by Jesse J. Lewis, Sr.
Mrs. Naomi Truman has done a yeoman’s job with the Housing Authority. All of us must sympathize on what happened to the families of Mark Village. We must keep all of these people in our prayers and do whatever is possible to make sure that some of their pain is eased, for this is a major concern.
No one can say that the Housing Authority Birmingham District (HABD) has not done business with minorities. Doing business with minority businesses is a hallmark goal for HABD.
HABD is a leader in the local public arena for effective sharing of business activities and resources within the minority business community. These businesses include Black-owned businesses, women-owned businesses and others.
Consider, for example, Goudy Construction that is currently engaged in the construction of 21 single family homes in Tuxedo Terrace. Goudy Construction, Inc. under the leadership of Ms. Sigers, is the procured contractor for the Tuxedo Terrace community. The single family houses are the first phase of homeownership opportunities at the recently constructed Tuxedo Terrace multifamily rental community. Construction began in January 2013; anticipated construction completion is March 2014. The contract value of Tuxedo Terrace single family housing is $3,290,987.
Goudy Construction obtained a General Contractor’s License in 2005 and set out to bid on larger projects. Upon attending the Section 3, “Doing Business with HABD” workshop, she met Mr. Carl Edwards, who assisted her in the process of submitting for various small HABD projects, and encouraged her to continue to bid on HABD work. Goudy Construction’s start with HABD began in 2006. With trial and error and continued persistence, Goudy Construction landed its first large project with HABD. To date, Goudy Construction has completed approximately $5.1 million in construction services with HABD.
Wanda Collins Lawn Service is a resident-owned minority business that provides landscaping and lawn service within a housing community. HABD invites resident businesses to preform services for a non-competitive reasonable fee. HABD also contracts with a resident for annual public housing inspections.
The percentage of business being done by minority-owned businesses is 36.5 percent of all HABD businesses. This translates to $3,086,230 of $11,391,273 for fiscal year 2013. Each year HABD hosts a workshop entitled Doing Business with HABD. This event encourages minority and small businesses to engage in business with HABD. It promotes partnerships with more established businesses for the achievement of needed experience in historically underutilized areas of endeavor.
We mobilize with a productive attitude that you cannot sit on your laurels and get what you got yesterday; you must keep looking forward…today.
e-mail: jjlewis@birminghamtimes.com
