Housing authority will seek financing again for new central-city apartments

This story is published on Columbia Missourian.

photo by Leanne Tippett Mosby

The Columbia Housing Authority hopes the third time’s a charm.

The authority plans to apply for money from several sources to help it build 36 new apartments for low-income families that now live on Trinity Place and Providence Walkway. The total estimated cost of the project is $9.84 million, and the housing authority hopes to have the apartments ready to move into by June 2022.

Previous attempts to win financing for the project in 2018 and 2019 failed, however.

The housing authority plans to build 24 new apartments on property it owns at 1 E. Sexton Road in a development it will call Kinney Point, according to the June 16 agenda packet for the housing authority’s board of commissioners. Kinney Point is named after Marvin Kinney, who served on the Columbia Housing Authority’s Board of Commissioners for over 25 years. CEO Phil Steinaus said the authority bought the property across the street from Oak Towers for $225,000 in December 2012.

The land right now is primarily green space and features a walking trail.

In addition to the Kinney Point development, the authority plans to build 12 new apartments on the northwest side of Trinity Place.

The housing authority will have to line up several sources of funding by October 2021 and begin construction in November 2021 to achieve its goal of completing the apartments by the summer of 2022.

Steinaus said one advantage of new construction over renovating existing apartments is that residents will be required to move only once. Those who live at Trinity Place now will be given the first opportunity to move into the new apartments. Moving expenses will be covered as part of the project.

Once the new apartments are built, the housing authority will tear down the old ones to accommodate future redevelopment of the Trinity Place and Providence Walkway sites.

Each apartment will cost an estimated $203,149 to build.

The housing authority hopes to win $7.83 million in low-income housing tax credits to help finance the project.

“The funding is very competitive,” Steinaus said. “It would be a competition with about 130 applications for the tax credits’ allocation.”

In 2018 and 2019, the housing authority applied to the Missouri Housing Development Commission for federal low-income housing tax credits to assist with the renovation of the Providence Walkway Apartments, but the commission did not award the credits because it thought the cost was too high.

“We have to put together the best projects possible while also keeping our request for funding as low as possible,”Steinhaus said.

The authority won’t know if it will get the tax credits until December. After that, it would take about eight months to finalize all the plans.

The housing authority also plans to apply for $350,000 in assistance from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines.

The amount of rent paid by residents will continue to be based on 30% of adjusted household income.

Steinhaus said replacing the existing Trinity Place apartments is necessary because they have plumbing problems and are poorly insulated. He also mentioned that the air conditioners and heaters are not energy-efficient, and the electric systems do not comply with city code. New energy-efficient apartments will help residents save money on their utility bills.

The authority has held two meetings in English to explain the project to residents. Because residents speak many different languages, including Arabic, Chinese, French, Lingala and Swahili, they also have arranged small meetings with translators to ensure residents understand the information.

Marva Shavers, one of the residents living in Trinity Place, said she looks forward to moving to a new place.

“The apartment we are living in is old,” she said. “There are a lot of cracks in the wall.”

Alima Fuguro, another Trinity Place resident, said she doubts the new apartments will be built any time soon.

“Every year, they announce a plan that they are going to let us move. But nothing is going on.”

Pat Kelley, a member of the Ridgeway Neighborhood Association who lives 2½ blocks away from the Kinney Point property, said that Steinhaus several years ago asked the association to write a letter in support of its application for tax credits that would finance a previous plan for developing the land. Association members, however, decided to neither support nor oppose the project.

Kelley said the members thought the previous plan had too little common space. She thinks the new plan is an improvement.

“We had concerns about having a big parking lot in front of the building,” she said. “I noticed that they have moved it to the back. It looks like they are planning to keep some of the trees also. I don’t think that they did that in the previous project.”

COVID story: Universities, international students celebrate demise of ICE 'go home' rule

This story is published on Columbia Missourian.

photo by Leanne Tippett Mosby

Some international students were rejoicing Tuesday after hearing the Trump administration has rescinded an Immigration and Customs Enforcement directive that would have forced them to go home if they ended up taking all online classes in the fall.

But some were still not sure whether they would come back to Columbia from their countries as uncertainty persists during the pandemic.

