Housing Authority Turmoil Sparks Business

BROOKSVILLE - The recent upheaval at the Brooksville Housing Authority has spawned an entrepreneurial endeavor.

H. Paul Douglas, a former housing board member who resigned last November at the request of the mayor, is going into business with the wife of the Brooksville electrical contractor who has an active lawsuit against the authority.

Douglas, Phyllis Lane and Glenn Claytor, a prominent Spring Hill Democrat who in 2006 ran unsuccessfully for a state House seat, have formed two limited liability corporations, according to state records.

PDG Electrical of Hernando County will do electrical contracting work, Claytor and Douglas said Thursday. PDG Construction Management will provide consulting services to small contracting firms.

The trio - two African Americans and a woman - are seeking special designations from the state and federal governments as minority-owned businesses. The status will make the businesses eligible for government construction contracts, Douglas and Claytor said.

"I thought we would make a good team," Douglas said. "We knew there was an opportunity through government contracting to bring jobs to this county, and we attacked it."

Phyllis Lane is the wife of Jim Lane, owner of Lane Electric. She also does accounting for her husband's company.

Jim Lane has filed suit against the authority seeking more than $260,000, an amount he says he's owed for electrical work at one of the authority's two affordable housing complexes.

While on the housing board, Douglas was vocal in his resolve that Jim Lane should be paid because he did work according to a contract with the authority. Other members were hesitant because a previous board, concerned about the safety of the residents, told Lane to go forward with the electrical upgrades despite direction from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that the project needed to be put out to bid.

When the board Douglas was on broke down over whether to retain or fire executive director Ronnie McLean, Mayor David Pugh asked four members to step down in late November of last year. Three, including Douglas, did.

Douglas said Thursday that even after stepping down, he was determined to help Jim Lane get the money he was owed. He said the two became friends, and he met Phyllis Lane.

Douglas said he got the idea around that time to start a company that could get government contracts and bring work to the county. He said he only acted on it after stepping down.

He said Phyllis Lane and Claytor both struck him as competent and potentially good business partners. Douglas met Claytor during his political campaign, and sought help from Claytor while he was on the housing board.

Claytor has extensive development and affordable housing experience, according to his resume.

He owned a construction company for 15 years, and later oversaw redevelopment projects in Chicago.

The trio filed the two LLCs with the state in January. The principal and mailing addresses listed on the state documents are the Hexam Road home of Phyllis and Jim Lane.

They are currently waiting for licensing but hope to open for business by August, Claytor said.

Douglas said he and his new partners expected some raised eyebrows, but said none of the legal paperwork bears Jim Lane's name.

He pointed out the corporations were formed well after Douglas left the board.

"We discussed it," he said. "People will say, 'It's you and Jim Lane.' No, it's not. We made it abundantly clear that Jim Lane doesn't have anything to do with it."

Phyllis Lane couldn't be reached for comment. Jim Lane said Thursday the endeavor is his wife's, not his.

"I'm not involved in any way, shape or form," he said. He said his suit is still active, but that he may soon retire and pass the business on to his daughter.

Claytor said he "is an example of someone who has outlived their money" and thought the businesses might be a way to help fund the rest of his retirement.

Claytor said he met the Lanes through Douglas and was struck by Phyllis Lane's ability to run an office. He said he has confidence in his new partners.

"You do business with those you know and trust," he said. "It's almost like a marriage."