NORFOLK
Ray Geronimo surveyed a growing pyramid of unfinished cabinet frames stacked in the sprawling Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority's operations building.
"We're in crunch time," he said over the buzz of table saws.
Geronimo and his two-man crew had only three days left to build, sand and stain the pile of custom-made wooden cabinets before they were to be installed in a public housing apartment.
But that's just an average day in the housing authority's carpentry shop.
The shop, which operates more like a private contractor than a traditional government agency, builds nearly all the cabinets in the authority's complexes - as many as 150 full kitchens a year, along with hundreds more doors and replacement drawers.
It also sells cabinets to other housing authorities to create income at a time when federal mandates call for authorities to become leaner, more efficient and more like private businesses. Richmond's housing projects buy kitchen cabinets from Norfolk.
"We have so many public housing communities, it was just more cost-efficient to build our own," said Rick O'Neal, the authority's facilities management director.
O'Neal oversees all the maintenance functions the authority provides to its complexes - from plumbing and landscaping to carpentry.
"We've always been doing business this way."
Most housing authorities contract with plumbers and renovation companies. In Newport News and Portsmouth, for instance, housing agencies buy cabinets from private contractors. Norfolk officials say their prices - they sporadically do cost comparisons - usually are lower than any contractor.
The authority's facilities management division employs 62 people in its maintenance shops and hires about 20 more on a temporary basis during busy seasons. About three employees work in the cabinet shop.
The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development doesn't keep track of how many authorities build their own cabinets, but spokeswoman Donna White said Norfolk's work sounded "like a creative cost-saving mechanism for the housing authority."
The authority makes roughly $140,000 a year from its contract with Richmond, and is in negotiations with Charlottesville to provide new door fronts and drawers for a complex there, O'Neal said. Later in the year, it will bid to provide totally new kitchens - custom-made cabinets and countertops - to another Charlottesville apartment complex.
It also repairs the Chesapeake housing authority's vehicles in its automotive shop and has begun soliciting business from Suffolk's housing authority as well, he said.
That income helps balance the $7.1 million facilities management budget, offsetting the costs of mowing lawns and making repairs to Norfolk's own housing projects.
The work isn't as simple as putting up any old shelf, either. All cabinets in public housing complexes must meet all criteria on a two-page state-mandated list that specifies everything from the thickness of the shelves to the way drawers are mounted. That ensures durability, even in the face of multiple tenants and more than a decade of wear, O'Neal said.
"You're not going to get this quality from Lowe's," he said.
In the cabinet shop Monday, three men sliced sheets of maple into cabinet door s and beveled the edges of drawer fronts.
By Thursday, crews had placed the finished product in Iesha Fletcher's kitchen in the Diggs Town neighborhood. The honey-hued maple doors glided quietly, and the base cabinets awaited the installation that afternoon of custom-cut laminate countertops from the carpentry shop.
The new cabinets replaced a set installed by a contractor when Diggs Town was last renovated in 1993, O'Neal said. The old cabinets had dry rot, and the doors were falling off their hinges after years of hard wear.
"These are much, much, much, much better," said Fletcher, who has lived in the apartment for four years. "It brightens the kitchen. I'll stay in it now. I'll cook in it now."
Meghan Hoyer, (757) 446-2293, meghan.hoyer@pilotonline.com
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Reid - You Are Way Off My Point
Reid, where did I mention slavery? Why must you stoop that low? My points were 1 - with the political correctness and politicians being voted into office that believe the wealth must be spread, we might as well face it if we're not willing to do something about it, and 2 - don't slam the line-workers for taking pride in their work. I didn't vote for the current administration, or for the overwhelming marjority of our local leaders. I have worked for the past 38 years and would love it if society would make EVERYONE work for their keep, but it hasn't happened in my lifetime and I don't see it changing any time soon. Not that I don't have hope, but I don't see many people admitting they were wrong and willing to do something about it.
Fair enough. Sorry.
Tally Ho, fair enough. I did not mean to imply that you raised the subject of slavery, I just used that as a example to help make my point that we should NOT accept the notion that the status quo wealth redistribution schemes of a all-appointed housing authority should be accepted - or celebrated. I can tell from your post that you most likely agree with that point. I suppose I am simply frustrated by the Pilot for their endless drum beat to try and promote more socialism and wealth redistribution. I am sorry if my response to your post offended you.
here's an idea
why not get the future tenents,to help put these together,hey maybe even paint the place or how about cleaning them,i mean if our going to live there on tax payers dollars,would you think your president would love for you to"spread the work"!oh thats right he said"spread the wealth" my bad!
I'm with santa
My cabinets have seen almost 50 years of hard wear. They still have the original hinges, handles, drawers, and finish. When will we ever figure it out? When goods and services are FREE, people do not value them. What makes us think the recipients of these handouts will take care of property that is provided for their use when they have no "skin in the game". Hard work causes one to appreciate the value of what they have.
Oh well ... let's wait for staff approval
Great points!
Excellent points that are well worth reading again.
Another complete waste of taxpayer’s money.
Another complete waste of taxpayer’s money. These people are proud to boast that subsidized housing has better quality cabinets that are in the homes of the citizens actually paying for them. "You're not going to get this quality from Lowe's," he said
Replacing cabinets every 15 years is another ridiculous expense.
The honey-hued maple doors glided quietly, and the base cabinets awaited the installation that afternoon of custom-cut laminate countertops from the carpentry shop.
The new cabinets replaced a set installed by a contractor when Diggs Town was last renovated in 1993, O'Neal said.
Blame all of this in Gov. Tim Kaine.
