Courtesy Photo | Lt. Gen. Douglas Gabram, commander, IMCOM, right, is shown the home inspection...... read more read more
After two weeks of housing inspections in Woodlawn Village, the team will begin sending announcements to residents at Lewis Village as the next neighborhood on the schedule, according to Jason Kallivokas, Executive Vice President of RER Solutions.
Kallivokas said that RER was contracted to run a pilot project on Fort Belvoir, as part of the mandate set in the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act that all privatized housing must be inspected.
“This is in addition to the inspections performed when the house is turned over for a new family,” said Scott Chamberlain, Assistant for Housing and Chief, Capital Ventures, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Housing and Partnerships. “With this pilot, we’re trying to set baselines for this, in terms of conditions, resources and cost.”
Adult must be home
As of Feb. 16, 225 homes have been inspected, with 130 of them occupied homes.
“We’ve seen re-scheduling required with some, and the Garrison is working to accommodate those schedules,” said Kallivokas. “Three homes did not have an adult present. In discussions with the Army and Clark/Michaels staff, we decided we were not going to enter any home in which an adult is not present. The requirements listed in the scheduling notification specified that an adult must be present for the inspection to occur. As such, these inspections weren’t performed and Garrison personnel are rescheduling them”.
Lt. Gen. Douglas Gabram, commander, IMCOM, had recently been given a walk-through by Kallivokas and his team in Dogue Creek Village on the inspection procedures.
“General Gabram was pleased with the level of detail our inspectors are going into,” said Kallivokas. “It is very comprehensive without any invasive effort that may result in damages to the property. I believe LTG Gabram has a better understanding of the scope and thoroughness of our inspections. I think that was beneficial for him to understand. It is hard to visualize without standing there and going through it.”
Belvoir’s Capitol proximity helps pilot
Chamberlain said Belvoir was chosen for this pilot because Congress was interested in the housing situation here, and it’s also close to the Pentagon if they want to come see how it’s running. Kallivokas said that even with weather setbacks, his team has completed 75% of the homes based on the original schedule.
“That’s a positive news story from our perspective,” he said. “Residents have been accommodating to our inspectors. We have had a handful of homes that involved either positive COVID tests or are on a COVID contact tracing quarantine, so they’ve been re-scheduled by the Garrision staff,” adding that there the inspectors have a rigorous safety procedure to minimize risk to both residents and inspectors.
It has now been two years since the privatized housing problems caught the attention of top lawmakers and military leaders, and Chamberlain said the difference between now and then is breathtaking.
“I get on a call every Monday that lasts between an hour-and-a half and two hours, where the commander of Installation Management Command talks with all 55 of his Garrison commanders,” Chamberlain said. “He wants to know, by name, everyone who is displaced from their house and how many days. He knows the issues, and things have changed.”
After Lewis Village, the RER inspectors will be heading to Herryford Village in March, and Kallivokas said residents should expect a minimum one-week advance notice of a pending inspection.
| Date Taken: | 02.25.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 02.26.2021 14:43 |
| Story ID: | 390056 |
| Location: | FORT BELVOIR, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 118 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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