YMHA Board lowers goal for unit vacancies

The director calls the number of vacancies a mixed blessing.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Youngstown Metropolitan Housing Authority board has lowered its expectations for filling vacancies.
Members voted Wednesday to try to reduce the number of vacancies in its public housing units by 1 percent each year through 2005. Its five-year plan originally listed a 10 percent yearly target.
Statistics in the five-year plan show that 8.2 percent of YMHA's 2,000 units are vacant. That marks a decrease from 2000, when there was a 12.5-percent vacancy rate.
Why the change: Al Rutyna, director of operations, said the 10 percent goal is unrealistic, partly because of Youngstown's steadily declining population.
YMHA has a waiting list of 126 families, but they aren't on the list for long. New families join the list each month, Rutyna said.
The five-year plan was created by the board last year.
Attracting residents: Executive director Eugenia Atkinson said the board will try to use the positive characteristics of public housing in an effort to attract new residents.
Many residents are pleased with efforts to improve security and maintenance, Rutyna said. The average emergency maintenance complaint in a YMHA unit is addressed within 24 hours, he said.
Atkinson called the vacancies a mixed blessing: The downside is that the agency is maintaining several empty apartments, but the vacancies also may show that people are improving their lives and moving out of public housing.
"We don't believe people should be in public housing forever," Atkinson said.