Trinidad Housing Authority Reports Progress, Faces Funding and Repairs

The Trinidad Housing Authority delivered a detailed account of operations and needs in a work session on November 24, with Interim Executive Director Kathee Gutierrez Adams reporting on public housing units, Section 8 vouchers and the Corazon Square property. The authority said it manages 198 public housing units in town, with 18 units currently offline for asbestos removal and modernization and several expected to return to service by late next year. Two additional units remained out of service following a 2021 accident and are in the Department of Housing and Urban Development disposal process, with the authority planning replacement likely on a vacant San Pedro Street lot. Six units are in make ready status and expected to be turned over within 30 days.

The authority also addressed demand and funding for housing assistance. The public housing waitlist was reopened on November 1 for the first time in over a year and already carried 72 applicants, many elderly or disabled. THA is allotted 84 Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers but only 46 are in active use, a gap the authority attributes to funding limits and rising market rents, which it reported average about six hundred fifty one dollars per month. A newly approved HUD shortfall grant of ninety four thousand nine hundred forty two dollars is intended to stabilize the voucher program and allow THA to reopen the Section 8 waitlist in the future.

Capital improvements completed across THA properties include GFI outlets, combination smoke detectors, roof work, parking expansions, new flooring, fencing, concrete pads, upgraded playgrounds and accessibility work such as grab bars and walk in showers. The authority earned a REAC score of 94 and a high performer designation. Persistent challenges noted in the report include drug related cleanups that require biohazard contractors, nicotine remediation costs in older units and concerns about an aging elevator at Corazon Square.

Council members also conducted interviews for vacancies on the Historic Preservation Commission and the Planning, Zoning and Variance board. Applicants emphasized preservation, grant writing, building codes, housing policy and alternative housing ideas including tiny home zoning. Those candidates were slated for council consideration at the December 2 meeting. For residents, the report signals incremental progress in safety and accessibility while underscoring continued risks from limited voucher capacity and aging infrastructure that will shape local housing policy in the year ahead.