LAWRENCE CO. Housing group chief resigns

Affordable Housing paid more for six houses than they are worth.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR PENNSYLVANIA BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Affordable Housing of Lawrence County is taking a new direction, but it will have to do it with a new leader.
Robert Evanick, who served as president of the nonprofit spin-off of the Lawrence County Housing Authority, resigned from its board of directors last week.
The resignation came just days after Evanick, Affordable's president, co-signed for a $250,000 loan to Affordable Housing from First Commonwealth Bank. Donald Conti, known as "Ducky," Affordable's secretary, also signed the loan papers.
Evanick, who is also executive director of the housing authority, said he resigned from Affordable's board sometime last week after signing the loan documents Dec. 7.
"I didn't want to prevent them from what they were doing," Evanick said of his decision to sign the papers just before resigning.
Evanick said he decided to resign because the board has taken a new direction. When the nonprofit was created in 2003, he said, its intention was to build new housing in Union Township for disabled people, but the group was never able to secure the proper zoning for the project.
"My real interest was to build housing for disabled people in the county. I decided I was no longer interested," Evanick said. "What they're doing now is smaller stuff. On that scale, I don't think I had the time."
Houses bought
Last week, Affordable bought seven houses scattered throughout New Castle. The homes were duplexes, triplexes and one fourplex, the majority owned by Nick DeRosa and John Orlando. Two were owned by Harry DeRosa. It's unclear if he's related to Nick DeRosa.
According to the deeds, Affordable paid a total of $327,000 for the homes -- nearly $88,000 more than their total assessed value. Houses in the county are assessed at 100 percent of their value.
Conti said the extra $77,000 not covered by the bank loan came from $200,000 Affordable was given by the Lawrence County Housing Authority when the nonprofit spin-off was created in 2003.
Conti could not explain why most of the homes were bought from the DeRosas. Nick DeRosa did not return calls to comment, and Harry DeRosa has an unlisted telephone number.
Affordable paid $28,000 for 446 Croton Ave., a triplex owned by David L. Definbaugh. County assessment records show the house was valued at $23,100 in the 2004 countywide reassessment.
According to deeds filed at the courthouse, Affordable paid $49,000 for 859 Frank Ave., a duplex owned by Nick DeRosa. The house was assessed by the county at $21,100.
Nick DeRosa sold Affordable three other homes he owned jointly with John Orlando: 1806 Highland Ave. for $72,000, about $22,600 more than the county assessed value; 217 E. Wallace Ave. for $45,000, which was assessed at $33,800; and 502 Florence Ave. for $48,000, which had a county assessed value of $30,800.
Two properties sold to Affordable by Harry DeRosa -- 1123-1125 Dewey St. and 445 Cascade St., were sold much closer to their county assessed values. The Dewey Street duplex was sold for $45,000, which was $1,600 less than the county assessment, and Affordable Housing bought the Cascade Street duplex for $40,000, which was $3,800 more than the county assessment.
What wasn't explained
Conti could not explain the discrepancy in prices compared to the county assessments. He said the bank handled the house appraisals.
According to Conti, the homes will be renovated and the renters will be given the option to buy them or continue renting.
It's unclear how Affordable will handle being a landlord since it has no paid employees. Conti said they will likely have tenants send checks to Affordable's post office box and hire contractors when there are problems.
Conti said the group expects to buy an additional six houses early next year. He said the 13 houses were chosen because they are Section 8-approved and good candidates for rehabilitation.
He noted the group still wants to build housing for disabled people but is looking for suitable land in another part of the county.
Guy Ciarrochi, regional director for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, said it's not uncommon for nonprofit organizations to be created from local housing authorities. Each has its own mission and setup, he said.
He noted, though, that HUD no longer allows housing authorities to fund them as Lawrence County did when Affordable was formed.
Ciarrochi said HUD does not oversee Affordable Housing, but it does make yearly audits of the local housing authority and would oversee any interaction between the two groups.
Besides Conti, Affordable's board of directors include Karen DiCarlo, Frank Natale, the Rev. James Blackwell and Bill Bonner.
Jon Librandi, who recently died, was on the board. Conti said they intend to replace Librandi with Brian Tanner of Shenango Township. It's unclear who will take Evanick's spot.