{"id":40556,"date":"2016-07-21T14:38:30","date_gmt":"2016-07-21T18:38:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/?p=40556"},"modified":"2016-07-21T14:38:30","modified_gmt":"2016-07-21T18:38:30","slug":"residents-of-presbyterian-homes-write-to-the-lehigh-acres-fire-commissioners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/2016\/07\/residents-of-presbyterian-homes-write-to-the-lehigh-acres-fire-commissioners\/","title":{"rendered":"Residents of Presbyterian Homes Write to The Lehigh Acres Fire Commissioners"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Letter sent to the Lehigh Acres Fire Commssioners<\/p>\n

July 19, 2016<\/p>\n

\"\"Let us introduce ourselves. \u00a0We are the residents of Presbyterian Homes in Lehigh<\/p>\n

Acres, FL. \u00a0We are a low-income, disabled, senior residential complex.<\/p>\n

On July 13,2016 there was a meeting held to explain to the residents of an assessment fee in the amount of$145,803.87 that the Corporation had received that will impact the residents tremendously. \u00a0The impact would mean a $25 increase in rent on a monthly basis that we the residents cannot afford.<\/p>\n

The reasons are as follows:<\/p>\n

\u00b7 In 2016 there was no Cost of Living Allowance increase;<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Medicare part A & B can range from $100 – $150 monthly deductible;<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 Incomes range from $625 to $1500 per month bases on Social Security, Disability, and Pensions (so you need to budget yourself for the month);<\/p>\n

Other monthly expenses for the residents are:<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 Rent;<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 Electric;<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Water – (half of development \u00a0pays a monthly payment of $54 m1mmum;<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 Phone services whether cell phone or land lines;<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 Medications;<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Co-payments at every doctor visit and lab work ranging from $25 to $425;<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Medical equipment needed at their apartments;<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 Dental;<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 Transportation \u00a0(some residents have automobiles which means money for registration, license, insurance, gas and repairs);<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Clothing;<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Personal Grooming;<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Out-of-pocket \u00a0costs for domestic help.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

How are we expected to pay an extra $25 monthly having all these expenses. This can be viewed as Elder Abuse <\/strong>and mental anguish for the residents. \u00a0Please help to prevent many seniors from going hungry or not taking their medications so they can keep a roof over their heads. This is a REALITY; not a reality show. Put yourselves in our shoes. \u00a0Can YOU <\/strong>or would YOU <\/strong>be able to survive with our incomes.<\/p>\n

Thank you in advance for your time and attention to this grave matter.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

HELP<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sincerely,<\/p>\n

Concerned residents of Presbyterian<\/p>\n

Homes in Lehigh Acres, FL<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Luisa Santiago<\/p>\n

Rachel Rodriguez<\/p>\n

Theresa Douglass<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

cc: Board of Fire Commissioners Cathy Kruse, Chairperson Linda Carter, Vice-Chair Larry Becker<\/p>\n

David Adams<\/p>\n

Matt Smith<\/p>\n

Florida Dept. of Elder Affairs<\/p>\n

Elder Abuse -National<\/p>\n

Agency for the Aging for SWFL<\/p>\n

AARP Legal Services Network<\/p>\n

HUD <\/strong>Alesia Scott-Ford, Jacksonville<\/p>\n

Chamber of Commerce, <\/strong>Lehigh Acres<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Presbyterian Homes of Lehigh Residents<\/p>\n

All four communities are separate,private,charitable,non-profit 501(c)(3) Florida corporations.<\/p>\n

All communities fully operate ONLY with their own<\/span> rental revenue. There are NO OTHER sources of income.<\/p>\n

Presbyterian Homes and Housing Foundation of Florida,Inc. (PHHF) is the “Management Agent” and does NOT “own” the communities. The communities are “owned” \u00a0by the corporations themselves.<\/p>\n

The 2016 HUD Fair Market Rents are: Studio\/Efficiency:$681;1Bedroom: $730;2 Bedroom:$911. The rents at all<\/p>\n

Presbyterian Homes of Lehigh Acres communities are much lower.<\/p>\n

The federal government partnered with \u00a0non-profits to build affordable housing. WHY?- Because non-profits are exempt from taxes (business income tax,property tax and state sales tax),they are simply less expensive to operate. \u00a0This results in lower\/more affordable rents.<\/p>\n

We have four different federal program types:<\/p>\n

Sunshine Villas\/Golden Age: 48 units, HUD Section 202<\/p>\n

Sunshine Villas Annex\/Clusters: 168 units,HUD Section202<\/p>\n

Homes of Lehigh\/The South: 80 units,HUD Section236<\/p>\n

Villas of Lehigh\/The North: 102 units,Rural Development 515<\/p>\n

Woodward Manor:90 units, HUD Section 202 PRAC<\/p>\n

All 488 apartments are elderly\/disabled and income restricted. \u00a0We have 613<\/span> residents.<\/p>\n

The first<\/span> Senior Housing,HUD Section 202,#SHOOGl olden Age Village, now called Sunshine Villas,was sponsored by the<\/p>\n

Lehigh Acres Council of Senior Citizens and began construction in 1959!<\/p>\n

City of Lehigh Acres Fire Control & Rescue District Assessment<\/p>\n

The Fire Fee Assessment was intended to be “an alternative” to property taxes and not an additionalfee. It was intended as a flat rate fee<\/span> and would replace the property <\/span>tax levy<\/span>. In November 2014,by referendum,51% of voters chose to pay the new assessment.<\/p>\n

The original plan excluded non-profits. ===>The getthefactslehigh.com website states: CONCERNS: My church or other nonprofit institution is exempt from property \u00a0taxes. Will we have to pay the Fire Fee Assessment? “FACT ANSWER”- No. Properties with valid<\/span> exemptions will continue to be exempt from the Fire Fee Assessment. WHY was our exemption determined \u00a0not valid<\/span>???<\/p>\n

In 2015<\/span>, Presbyterian Homes of Lehigh communities,therefore<\/em> <\/em>the residents<\/span><\/em> <\/em>were billed $145,803.87 for the assessment. Average<\/span> per apartment is: $145,803.87\/488 = $298.78 per year OR $24.90 <\/span>per month.<\/span><\/p>\n

On Tuesday,<\/span>July <\/span>26, <\/span>2016.<\/span> \u00a0the Board of Fire Commissioners will meet again to determine the 2016 assessment. The meeting is at 5:00p.m<\/span>.at 3102 16th\u00a0Street <\/span>SW,<\/span>Lehigh <\/span>Acre<\/span>s<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We need your help!!!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Letter sent to the Lehigh Acres Fire Commssioners July 19, 2016 Let us introduce ourselves. \u00a0We are the residents of Presbyterian Homes in Lehigh Acres, FL. \u00a0We are a low-income,… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":40557,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57,32],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40556"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40556"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40556\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}