The town of Holly Ridge is allowing former Holly Plaza residents to stay at their hotel in Jacksonville for another two weeks. Former residents now have until January 15 to find housing.
On Tuesday, December 26, town manager Heather Reynolds sent a statement to all Holly Plaza families with the news of the extension.
"The Town of Holly Ridge has not heard back from other sources, so the Town Council has decided to extend the hotel another 14 days," she stated.
The next day, the town released a video announcement from Mayor Jeff Wenzel explaining the USDA vouchers and other options available to former tenants.
"We will continue to do our best to help them as a good government and good neighbors should," he said.
Most Holly Plaza residents have lived at the hotel since the last weekend in October, after the town ordered them to vacate their apartments. The town council voted to cover their hotel rooms and transportation costs while it conducted mold testing on all Holly Plaza units.
On November 21, the town council announced the property had been condemned and voted to abandon repairs at the site. Since then, the low-income residents have been scrambling to find affordable housing.
Originally, tenants had until January 1 to find new housing and move out of the hotel. But an eleventh-hour save from the USDA complicated those plans. On December 15, tenant attorney David Miller told WHQR that he had secured rent vouchers from the USDA's Multifamily Tenant Voucher Program. All former tenants are eligible for one year's worth of rent vouchers, but a USDA representative stated that the average voucher move-in process takes 60 to 90 days. The town's extension gives former residents a little more time to find an apartment with the voucher program.
In the video, Wenzel urged all residents to reach out to USDA representative Eric Hixson for more information about the voucher program. But he also talked about what he called "an unfortunate misunderstanding" between the USDA, the town of Holly Ridge, and Miller, who is representing former residents in a class action lawsuit.
"These vouchers were supposed to be printed and distributed to all residents on the 16th of December, but unfortunately that did not happen," he said in the video. "Unknown to us, Mr. Miller wanted a time where he could make sure that he was able to deliver every tenant their voucher letter, and he did not plan to travel until he found such a time."
Since he took on the case in November, Miller has been traveling from South Carolina to meet with tenants. Neither the USDA nor Miller have been able to comment on why he was asked to distribute the vouchers.
Wenzel also urged residents to consider accepting the town's lump sum contract, saying 22 out of 43 families have signed on. The contract pays out the remainder of the residents' lease with Holly Plaza as well as $2,000 for incidentals; however, signing on means the tenant cannot pursue legal action against the town of Holly Ridge. Wenzel said tenants have until December 29 — tomorrow — to meet with a town representative and sign up.
"Please understand that signing the agreement and accepting the payment does not disqualify the residence for the USDA voucher program," he said in the video.
While the USDA does not disqualify tenants for accepting the payment, it's unclear whether the lump sum payment from the town would count as income. Eligibility for the voucher program is dependent on income — tenants have to make 80% or less of the median area income to qualify. What's also unclear is when exactly tenant income is determined. The USDA guidebook states that tenant income is established on the date of prepayment, which, in Holly Plaza's case, would be around late November. But the USDA has been unable to answer what the date of prepayment was — and whether the lump sum would count as tenant income.
"Discussions between USDA and Holly Ridge are still ongoing," a spokesperson stated.
Wenzel also announced that Onslow County's water and sewer authority — ONWASA — has forgiven all resident water and sewer bills since October 27.
"The town and the former residents of Holly Ridge have struggled daily for months to investigate, evaluate and address an extremely difficult situation that neither created," he said. "In addition to the people recognized here, the town is extremely grateful to USDA for providing the financial assistance for these residents to have the opportunity and options to find long-term safe and secure housing. These people have been our neighbors and our fellow citizens."
Below: Video statement from Holly Ridge mayor Jeff Wenzel.