Investigation reveals ‘troubling’ findings in push for affordable housing on Hilltop
An investigation found flaws in a nonprofit’s push to fund affordable housing on Hilltop and elsewhere, detailing a rushed grant application process with loose review procedures and a failure to communicate key information to a major project partner.
Angeli Law Group, an outside law firm enlisted by the environmental nonprofit Forterra to probe concerns raised by the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe, concluded that Forterra had acted in good faith. But the nonprofit’s poor or lack of communication resulted in the Tribe being unable to make an informed decision when it initially supported the application.
“Our work on this grant fell short of our organizational standards and my personal values,” Forterra President and CEO Michelle Connor said in a statement, offering a “full apology” to the Tribe.
The results of the independent probe follow criticisms for how Forterra handled seeking more than $35 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Climate-Smart Commodities program to construct up to 300 affordable housing units in Tacoma’s Hilltop neighborhood and more in other areas of the state as part of its Forest to Home project.
A central piece to the project is its reliance on responsibly harvested local timber.
Days after Forterra announced in September that it was tentatively awarded up to $20 million, the Tribe pulled support for the application, which it said committed the Tribe to project responsibilities that were never discussed or agreed to, including the volume of timber it would supply from its ancestral forest to be used for building material.
Last month, project investors called for Forterra’s executive team to be replaced and for the Hilltop development to be put into the hands of experienced developers who could accelerate the now-uncertain project.
Forterra fired executive Tobias Levey on Oct. 21 “due to concerns that he could not responsibly or effectively serve the organization’s mission.” And last week, the nonprofit told The News Tribune that it was in negotiations with a local developer to assume oversight of the build-out.
Levey, the former vice president of real estate transactions, primarily led the grant-writing process and was the lone Forterra representative to communicate with the Tribe, according to Angeli Law Group’s 33-page report released by Forterra on Thursday.
“While we found no direct and undisputed evidence of deceptive intent, the fact that pertinent information about the contents of the grant application was not shared with the Tribe while obtaining its consent to include it as a partner is troubling,” the report said.
Forterra provided an executive summary of the application to the Tribe, but it would not share the full copy unless the Tribe agreed not to distribute it, the investigation found. The Tribe eventually obtained a copy from an unknown source.
The federal funding pursuit was marred by poor grant writing that caused confusion, failure to conduct a technical review of information within the application and a delay in reaching out to the Tribe, according to the findings.
There was a sense in interviews conducted by the outside law firm that the application for one of the largest grants Forterra had ever applied for was a “moonshot,” which led to prioritizing a compelling narrative over technical accuracy, the report said.
Forterra learned of the grant opportunity on Feb. 10. The initial deadline was April 8 (it was later moved back), but the nonprofit did not contact the Tribe until March 21 about whether it would support an application. In contrast, Forterra had sought the aid of a grant-writing consultant on Feb. 23.
“Although the Tribe was a central part of the grant application’s narrative from its inception, the Tribe was not contacted until six weeks into the process,” the report said, adding later: “The timing of Forterra’s first outreach to the Tribe about the grant shows that Forterra took for granted that the Tribe would commit to the partnership.”
In a statement, Snoqualmie Tribal Chairman Robert M. de los Angeles said the report proved the Tribe’s claims but that Forterra’s apology did not go far enough. The Tribe, which has withdrawn from the grant, has also called for a full investigation from the federal government before any funds are issued.
“The Snoqualmie Tribe is proud to have stood up for what’s right and will continue to hold accountable bad actors who seek to deceive Tribal Nations,” he said.
The Angeli Law Group made several recommendations at the conclusion of its report, including that Forterra improve its grant application process, show transparency to project partners, treat tribal partners with deference, and ensure that employees feel safe to voice any concerns about the accuracy of materials.
Forterra said it was committed to addressing systemic concerns and had identified measures to improve the organization, including training and task forces to improve partnerships with tribal groups and bringing on outside support to provide best practices and recommendations for working with partners in the community.
Beth Birnbaum, the board chair, also offered an “unequivocal apology” to the Tribe and said that the external review’s findings had made clear that Forterra failed to respect the Tribe’s sovereign rights in preparing and submitting the grant application.
“The Board of Directors will be reviewing Forterra’s actions to improve its processes, internal controls and pursue successful collaborations with sovereign Tribal nations as well as Forterra’s community partners,” she said.
