Last Tuesday, the Pender County Commission voted to reactivate the Pender Housing Initiative board, which serves as an advisory council to the Pender Housing Authority. The commission also appointed two members to the board — its first in five years.
The decision comes after reports of a mold infestation at Seven Oaks in Burgaw, the only county-run public housing complex. It also comes just a month after the retirement of PHA director Sue Sava and the appointment of Brianna Martindale as the new permanent director.
"We are going through several big changes," Martindale told WHQR. "But we are very excited to be pushing a further agenda for more affordable housing [to be] brought to this area as it is always needed and will always be needed."
PHA is a Housing Choice Voucher Program (formerly known as Section 8). The county allocates approximately $1.4 million a year to PHA's two-person operation, with most of that money going towards HAP fees. PHA currently serves about 160 households throughout Pender County.
Thirty of those families reside at Seven Oaks. In recent months, the thirty-year-old complex has made headlines for a mold infestation. A September 2024 WECT investigation revealed that tenant complaints about mold dated back as far as 2022, when then-property manager Sava detailed issues with "black-like substances."
The county tested the apartment complex in September 2024. One apartment had low levels of black mold, and others tested positive for molds like penicillin and aspergillus.
"People that did have questionable tests, we did move them out immediately," Martindale told WHQR. "We did exactly what the experts told us to do, and we're moving forward in the best path we can take."
PHA would go on to engage in mold remediation efforts. Martindale told WHQR that the authority pressure washed the outsides of the buildings, cleaned the air ducts, and ordered further testing for all apartments following the renovation of six vacant apartments (although she couldn't give an exact date).
"It depends on how fast my contractors can get it done," she said.
Sava, who later became the director of the Pender Housing Authority, retired shortly after the WECT investigation in March 2025. Martindale was made interim and later permanent director the same month. Prior to her appointment, she had been working as a certified occupancy technician.
Currently, Seven Oaks has no property manager. The property used to be run by Excel Property Management, but county officials say the company pulled out of Seven Oaks in late 2024. While the county looks for a new property manager, tenants will be reporting directly to PHA.
There's also no word yet on when the PHI board will be filled. During last week's meeting, the commission appointed two new members: JaQuaisa Murray, a Burgaw resident with a background in social work, and Sarah Fulton, who works in the county manager's office. The commission hopes to fill it with a mix of residents and county employees.
Martindale told WHQR that the board likely lapsed due to employee turnover at the housing authority. She's hopeful that its reactivation will help improve the state of public housing in Pender County.
"I really, truly hope that within the next couple months, people will be able to begin to see that this has been a beautiful change in the works," she said.
Read more:
- WECT: Mold found at Pender County apartment complex, residents concerned for their health
- WHQR: Taylor Homes still without consistent running water, despite Excel Property Management's claims
- WHQR: Wilmington Housing Authority properties facing code violations, most stemming from third-party management
- WHQR: After mold crisis and cash crunch, WHA plans a transformational decade
