building leaves the Section 8 program, Cann continued, and enables current residents to remain in their homes. The voucher covers the entire rent of the unit, minus the 30% paid by the tenant.
In this case, rent would be what Bergstad told residents in a letter last October, $800 for a one bedroom, and $900 for one-two bedroom apartments. Bergstad's letter contained no mention of a switch to assisted living.
Cann's firm represents HOME Line, a nonprofit, Minnesota tenant advocacy organization working with Park Street residents.
A call to Mr. Bergstad was not returned.
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