The Students and Exchange Visitor Program July 6 directive stated nonimmigrant students would be forced to leave the U.S. or change schools if they were taking all classes online in the fall 2020 semester, according to the Department of Homeland Security’s official website.

Facing eight federal lawsuits and opposition from hundreds of universities, the Trump administration rescinded the rule.

The decision was announced at the start of a federal lawsuit hearing in Boston brought by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs said federal immigration authorities agreed to pull the July 6 directive and “return to the status quo.”

MU administration had already informed international students that the rule wouldn’t apply to them because the current plan is to offer a hybrid of in-person and blended classes in the fall.

In an email last Wednesday, UM System President and Interim Chancellor Mun Choi and Provost Latha Ramchand assured students they would continue to provide them with support and resources.

“We recognize the essential contributions our international students and scholars provide to our entire community and will work diligently to ensure they remain valued members of our campus and community,” the email said.

Some international students were already ambivalent about returning to MU.

The total number of international students enrolled at MU last year was 1,634, and that represents about 5.5% of the student population, MU spokesperson Christian Basi said.

Among them is Chen Xiaoyu, a journalism student from China who said she had already invested a lot of effort and money in buying tickets to fly home to Zhejiang, China, in June.

“I have been quarantined for about 14 days since I came back,” she said. “If I decide to go back to the U.S., I cannot come back to the U.S. directly due to the travel ban. So, it is a big-time commitment for me to come back to MU.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, foreign nationals who have been in China, Iran, Brazil, Ireland, the U.K. and almost every country in Europe in the past 14 days can’t enter the U.S.

The policy was issued July 6. Since then, international students have been concerned about the future.

Homayoon Rafatijo, a postdoctoral researcher from Iran in MU’s chemistry department, said he and his fiancée were relieved by Tuesday’s announcement.

“We are happy that they are not going to send us back,” he said.

But he doubted whether MU would be able to continue the hybrid mode given the increasing number of COVID-19 cases.

He said he hoped the university would be clear and transparent about its plans.

Rafatijo’s fiancée, Ekaterina Lisovskaia, is an international student from Russia. She planned to go back to her country before the summer break, but then, reality intervened.

“There are no flights. Embassy is closed. And they say, if you apply to come back, you will not get a visa because of this situation,” she said. “It is really risky to go home.”

She had to arrange accommodations and make a lot of new plans for this summer.

Some international students were less worried.

Pamela Montaño, an MU undergraduate student from Bolivia, said she believed MU would make the best decision where international students are concerned.

A former MU student from Rwanda, Felix Mugisha, now studying at Moberly Area Community College, didn’t see much need to worry about policy changes.

Students just need to wait and see what happens, Mugisha said before Tuesday’s rescission of the ICE policy.

Paul Simanjuntak, an Indonesian graduate student attending MU, said he hoped the Trump administration decision would hold for the rest of the coming school year.

“I just don’t want to deal with this again,” Simanjuntak said.

MU had a response Tuesday to the change in policy in an email to the student community.

“The news today regarding international students is truly a win for the United States,” Choi said via email. “International students are an important part of our campus community. The UM System is committed to supporting our international students, and we look forward to having them back when the semester begins in August.”

The American Council on Education, which represents university presidents, praised ICE’s pullback of the rule. The group said the policy was misguided from the start and drew unprecedented opposition from colleges.

“There has never been a case where so many institutions sued the federal government,” said Terry Hartle, the group’s senior vice president. “In this case, the government didn’t even try to defend its policymaking.”

The AP contributed to this report.

COVID story: Closure of Daniel Boone Regional Library impacts local patrons

This article is produced in April 2020

Mollie McGeehon misses filling her rolling cart with books borrowed from the public library. “I have nothing right now,” she said.

As COVID-19 spreads, states have taken social distancing measures to mitigate the situation. Under this circumstance, public places such as libraries are closed due to health concerns. Library Journal, an American trade publication for librarians, pulled 777 U.S. public libraries, revealing that 95 % of the libraries are currently closed, and 2% are working towards closing.

Source: Library Journal’s survey by Elliot Riley /Made by Clivia LIang

All Daniel Boone Regional Library facilities and services have been closed since March 17. According to the annual report of the public library, this closure can affect up to 223,303 people in the library district.