Gov. Timmy is just a small part of the larger problem.
santa, Gov. Timmy can't be held soley responsible for this garbage - the NHRDA was created long before Gov. Timmy was placed into the Gov.'s mansion but Conservatives rejecting the GOP's lousy candidates and a reenergized Democratic Party turning out to put "their guy" in control of our state's veto powers.
Nice Job NRHA
Let's face it - subsidized housing and paying for other people's children are here to stay, especially with the current administration that was so warmly put into place. That being said, I, for one, am grateful that Rick and his staff have found a way to save me a couple of dollars. I am sure with today's world of political correctness it takes much more to oversee and maintain any city's subsidized housing and recreational programs, and I believe the majority of those who work in any capacity of that field earn their money. Remember, they too, by being gainfully employed, are paying for the residents of NRHA, so please don't be so quick to bash them. Also, before you so quickly make a judgment about a "government worker", ask yourself - who did I vote for and what programs do they support?
What if folks said this about slavery?
Tally Ho, I don't accept that socialism is here to stay, nor that we should accept that government is growing far outside of it's required limits. Would not taking this position be akin to living prior to the Civil War and simply accepting the status quo of slavery, giving it your tacit approval by advancing the notion, "Welp, let's face it, slavery is here to stay, let's applaud the plantation owner for figuring out a less costly way of providing kitchen cabinets to his workforce in the "housing" he provides." … and then complimenting the slave owner for constructing better quality cabinets in their slave quarters then they could buy in town at the General Store?
Quality
Way to go Norfolk! Sounds like you not only found a way to save money, but also make a product that outlasts the alternatives.
A lot of comments here seem to miss one important part of this article. "You can't get this kind of quality.....". This is a major truth. When I re-did my kitchen a few years ago I checked out Lowes, Home Depot, and a number of other places. I also talked with contractors, and was not impressed with the quality of any of them. I finally found a private cabinet maker to custom make my kitchen cabinets out of "real" wood, not fake stained laminate. The total cost of doing it with quality products only cost me about $1000 more than buying ready made cabinets. More cost, but I know they will far outlast my other options.
unreal...
"The new cabinets replaced a set installed by a contractor when Diggs Town was last renovated in 1993, O'Neal said. The old cabinets had dry rot, and the doors were falling off their hinges after years of hard wear."
My cabinets were installed in 1984 and they're like brand new! What do these people DO to the stuff where they live? Oh, I get it...if you're not paying for something it's ok to wreck it.
sore loser
If they are so efficient, why did they just award Evans Cabinet Company, (an out of state cabinet maker)a contract to make approx. 416 cabinets for Norfolk housing. The fact that Norfolk housing builds a lot of there own cabinets, and for other cities in direct competition to local contractors, are we not in fact bidding against a subsidized business.
socialist fantasy
"government can do it better and cheaper"....show me a real accounting/balance sheet on this shop.Configured the same way a real commercial business is run.....what nonsense this article is.
Here's an idea who's time has come
The taxpayers are more than gracious to provide unlimited funds for our government. The government then freely spends OUR money on housing, childcare, food and medical for those fine citizens that contribute SO MUCH to our society. It seems unreasonable to think that this new approach to improvements would include a carpentry shop for a crew that should already be overburdened with maintenance problems. Why don't we require that these freeloaders provide manual labor as a condition for FREE housing? They might even learn a trade! If they won't do it then they can sleep under the stars. There would be a very few exceptions for the truly handicapped, elderly and otherwise infirmed. Like so many, I am sick and tired of government and the local city councils seeing fit to provide every handout without viable obligation from the recipients. It isn't like most of these people add value to our cities unless you think violent crime, theft, drug dealing, prostitution and hundreds of illegitimate children are an asset to us.
How can it be?
How can it be that the city can operate a 'manufacturing/installation' business, using their assigned repair personnel to manufacture goods in competition with private contractor costs? Who's doing the math? What's the cost of the employees that are supposed to be maintaining these apartments and instead, drawing benefits and salary 'making' cabinets. What a cherry pickers job. They've effectively removed themselves from the maintenance side of the house and developed a manufacturing facility which might indicate they have a few more people than they need. Or, if the number of employees involved fits other "like housing departments", it might indicate that the maintenance isn't getting the attention it needs. You can't maintain and manufacture with the same number of employees. Something has to suffer. Either that or the workload isn't being monitored and compared with normal financial scrutiny. Is anyone looking at the records to compare the costs of this manufacturing facility hidden inside the financial structure of a repair facility? There's evidently some number hiding going on. It doesn't compute. It's called creative finance. Loose accountability of taxpayers money.
a hundred forty grand a year?
"The authority makes roughly $140,000 a year from its contract with Richmond"
That couldn't even cover two employees wages and benefits for that period- the fact is "public works" is a loser, and shouldn't undercut private business, which should be BIDDING on the work.
"We have so many public housing communities"
-Bingo.
Not government's job - wealth redistribution
Taking income from citizens that earned it to redistribute and provide politically motivated taxpayer subsidized housing is wrong. Having taxpayer subsidized government agencies compete with the private sector is wrong. In these hard economic times do we really need the local businesses competing with the government? So now Lowes and Home Depot have to lay off more workers and more government “assistance” is “needed”? Wake up people! Government is not Santa Claus, nor is it a business. Government is way, way, out of control. All-appointed Housing Authorities are an abomination upon our Constitution. Non-elected government seeks to control every aspect of your life - with complete impunity from the voters. The result? We will no longer have any freedom. We will all simply work to support the collective - and the ever growing army of bureaucrats that feed at the public trough to run these communist-light, vote buying social give-away programs. No wonder our current Federal administration is appointing so many Czars, they are emulating the old Soviet Union.
Go Rick
They should give Mr.O'Neal a big fat raise for thinking of way's to save the city money instead of way's to spend the city money.
ditto
Amen to that!