By Mary Hladky
After months of entreaties by residents of the Dixie Manor public housing complex, the City Council has unanimously voted to expand the size of the Boca Raton Housing Authority’s board from five to seven members.
Council members did not comment on their March 22 decision but previously have voiced support for the expansion.
The vote came minutes before Angela McDonald, a Housing Authority board member and Dixie Manor resident who led the expansion effort, walked into the meeting room.
After Mayor Scott Singer informed her, McDonald smiled. “Thank you very much,” she said.
The Housing Authority, which runs Dixie Manor at 1350 N. Dixie Highway and Boca Island East apartments at 70 SE 11th St., operates independently, but council members appoint its board members.
For years, the authority has gained little attention, and even Dixie Manor residents showed scant interest. Few city residents stepped forward to serve on the board.
But that began to change when McDonald was appointed to the board in 2020 and began pressing for an end to the status quo.
Three people applied to fill the board seat held by Carol Wolfe, who had sought reappointment after her term expired in November. Instead, council members selected Lanette Wright, who served in the U.S. Marines for 30 years and lives in Lincoln Court near Dixie Manor.
Fueling the press for change are concerns about how the Housing Authority will upgrade dilapidated Dixie Manor, built as housing for Black troops during World War II.
With the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development drastically underfunded, Boca’s Housing Authority, like others across the country have done, is considering leaving the federal public housing program with the intent of gaining access to financing that would allow it to rebuild Dixie Manor and add more badly needed low-income housing.
Dixie Manor residents initially were worried that any changes would push them out of their apartments and they would not be allowed to return at a time when rents in South Florida are high.
But they now are also concerned about every aspect of the transition, and are speaking out at Housing Authority and City Council meetings.
Tension is visible at Housing Authority meetings. Chairman Gary Richardson and board member Brian Stenberg are skeptical of board expansion, suggesting instead creating a tenant advisory board to give residents more input.
There is no guarantee, Stenberg has said, that the City Council will appoint board members who will better represent Dixie Manor tenants.
At a Feb. 23 meeting, Richardson sharply criticized McDonald, saying she is slowing the board’s efforts to improve Dixie Manor.
“You and others are responsible for delaying this project unnecessarily,” he said. “You have to take some responsibility. … It is a very unfortunate situation.”
But Dixie Manor activists have not been dissuaded from pursuing several efforts that they believe will better safeguard them, including the expanded board.
They want board members who are better attuned to their needs and who can offer fresh ideas on how to improve the Housing Authority.
Although the authority’s board has not taken a stand on expansion, Wright supports it.
“The tension that comes to these meetings is too much,” she said at the Feb. 23 meeting. “We need some more diversity here.”
The city announced the new board positions on its website and invited applications shortly after the City Council meeting.
Those who apply will be interviewed either at the Community Redevelopment Agency/council workshop meeting at 1:30 p.m. April 11, or at the April 12 council meeting at 6 p.m. The council is expected to make the appointments at the council meeting.
One new commissioner’s term will end on Nov. 14, 2023, and the other commissioner’s term will end on Nov. 14, 2024. They then can be reappointed to a four-year term.
Comments