"Disturbing," "Destructive" Gossip
By Art Harvath

“There is absolutely, categorically no truth to the vicious rumors,” said Huntington Housing Authority executive director Bill Dotson to Mayor David Felinton. in an October 22 letter. Dotson was referring to rumors and gossip about Marcum Terrace residents “being transferred wholesale” to a 50 family unit housing project in the west end of Huntington.
Bob Childers, president of Structures, Inc. is asking the city council to pass an Ordinance to rezone a portion of Commercial Park from Industrial-1 zone to Commercial-1. That zoning change could allow Childers to build a low-income housing project there. Dotson’s letter asks the city government to support Childer’s project. Council will have the first reading of that Ordinance Monday night.
Dotson copied the letter to members of the City Council, Human Relations Commission, Board of Zoning Appeals, Planning Commission, the HHA and Bob Childers.
In his letter Dotson said it disturbed him that City Government would allow such rumors and gossip to influence how it might vote on the zoning issue before it. “It is time that that you and local government officials step up and support all of our citizens, not just those citizens that are complaining and are clearly biased toward ‘low-income families,’ or as I’ve heard time and again, ‘those people.’”
“One of the primary jobs I have is to be an advocate for low-income housing,” said Dotson Friday evening. “I just wanted to let the mayor know of statements being made prejudicial to low-income families, and as executive director of the Housing Authority it is my responsibility to let him know,” he said.
His letter stated that negative, biased public opinion about affordable housing is a reality in Huntington. He asked the mayor and the City Government to fight “these misconceptions,” and said the city government should be setting the highest standards for fair housing.
Dotson referred on Friday to March, 2003 Huntington Planning Commission meeting where there was a loud public outcry concerning the low-income development project being proposed at the old Gallaher School site. The HHA will sell the homes in the development to lower-income people who need help with the down payment and other costs associated with buying a house. Dotson has said the houses will be in the $90,000 range.
At that meeting, Gallaher residents voiced their opposition to the project, saying it would lower their property values and generate too much traffic for the area.
“My husband and I just bought our home about a year ago, and had I known that this was being planned we never would have moved here,” said one Gallaher resident. “We love our home, and we used to live in low-income housing….we saved up enough money to move to an area where we felt comfortable. We are among contemporaries and these are our neighbors and not low-income housing individuals. I do not support this. I know the value of my home and I know that it’s going to drop once these homes are built, if you allow that to happen,” she told the Planning Commission members.
“Truthfully, listening to some of the comments about the housing for lower-income people, it saddens me, because what I hear is ‘not in my neighborhood,’” said Planning Commission member Jacquie Lewis. The Commission voted 3-1 in favor of a zoning change that would allow the project to move forward. Commission chairman Tony Simental abstained from voting because he lives near the proposed development.
“One of the things that I’ve noticed is that ever since this project was announced…there has been many homes coming up to the market,” said Simental at the March meeting. “I’ve personally received calls from Realtors arguing that the price of my home is going to devalue and that I should sell now. I believe that most of the people are not actually against the public housing or the people who are actually going to move in. The problem is the stigma, and unfortunately it is the stigma that public housing has,” said Simental.
When Dotson said that it was not a public housing project, the audience reacted with hoots and laughter. He pointed out the houses would be single family homes owned by working families.
At its August 18, 2003 special call meeting the Planning Commission voted 4-1 recommending that the city council rezone the Commerce Park property to C-1, which allows for residential housing.
Several people who received Dotson’s letter last week were not happy. “I think Dotson shot himself in the foot again,” said D. Everett Fullerton, a member of the Board of Zoning Appeals. “I did not appreciate that letter.”
Felinton was attending a meeting of the West Virginia Municipal League and was unavailable for comment. Jack Thornburg, director of Administration and Finance said he had been working with Childers and didn’t see anything wrong with the project, and they were waiting for the results of soil and ground water testing from the state.
“We’re not bending to rumors or gossip because we haven’t heard any,” said Thornburgh. “If no contamination is found, we would love to see that project there.” Dotson said he hopes his letter will call the city government’s attention to the prejudicial attitudes toward lower income people who need help in obtaining decent, affordable housing.
“I hope that people who don't want low-income people in their neighborhood would understand that there is a need for that housing,” said Dotson Friday.

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