The Moultrie Housing Authority can be contacted at 229-985-4162 and is located at 800 Fourth Ave. S.E.

MOULTRIE, Ga. — The Moultrie Housing Authority was recently awarded more than $1 million to fund its property improvement plans, but the authority is facing another challenge to getting the projects done.

U.S. Senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff announced $78.7 million in federal housing investments for Georgia in a Friday press release. Nearly 2,700 public housing authorities in the nation received grant awards totaling $3.16 billion from the HUD’s Public Housing Capital Fund Program, the press release said.

The program’s grants offer annual funding to all public housing authorities to build, renovate and modernize the public housing in their communities.

The Moultrie Housing Authority – which originated in 1949 and currently has about 328 public units in Moultrie – is receiving approximately $1,148,199 in funding from the grant, according to documents shared by Michael Boatwright, the authority’s executive director.

Each year the authority creates a five-year agency plan to determine and prioritize what projects need to be completed. While the dollar figure changes from year to year, the money from the Capital Fund Program is intended to fund that plan.

Boatwright said the MHA has already planned and allocated the grant’s funding for several renovations to its apartment properties. The authority’s primary issue is not receiving bids for the projects.

“We can’t get anybody to bid on [the projects], and when we do the prices are just astronomically high, we can’t afford it. We have everything on hold right now because we’re waiting for the market to kind of calm down a little bit, hopefully, so that we can get some decent pricing and get good contractors to come and do [the work],” Boatwright said in an interview Tuesday.

One project was assigned by HUD and includes renovating the MHA’s current 13 handicapped units and constructing three additional handicap-accessible units. The authority budgeted around $1 million for the project. They received only one bidder with a cost of $2.7 million, Boatwright said. HUD granted an extension on the project and it has been placed on hold.

Boatwright said this is the first time the authority has experienced these difficulties in 23 years and says it is a lagging effect of the pandemic.

Four other major projects are currently on standby due to the same challenges.

The Moultrie Housing Authority also operates the Doerun Housing Authority. They have about 44 public housing units based in Doerun and were awarded approximately $142,480 from HUD for work there.

Boatwright said they plan to do an array of exterior improvements like replacing vinyl siding, repainting the property buildings and installing new playground equipment for the children. The authority has not received bids on this project either.

“We’re going to rebid that one soon to see whether or not things have changed a little bit. If we do get under contract, we’ll be ready to go with that and get it done,” he said.

Each year, the federal government gives every housing authority in the country a standardized score. The score takes into account the authority’s every operational piece from the financials to inspections.

“For the past 10 to 15 years, we’ve scored in the top 1% of all housing authorities in the country. Our score is usually 99 to 100,” he said.

However, the authority’s score – and the grant’s 5% yearly increase as a reward for high scoring – could be in jeopardy if it cannot complete the projects.

“It’s pretty concerning to me that we’re in a situation we’re in, and it’s not just here in Moultrie. We have to work with architects and engineers to get all this stuff done. It’s statewide, and from what I’m gathering, I think it’s [a] more national [issue]. People just are having problems finding people to work for a decent price,” Boatwright explained.

HUD also puts a deadline on when the funds can be used or they will rescind the grant. Housing authorities usually have two years to get a project under contract or to undergo the bidding process, then they have four years to spend the funds. The authority has met HUD’s contract standards for its older projects, but the newer projects are Boatwright’s concerns.

“After those four years, if you don’t spend it, they take it back,” he said.

Experienced maintenance employees can help alleviate the authority’s workload. They currently have about 20 employees but are in need of more who are experienced in general contracting, electric or plumbing.

The Moultrie Housing Authority can be contacted at 229-985-4162 and is located at 800 Fourth Ave. S.E.