BBC, Bliss stay connected on housing matters during pandemic

Photo By David Poe | “Please continue to reach out, whether via telephone or Facebook, or direct messaging, if you have issues in housing,” Col. Stu James, the Fort Bliss garrison commander, said at the close of the Senior Commander Housing Town Hall livestream from Fort Bliss, Texas, June 10, 2020. “I believe we’re addressing those issues as we get them and we’ve improved the service across Fort Bliss.” (Digital image by David Poe, USAG Fort Bliss) (Image extracted from video footage)  

FORT BLISS, TX, UNITED STATES

06.10.2020

Story by David Poe  

Fort Bliss Public Affairs Office

Team Bliss held its quarterly Senior Commander Housing Town Hall meeting at the Centennial Banquet and Conference Center at Fort Bliss, Texas, June 10, 2020.

Although the meeting was closed to families to encourage social distancing, it was livestreamed via Facebook Live to connect viewers with military and civilian housing leaders at Bliss.

Brigadier General Matthew Eichburg, the acting 1st Armored Division and Fort Bliss senior commander, was joined by Jessica Holston, the Bliss community director from Balfour Beatty Communities; as well as Col. Stu James, the U.S. Army Garrison Fort Bliss commander; and Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Cobb, the 1st AD and Fort Bliss command sergeant major, at the main table for the livestream.

Continuing traffic safety infrastructure plans and improvements took a large part of the half-hour forum, as well as BBC’s updated status on maintenance calls during their COVID-19 posture.

According to Holston, the company conducts wellness checks with its technicians, all of whom who’ve been trained on how to continue service in line with CDC safety guidelines. BBC is the Residential Communities Initiative partner at Fort Bliss and manages almost 4,500 homes in 17 neighborhoods. In all, the company manages approximately 43,000 homes across the Department of Defense.

RCI started with the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996, which allowed military services to partner with private industry to manage housing on military installations.

The quarterly meeting was held in tandem with now more than 60 monthly housing area unit sponsorship community forums that have occurred across Bliss since Sept. 2019. The program matches military housing neighborhoods with Bliss military units to strengthen community-based communication and involvement in housing matters. There are 11 unit zones covering east and west Fort Bliss.

While BBC has scored in the "exceptional" range for work order customer feedback since 2018, Holston said approximately ten percent of residents have been submitting feedback through the RentCafe app and encourages more than that amount to do so. To report a work order in military family housing, start by visiting www.fortblissfamilyhomes.com.

In addition to the speakers, housing specialists from BBC and the garrison command at Bliss were on hand to answer questions through the garrison’s Facebook page at @FortBlissGarrison.

“Please continue to reach out, whether via telephone or Facebook, or direct messaging, if you have issues in housing,” James said at the close of the livestream. “I believe we’re addressing those issues as we get them and we’ve improved the service across Fort Bliss.”

• Date Taken: 06.10.2020
• Date Posted: 06.16.2020 17:22
• Story ID: 372259
• Location: FORT BLISS, TX, US
• Hometown: EL PASO, TX, US
• Hometown: LAS CRUCES, NM, US