Dissatisfaction with the Chattanooga Housing Authority’s resident leadership has motivated some residents to organize their own neighborhood group.

“We’re not recognized by citywide (Resident Advisory Board),” said Bobby Paris, president of the Dogwood Manor Resident Council. “Anytime we ask for their support and participation, we get no response.”

Mr. Paris and Doris Conner, former president of the College Hill Courts Resident Council, are participating in the city’s Neighborhood Leadership Institute to create a neighborhood group that will include all 3,500 Westside residents.

Of the eight low-income housing sites in the Westside, only Gateway Towers, Boynton Terrace and College Hill Courts are CHA-owned properties and are represented on the housing authority’s citywide Resident Advisory Board.

The Westside also includes the Ridgeway, Overlook, Jaycee Towers, Golden Gateway and Dogwood Manor apartments.

Mr. Paris said he and others are asking for “equal representation” on the board.

“Everything we ask for, I have to go to the Chattanooga Housing Authority board, and the CHA board doesn’t turn us down because they are legitimate requests,” he said.

Jesse Lawrence, president of the citywide Resident Advisory Board, said she could not comment on plans for a new neighborhood association because she does not know enough about it.

She said because Dogwood Manor is not owned by the housing authority, the apartment complex is not represented on the Resident Advisory Board.

CHA’s board recently agreed to allow Dogwood Manor residents to have a Neighborhood Watch, including a volunteer staff that would man the apartment complex on Sundays and Mondays when Americore security guards are not available, Mr. Paris said.

Mr. Paris initially tried to work with Ms. Lawrence to get permission for the volunteer staff, but his efforts were unsuccessful until he went straight to the CHA board, he said.

Ms. Lawrence had no comment.

Gary Kelley, the housing authority’s director of resident services, said CHA recognizes the Resident Advisory Board as the official representative of public housing residents. However, he said, “residents have a right to explore different opportunities to improve their quality of life.”

Ms. Conner said the death of Westside resident Sheila Jennings earlier this year marked the end of an era of leadership.

Ms. Jennings, a former Ridgeway and College Hill Courts resident, worked for more than a decade with the Westside Community Development Corp. to bring social services and improve the quality of life for Westside residents.

“She was one of the true leaders,” Ms. Conner said. “Now we need to get something started again.”

Ms. Jennings was not a member of the citywide group, Ms. Conner said.

Even before their graduation from the Leadership Institute, Mr. Paris and Ms. Conner worked with other public housing residents and Leadership Institute members to organize a soccer camp to provide a summer activity for about 180 youths from throughout Chattanooga.

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