City approves cash to help Woodland Park Apartments residents move

EVANSVILLE — Evansville City Council members approved funding Monday evening that could potentially help move families out of Woodland Park Apartments. 

The council unanimously approved $50,000 from the Department of Metropolitan Development to fund a grant to the Memorial Community Development Corporation, providing financial assistance to residents leaving Woodland Park. 

Woodland Park has been under city scrutiny since CenterPoint Energy threatened to shut off electrical service to the complex in July over unpaid utility bills. 

Kelley Coures, executive director of the Department of Metropolitan Development, said he was asked to come up with a possible solution to help relocate people living there. 

He said he thought back to funds used to help move families from the area of Walnut Street and Kentucky Avenue in 2014 through the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and facilitated by Memorial CDC. 

Specifics on when families can start applying for funding have not yet been announced.

“The housing trust fund of course has certain income limitations to it,” Coures said. “Woodland Park is not a low-income complex. All the people that live there may or may not meet the Affordable Housing Trust Fund’s income requirements. Or they may not be able to verify their income at all.” 

The funds available to assist residents are repurposed from the Neighborhood Stabilization account.  

Woodland Park Apartments:Woodland Park promises to pay its utility bill, but some tenants are just trying to move

Coures said he has spoken with the Rev. Adrian Brooks, founder of Memorial CDC, and Brooks told him the organization would not charge the city fees for facilitating the funding. It had the same policy in 2014.

If a resident has located a place to live, the grant could help them if there is a financial impediment. 

The landlord must be registered with the city’s Rental Registry, and checks would be made out to the entity requiring payment like a utility. 

“We determined the large percentage of those folks live (at Woodland) because they can’t get electricity in their name or water or something,” Coures said. “We figured we could help about 100 households at $500 a household.” 

Living conditions at the complex have  drawn the ire of residents, community members and local officials over the past few months,  prompting efforts to move tenants. 

Last month Woodland Park LLC representatives appeared via an Internet call before the city council in response to a subpoena to answer questions on those living conditions and plans to remedy the issues. Monday, City Councilman Jonathan Weaver said the subpoena was a "complete waste of time" while discussing a potential rule change on how many sponsors a resolution or ordinance would require to present to council.  

“That didn’t get us anywhere,” he said. 

City Councilman Zac Heronemous questioned if Weaver felt it was not within the power of the council as a legislative body to issue the subpoena. 

“What has it accomplished?” Weaver asked. 

Heronemous said it has sparked a "tremendous amount of awareness," caused the ownership to do right by its tenants by paying its bills up and created increased pressure from the community to make Woodland Park a better place for residents to live. 

Council member Alex Burton also pointed out the vote to use the council subpoena power was a unanimous one. 

“Nothing has happened since our meeting,” Weaver said. 

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