The Killeen Housing Authority Board of Commissioners held its first meeting in months Thursday. There was little accomplished by the board, but the meeting represented an obvious disconnect between some of the commissioners and the board chair, who did not attend the meeting.
The meeting was called last week after Commissioner Kristin Wright said that they consulted legal advice from the attorney, who himself has been conspicuously absent from many of the meetings.
KHA, which was marred by an embezzlement scandal in 2023 that effectively stopped it from being able to give out housing vouchers, has not had a board meeting since May 28.
Chair Bruce Whiteside said this week that if the commissioners met, it would be illegal and a walking quorum.
During the course of the meeting, the commissioners biggest complaints were that they had not received any documentation from Whiteside, including offers to buy the Moss Rose apartment complex.
Previously, Madhouse Development Services said it had made an offer to buy the property for $1 million, and Armor of God Outreach founder John “JT” Haun, also told KDH News that his organization made a bid for the property.
“There are concerns that there have been offers made that we don’t know the details of, and we need, as commissioners, to know,” Wright said during Thursday’s meeting, explaining she had heard about some offers from watching the Killeen City Council livestream.
The board approved a motion to put on the agenda at a future meeting to determine the offers and appraisal process.
Wright also addressed the conflicts that have been happening at previous meetings.
“The meetings have been contentious and unproductive to a point that I’m not comfortable as a commissioner or the secretary moving forward without a parliamentarian or lawyer present,” she said, then clarified with Attorney Brandon Masin that the meetings are typically held the last Thursday of the month.
Masin said previously there was conflict because he thought the meetings were quarterly.
The commissioners also shared a fraud prevention and financial control for zero-staff operations, which included taking actions like appointing an interim secretary, which Wright was appointed to, and designating a financial commissioner.
The board also briefly discussed appointing a consultant, which Wright said had issues in the past with turnover and conflict.
Killeen Councilwoman Mellisa Brown, who spoke during citizen comments on the issue, was previously a consultant for KHA and, in a highly publicized incident in October 2024, got into a conflict with Whiteside where he claimed she locked him out of the KHA offices, resulting in police being called.
Wright told KDH News after the meeting that there was “disagreement” on the direction that KHA was heading, whether it would dissolve or start functioning once more as a public housing authority.
“We’re looking for documentation,” she said, explaining that she had been sending emails to Whiteside since April, requesting documents.
“There is still potential for KHA,” she said.
Whiteside said this week that he planned to be in Alabama for a funeral at the time of the meeting.