McGeehon, an art teacher in the Jamestown C-1 School District, relied on the Columbia Public Library for her work before the coronavirus pandemic. “The greatest thing for this library is there is no limit for checking out books,” she said. She went to the library once a week, checking out as many educational materials as she could. McGeehon also utilized library services for personal reasons. She cares for a 95-year-old woman, reading old newspapers to her. “I used to use the microfiche in the library to make copies for her, but I can only read the newspapers to her on my phone now,” she said. “There is not as much as fun. You can find more interesting collections in the library.”

Lauren Williams, the Adult and Community Services Manager at Daniel Boone Regional Library, said they are purchasing more downloadable resources to increase the online database in the library. To get the online resource, one has to get a membership card from the library. “We tried to make it easier for our patrons,” Williams said. “Once you send the request to us, our staff will send the E-card to you.”

According to Williams, there have been approximately 250 new memberships created from March 17 to April 17.

Customers are currently forced to rely on technology for library resources. Some customers are having trouble using the online database. Cathy Chou, a mother with two children in Columbia, said it is sometimes hard for her to get the materials: “There are usually more readers than books. You have to wait in line when a few readers request the same book at the same time.” Chou also thought the public library had not provided enough online collections for readers. She mentioned she could only access the latest books with digital versions because the library does not have digital versions of classic books published before the emergence of e-books.

Source: 2018 annual report of Daniel Boone Regional Library/Made by Clivia Liang

According to the annual report of Daniel Boone Regional Library in 2018, there are 403,871 printed books, which account for 72% of the total collections. There are only 53,764 e-books, which account for 10% of the total collections.

Apart from limited digital resources, some readers need to adapt to a new reading style.

“I like holding a physical book in my hand instead of reading it online,” McGeehon said.

In addition to customers who are not familiar with the online environment, Williams also worries about readers who do not have Wi-Fi connections. Patrons can currently get access to its Wi-Fi from the library’s south parking lot.

Furthermore, the impact of closure goes beyond books.

McGeehon has built a close relationship with certain librarians. As a teacher of all ages, she would consult different librarians for different projects. “The librarians are knowledgeable and can provide me with great ideas for my school projects.” Before the COVID-19 situation, McGeehon often went to chat with the librarians in person, talking about the interesting projects of her students. “Not only do they give me a lot of help, but they are also open to ideas from the readers,” McGeehon said. “When the librarians find my students’ work interesting, they would take photos of them and get them displayed at the library.”

McGeehon said this in-person experience cannot be replaced by online conversation.

“The library is a living room for our community,” Williams said. According to Chou, the public library provides a play area for children and their parents. She has lots of friends who love bringing their children to the library to regularly meet.

Williams also pointed out that elderly people and homeless people can be affected by the closure. For elderly people living alone, a library is a platform where they can connect with other people and get social support. For homeless people, a library is a shelter for them to enjoy air conditioning and heating.

Chou misses the events held in the library: “There is supposed to be a book sell this month, where I can purchase a variety of books for my children at a lower price. It is a pity that we cannot do it right now.”

Williams said they are trying to conduct as many activities as they can online. In the past few months, Williams and her co-workers at the library have been researching how to operate the online program effectively. They try to figure out the most suitable time period for a single online meeting based on studies on people’s attention span.

According to Williams, the library can still serve a unique role in the community during the COVID-19 pandemic despite its closure. People can use the special section on the library website to find credible news sources related to the virus. “We are also holding social media campaigns to teach people to judge the quality of information so that they can become creative thinkers.” The library can also provide resources for entertainment during this special period. In March 2020, Williams said twice as many movies were viewed compared to March 2019 on Kanopy, the online video platform provided by the library.

In the future, the library plans to provide a curbside pick-up service, which means that readers can pick up their orders of books in the parking lot without direct connection to people. The staff in the library also have conversations with different librarians in different regions, discussing how to provide services to the public effectively during the pandemic.

“This is such an unfamiliar situation for everybody,” McGeehon said. “But I believe that the library staff can figure out the best solutions for the community because they are all proactive.”