Town; Tower Struggle; Fear and Loathing at 230 St. Paul Street
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Summary
To outsiders, the whole affair can sound like much ado about nothing, especially since the club's finances are so modest. Many tenants who aren't directly involved in the fracas express annoyance and frustration with all the in-fighting that's put the kibosh on their fun. "Oh, it's a mess when they get arguing," bemoans Lillian Downer, an eight-year resident of Decker Towers. "I just stay in my room and mind my own business." Another resident and former club officer who asked to remain anonymous, says, "All that bickering and back-stabbing? Forget it! I couldn't stand it so I got out. I don't even go to meetings anymore."
Apparently, the trouble began about a year ago after several residents began asking questions about how the club's funds were being spent and documented. Dorothy "Dot" Brooks, who was then president of the Ladies' and Men's Club, says she started hearing complaints from other tenants, who warned her that she could be held liable if BHA money was being misused. "I started getting the cold shoulder," Brooks recalls. "Someone said to me, "Dot, you'd better wake up, because that's our money!'"[Paul Dettman] sees no reason to "go back and try to reconstruct the past." As director of the state's largest low-income housing agency with a $20 million operating budget, he has much bigger financial woes to worry about, such as drastic cuts to Section 8 housing assistance and a projected 10- to 15-percent reduction in his agency's capital improvement budget next year. As for the $1500 investment the BHA makes each year on the Decker Towers Ladies' and Men's Club, he believes the BHA gets "a very high value" for its money. "I guess in the big picture, I would consider this to be a tempest in a teapot," he concludes.See the full content of this document
Extract
Town; Tower Struggle; Fear and Loathing at 230 St. Paul Street
The weather has finally warmed, and outside Vermont's largest low-income housing project, a half-dozen or so residents are parked on benches enjoying some sun and fresh air after a long winter indoors. For many of them, it's probably their first outing in months. The people who live at Decker Towers are more prone than most to hibernate, regardless of the season.
The 11-story building at 230 St. Paul Street - the tallest building in Vermont -...See the full content of this document
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