Norman Housing Authority Properties Still Recovering After Hail Storm

Norman Housing Authority said the hail storm damaged several of their properties and they're only at the beginning of the recovery process.

The public housing agency said they're facing a long to do list when it comes to cleaning up after the Norman hail storm.

“We were boarding up windows whether they were broken windows, also tarping the rooftops where we had damage from the hail stones, Karen Canavan, executive director of Norman Housing Authority said. “Our maintenance guys they were out probably until about 2 a.m. in the morning.”

There are around 170 public housing units in Norman, and they also manage a few other properties.

Canavan said thankfully everyone is safe and no one had to be relocated, but the repair process has been challenging.

“Probably the most frustrating part is waiting for them to finish in looking at our deductibles because we are a federally funded agency, so we're not provided a lot of surplus cash,” Canavan said. “I'm very concerned about meeting those deductibles and what it's going to do to us financially.”

Canavan said she believes the repairs needed are going to hit their budget pretty hard and could put a damper on future projects.

“We map out a five-year plan on what we want to accomplish as far as capital improvements. This is obviously going to cause us problems in achieving some of those other capital problems in the future,” Canavan said.

Canavan said she was hoping to receive assistance from FEMA, but she doesn't think that will happen. She has contacted the Department of Housing and Urban Development asking them to keep the agency in mind for any funding opportunities.