Monday, February 09, 2009
Nash to give up city council seat
Alvin Nash says he will resume working with Blue Ridge Housing Development Corp.
The Roanoke Times | File 2008
Alvin Nash says he will resign from the Roanoke City Council at the end of February.
Related
The timing
Alvin Nash's departure comes at a critical time. The Roanoke City Council is grappling with a projected revenue shortfall of more than $6 million, and Roanoke City Schools are considering laying off employees and closing schools to bridge an even greater gap of about $15 million.
Previous coverage
Alvin Nash announced Sunday that he is resigning from the Roanoke City Council at the end of the month, saying that his "heart is working with Blue Ridge Housing" Development Corp., the nonprofit housing agency he left in December but will now rejoin.
The city council is now faced with appointing a new member to fill Nash's seat at a time when it is facing crucial decisions on filling a projected $6.2 million budget shortfall, renovating the City Market Building and a number of other issues.
Nash will resume his role as Blue Ridge's executive director on March 1, the day after his resignation from the council takes effect.
"I cannot stay committed to Roanoke City Council because my heart is working with Blue Ridge Housing. I cannot effectively help Blue Ridge while remaining on Council. In hindsight, I should have never left the agency and I thank the Board of Directors for accepting me back into the agency," Nash wrote in an e-mail statement.
Blue Ridge has in recent months faced cash-flow problems, as three of its renovated houses sit unsold. Despite his resignation from the agency in December, Nash has become a central figure in a dispute over money city officials say Blue Ridge owes for repayment of federal grants due at the completion of housing redevelopment projects.
Nash wrote that controversy over his position played into his decision.
"My resignation from City Council will allow Council and staff to make decisions in the best interest of the City and Blue Ridge Housing without causing discomfort on how the decision impacts a fellow member of Council who has close professional ties with Blue Ridge Housing," Nash wrote.
City officials have said Blue Ridge owes as much as $333,329.75 for federal grants, funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and administered by the city, that should have been repaid when the nonprofit sells a home in one of its project areas.
Blue Ridge Housing's board issued a statement last week, however, saying the agency may not owe the city any money at all. At a council meeting earlier this month, Nash requested a federal investigation to clear the agency's name. And he repeated it in his statement on Sunday.
Nash said his decision to resign was "influenced by recent articles in The Roanoke Times and the suggestion from City staff that Blue Ridge may have violated City contracts or HUD rules. These are allegations [that] are untrue and I cannot ignore. I want the truth to be told and I want Blue Ridge Housing to survive. Blue Ridge Housing will sit down with the City, request a HUD review, and work out a plan to insure that both parties are paid whatever funds are owed."
Nash was appointed to council in March to fill the unexpired term of Alfred Dowe, who resigned amid questions that he double-billed taxpayers for council-related travel costs. Dowe has since been indicted.
After his appointment Nash applied for but was denied a federal conflict of interest waiver due to his position on Blue Ridge, which received federal grants administered by the city. To avoid the conflict, the Blue Ridge board decided that the agency would forgo the grants. Nash and Blue Ridge board members have said the nonprofit's cash problems are unrelated to the decision to forgo new federal grants.
Nash had phoned members of the city council on Saturday to inform them of his decision.
"Alvin founded Blue Ridge Housing about 15 years ago. I certainly can understand why he feels he has an obligation to try to help save it," Councilman Court Rosen said. "At the end of the day, Alvin did what he thought was right, and I wish him the best."
Vice Mayor Sherman Lea said Nash is "a person of high integrity" and also thanked him for his service.
But he also noted that Nash's departure comes at a critical time for the city.
The city council is grappling with a projected revenue shortfall of $3.6 million that becomes at least $6.2 million once inflation and new "priority expenses" are factored in. City schools are considering layoffs and closures to bridge an even greater gap of about $15 million. And the council will likely be faced with decisions on capital projects such as the renovation of the Roanoke City Market Building, improvements to Countryside Golf Course and construction of an amphitheater in Elmwood Park or at the former site of Victory Stadium on Reserve Avenue.
Council will likely try to appoint someone to fill Nash's unexpired term as soon as possible.
"It's almost 14 months until the next election, so whoever we choose is going to come and a lot of critical decisions are going to be made," Lea said.
Councilwoman Anita Price echoed those comments.
"We really need someone savvy and someone who's willing to work congenially with the sitting council," Price said. "There are a lot of balls in the air -- a whole, whole lot of balls in the air. This transition has to go just as smooth as possible given the circumstances."
Rosen said it took him several months to get a good grasp of how the council functions, and that Nash's replacement won't have a lot of time to learn. He suggested the council might look at its former members to find "someone who's prepared to step in and roll up their sleeves and get to work on day one."
