Hudson County commissioners pumped the brakes this week on nearly $684,075 in contracts meant to house people leaving jail, recovery court, and homelessness, after officials said they still hadn’t received proof that two Jersey City housing providers meet local building and safety codes. The Board of Commissioners voted to carry the resolutions to the panel’s September 10 meeting or sooner, rather than approve the deals outright at their regular session.
The delayed contracts would send $424,075 to Most Excellent Way Learning Life Center for five years of supportive housing services for people re-entering the community, and $260,000 to ReVision House LLC for two years of sober living housing services, according to Hudson County View. Both contracts are structured to run from September 1 through August 31, 2027, and County Administrator Abe Antun told commissioners he had not received the code-compliance information he had requested about the housing providers before the county’s family services division moves forward with the funding.
Family services needs contractors that can provide short-term sober living housing and supportive services to people leaving corrections, individuals in recovery court, and people experiencing homelessness, per the county’s own program requirements. Hudson County’s family services requirements call for contracted clinical-based mentoring, housing, and mental health services for that population.
Why Commissioners Carried the Vote
The resolutions were originally on the agenda for the board’s regular meeting but got pulled after Antun raised the compliance concerns, and Commissioner Bill O’Dea suggested that Board Chair Anthony Romano add them instead to the agenda for a special meeting scheduled for August 20. Antun supported that plan, and the board agreed the special session’s agenda would not be limited strictly to its original business…