BY ARLYSSA BECENTI
NAVAJO TIMES
WINDOW ROCK – The Naabik’iyati committee last Thursday looked further into the roles that Navajo Housing Authority’s Board of Commissioners plays and whether or not amending requirements and downsizing the board would help the beleaguered entity.
NHA’s Board of Commissions is currently comprised of eight members, all meeting the requirements to be part of the board. But a legislation sponsored by Council Delegate Alton Joe Shepherd (Jeddito/ Cornfields/Ganado/Kinlichee/ Steamboat) suggests amendments to not only change those requirements for future commissioners; but also reduce the number of members; form a nomination committee; and require confirmation of members by both the Naabik’iyati Committee and the Resource and Development Committee.
During the Jan. 12 work session, Navajo Nation Speaker LoRenzo Bates said many factors culminated in suggesting changes to the board such as: long legal battle with Housing and Urban Development over Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act funds; recent in-depth articles by the Arizona Republic about NHA; as well as dealing with another legislation deciding whether or not to revoke NHA’s Tribally Designated Housing Entity status and bestow it upon the Navajo Nation.
“Given all of that, to my understanding, there is a move to reduce NHA’s annual appropriation,” said Bates. “This would impact NHA considerably. We are dealing with this and the TDHE on how we as the Navajo Nation are going to deal with the housing matter. This is a start.”
The specific changes proposed would be to lower the eight-member board to five. Not only would members have to have at least a post-high school education, but the board would be comprised as follows: one commissioner would have to be a certified accountant, chartered financial analyst or accountant; one commissioner shall be a registered architect or licensed professional engineer; one will have a construction management or engineering or business management degree or equivalent.
“You’re not going to be represented if you go five,” said NHA commissioner Lula Jackson. She also asked that the discussion be on the legislation and not stray to conversation regarding operations of NHA.
But NHA’s performance was not so easy to ignore. Council Delegate Leonard Tsosie (Little water/Pueblo Pintado/Torreon/ Whitehorse Lake/ Baca/Brewitt, Casamero Lake/Ojo Encino/ Counselor), who said he was against the work session and believed there should no longer be any boards, asked about boarded-up houses, why some homeowners may have paid more than they’re supposed to for homes and the possibility of building student quarters.
“You can’t fix these boarded-up houses, and it tells me that your operations maintenance aren’t telling you about the boarded-up homes,” said Tsosie.
Ervin Chavez, current board president but whose two-year term expired Dec. 2, 2016, said that meeting the needs of all the people can never be done. “When the population grows, the housing need will never be solved,” he stated. Giving more of his opinion, Chavez said that NHA shouldn’t receive NAHASDA funds because the Navajo Nation is too large. He also said that homes are boarded up for their own protection from harsh weather.
“Boarded-up units … Come to find out from our staff that boarded-up units are not all that bad,” said Chavez. “When a family leaves that house the people go over there and board it up to protect it from the wind.”
Yazzie was also present at the work session, and confirmed what Jackson had said: NHA has been hosting breakfast meetings to better inform delegates of all that is going on with NHA. But only a few delegates bother to attend.
She also requested more meetings and work sessions between NHA and delegates because media, especially the Arizona Republic, have distorted much of the truth, she said.
“I hope this council really want to learn and how NHA and its constraints of all its rules and regulation from the tribe and the federal government,” said Yazzie. “They say housing is the Number One issue for our nation. Our leadership should be committed to hear what NHA has to comply with. It’s very technical.”
Yazzie also said the eight-member board should be kept. She suggested that five board members be representatives of the five agencies and also homeowners or renters, and the other three be professionals.
“If you want to really solve these problems then we all need to be in the same room,” said Yazzie.”