Northpinellas: Director has stabilized Tarpon public housing

In 1996, the Tarpon Springs Housing Authority was in disarray, and its housing units were a disaster. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development blasted the authority for its poor management and a vacancy rate as high as one-third of the authority's 225 apartments. Many apartments were in such bad condition that they could not be occupied. Complexes were plagued by crime, and some apartments were occupied by people who were not legal tenants.

Then Pat Weber was hired as the authority's executive director in September 1996. When she suggested that massive improvements would be made by the end of a year, some people wondered whether she was naive.

But within half a year, HUD was praising the authority's turnaround. By the end of a year, most of the empty units -- some of which had been boarded up for years -- were fixed up and available for rent again.

Weber got tough with tenants, too, and was unpopular with those who didn't like living by Weber's new set of rules. For example, tenants were told when they rented apartments that they had to keep the units in good repair. If something was damaged because of their negligence, they had to pay a fine or face eviction. They also were fined if they littered their yards.

Problem tenants who would not pay their rent on time or were suspected of criminal activity got the boot from Weber. The Tarpon Springs Police Department was an active partner with Weber in cleaning up the crime and vandalism problems. Now, according to police, crime is down significantly in the city's public housing complexes. The complexes are now safer places for the children and adults who live there.

The importance of Weber's contributions cannot be overestimated.

The Tarpon Springs Housing Authority provides a large portion of the low-income housing available in Pinellas County north of Clearwater. Some people who don't know North Pinellas well might assume it is too affluent to need low-income housing. That is not the case. There is a steady population of low-income residents who live and work in North Pinellas and South Pasco who need access to decent housing and reliable mass transit.

Tarpon's public housing units sat empty for months or years not because the housing wasn't needed but because the mismanaged authority withdrew them from the rental market or because the units were such hovels that even those desperate for affordable housing refused to live there. Today, the housing authority maintains a waiting list.

Now that the situation has stabilized and the housing units are safe and healthy for tenants, Weber is turning her attention to improving tenants' quality of life. For the first time, air conditioners are being installed in all housing units. Screen doors are being put up and bathrooms are being renovated to make them easier for elderly or disabled tenants to use.

But Weber says much remains to be done, including upgrading some interior furnishings in the apartments and improving the landscaping outside.

Weber realized, as directors of successful housing authorities elsewhere have, that to make real, long-term progress she would have to do more than slap on some paint and take the boards off the apartment windows. She would have to instill self-respect and pride in those who live in Tarpon Springs public housing. That could not happen as long as tenants were ashamed of the place where they lived or were forced to live in conditions that most people would find intolerable.

Congratulations to Weber for a job well done.

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