A new era in the Housing and Redevelopment Authority of Austin has started.

Executive Director Kermit Mahan's final day at the HRA is today and the last day for submitting applications for his position was Thursday and though "we have received some … it's been a little quiet," said HRA Board Member Dick Chaffee.

Now the HRA Board will begin sorting through the applications "to see who is qualified and then we'll move the process forward from there," said Chaffee. "We would like to do it as soon as possible, but since (Deputy Director of Community Development) Tom Smith is acting as the executive director, it's not a crisis situation."

The target date for finding a new director of the HRA is Oct. 1.

In other HRA news:

The HRA Board met Wednesday to discuss the progress of various projects throughout Austin.

It was announced the restoration project to the exterior of Pickett Place is expected to be completed by the end of October.

The progress of the removal of the homes in the flood plain was reported. According to Smith, the acquisition of the six homes purchased last year is finished. Three of the homes will be demolished, two will be auctioned to be moved and the final one is set to be moved to the corner of Fifth Avenue SE and 10th Street SE.

Mahan also discussed the progress of the railroad yard cleanup. He said trace amounts of arsenic have been found and those have to be removed, but when those are cleaned up, "it will be a nice piece of property that doesn't look like a World War I battlefield." He also said the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency "is very close to issuing a letter of no association … which says that everything is frozen in time and can be paved over."

Amanda L. Rohde can be reached at 434-2214 or by e-mail at :mailto:amanda.rohde@austindailyherald.com