A move by the city of Burlington to make the most of federal funds for affordable housing has apparently failed to leave much of an impression on Alamance County’s board of commissioners.
Last week, the commissioners decided to hold off on a couple of proposed appointments to a five-county consortium that the city has set up in order to leverage subsidies that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development distributes to increase the stock of affordable homes and apartments.
The county’s governing board had initially agreed to join this consortium when Burlington started to organize this interjurisdictional alliance after the collapse of a similar Greensboro-based coalition in 2023.
Since then, Burlington has also obtained commitments from Caswell, Rockingham, Randolph, and Davidson counties as it prepares to go live with this federally-sanctioned distribution endeavor.
Yet, personnel changes and the passage of time seem to have left most of Alamance County’s governing board with little, if any, recollection of Burlington’s big gambit.
This much became clear during a meeting last Monday when commissioner Ed Priola noticed an item related to the “Burlington HOME Consortium” on the board’s so-called consent agenda. This roster of putatively routine or noncontroversial items called on the board to designate commissioner Pam Thompson and Mebane resident Colin Cannell to serve as Alamance County’s representatives on this five-county confederacy.
Priola, who joined the board of commissioners in December of 2024, was quick to acknowledge his utter unfamiliarity with this group. Priola added that his knowledge was hardly expanded by the meager “backgrounder” that accompanied this item in the board’s meeting agenda. He went on to propose the postponement of the proposed appointments so he can get better acquainted with the consortium – as well as Cannell, who he admitted he knew nothing about.
Priola’s plea of ignorance was later echoed by Steve Carter, the vice chairman of Alamance County’s commissioners, who has served on the board since 2018. Also seemingly at sea was the board’s chairman John Paisley, Jr., who said he had “heard rumors” about the consortium and would also “like to have more information.”
In response to this apparent obliviousness, commissioner Pam Thompson suggested that her fellow board members should hear from a representative of the Piedmont Triad Council of Governments, which has overseen Burlington’s community development program, including the formation of its affordable housing consortium.
In the meantime, Cannell took advantage of the board’s designated public comment period to introduce himself to members like Priola whom he hadn’t previously met. Cannell went on to offer the commissioners a “refresher” on the consortium that had provoked so much bewilderment that morning.
“Alamance County approved a resolution to join this consortium in 2023,” added the prospective appointee, who also serves on Mebane’s municipal planning board. “By banding together, [the consortium’s member] counties can get access to federal block grants for the development of affordable housing opportunities…and I hope this consortium can bring housing to Alamance County that is affordable not because it’s subsidized by the feds, but because we made smart use of grant money to unlock ways to make housing cheap and abundant.”
Cannell conceded that the current Presidential administration has indicated a desire to pull the plug on federal block grants like the one that would bankroll Burlington’s consortium. He added, however, that he would like to see Alamance County get the most out of these funds if they survive the ongoing realignment of the Executive Branch.
“By the time we get around to debating who gets the money, there may be no money,” he admitted. “But for the moment, the money is there; it’s ready to serve the community and so am I.”
