The third member of the Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority board in as many weeks resigned Sunday as the agency awaits the results of a federal audit.

Christie Meredith Wills, vice chairwoman of the board and its senior member with nearly 10 years, said her resignation is effective immediately in a letter she e-mailed to Mayor Nelson Harris on Sunday.

Wills wrote simply that "the time has come." Her departure follows those of Ben Fink and Greg Cupka, who resigned three weeks ago to resolve conflicts of interest because their employer holds a contract with the authority.

That leaves the council-appointed board with four members, all appointed in the past three years, at a time when the authority must respond to potentially serious findings by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

HUD has already labeled the agency high risk as a result of the ongoing audit. That means all procurement by the authority with HUD funds must be approved in advance.

In an interview, Wills, who was reappointed to another four-year term about two months ago, elaborated only a little on her reasons for departing. "I'm just going to stay positive," she said.

Her resignation's timing has nothing to do with the upcoming release of the report from HUD, Wills said.

The report is expected this week. HUD officials have said it will address serious procurement and conflict of interest issues at the authority.

"This was of my own volition," she said, adding that having a 2-year-old son, for whom she is the primary caregiver, played a role.

The tongue-lashing the authority board took from Councilmen Sherman Lea and Brian Wishneff during a joint meeting in October was also a factor. "We were treated terribly, and it was uncalled for," Wills said. She called the attack politically motivated.

Fink and Cupka said that meeting soured them on continued board service, as well.

Lea and Wishneff berated the board for a lack of oversight during the time when the issues HUD is expected to address occurred. Authority Director Ellis Henry, who took over in May, documented several procurement issues in a report he released in August. His concerns centered on $1 million worth of contracts between the authority and Roanoke consulting firm The Issues Management Group, which is led by Rob Glenn, a former authority board chairman and close friend of recently retired authority Director John Baker.

Wills called the recent controversy and HUD audit "disappointing," but said she's confident the authority board and staff can resolve the issues.

She spent most of her letter to Harris recounting the authority's successes during her nearly 10 years on the board. The list included the revitalization of the Lincoln Terrace public housing development and the ongoing project to restore and sell 17 historic homes in the 400 block of Day Avenue. She also said the authority must do more to address lingering resentment of the authority among black Roanokers from urban renewal, which destroyed hundreds of homes in black neighborhoods two decades ago.

Last spring Wills wrote she proposed that the authority work with the city and with Gainsboro residents in a "truth and reconciliation" process like the one used by Archbishop Desmond Tutu in South Africa following the end of apartheid.

Three-year board member Greg Feldmann said it's a blow to lose members with the tenure and experience of Wills and Fink. He said Wills was a "very dedicated" board member.

Losing nearly half the board now is tough, Feldmann said.

"It leaves us all in a hole, no question about that," he said. "We're going to have to regroup and work hard to get the HUD report in and respond to it."

The city council has already advertised, seeking volunteers to replace Fink and Cupka, but Feldmann said it takes time to get new board members oriented enough to be effective.

"It's probably an awkward thing for someone to step into a situation like this," he said.

The board meets at 4 p.m. today to elect new officers.