BonnerSprings.com

The tallest building in Bonner Springs will be getting a new look in the future, if Myrtle Bailey has her way.

Bailey became the new site manager at Nettleton Manor Apartments in November, taking over for Cora Huffines, who retired after 11 years at the Department of Housing and Urban Development-supported senior living facility. Bailey said she is hoping to arrange some exterior upgrades for the 32-year-old building in the next year, and plans for many other improvements to the building are in the works, as well.

Nettleton Manor has the capacity for 83 residents and currently has 78, with two two-bedroom apartments and one one-bedroom apartment available of the total 78 units.

As the site manager for Nettleton Manor, Bailey says she is responsible for the building and the people.

“Making sure that both are safe, clean, enjoyable; that we comply with local building code and that we comply with HUD criteria for safety,” she said.

There is a waiting list for the one-bedroom apartments at Nettleton, and Bailey knows the demand for quality senior living is only going to go up.

“I’m a Baby Boomer, and there’s still a generation ahead of me and a generation behind me that’s going to need a different kind of housing solution than living in a single family home,” she said.

Managing a senior living facility is new to Bailey. While she was doing a graduate fellowship in urban affairs, she took some courses in gerontology, her first preparation for her current position. But the first half of career was devoted to government affairs and public relations in St. Louis and Kansas City, Mo.

The second half of her career, Bailey worked in commercial real estate, leasing and managing strip malls across eight states. When she learned of the opportunity to join FPD Management and become the site manager for Nettleton Manor, she said she decided to move on because she was tired of trying to sell foreclosed properties.

She said she doesn’t find the new position to be much different from her work in real estate.

“This is very similar in that I’m putting in dumpster pads and enclosures, developing a capital improvement plan and maintenance plan, fixing things up and making things nice,” she said. “… I consider this a real estate job; I’m taking care of a multi-million dollar building, there’s just people in it. And in order for my building to be healthy and solid, I have to be mindful of how the people are using it and how the building is supporting how they live.”

Working with the residents is new, but Bailey said she is learning about that from the managers of the other four sites that FPD manages in the metro area. She is starting to plan activities, but one thing she would like to do is start having bi-monthly resident meetings.

“One of the reasons I want to have those meetings is to find out more what they are interested in having me help them do, rather than me sit here and decide what they will enjoy,” she said.

Bailey’s first priorities are improving the facility’s trash control and security. Currently, residents bring their trash down to a room on the main level, and the trash is kept in carts until trash day.

Bailey said while the building’s housekeeping services do a good job of keeping the “trash room” clean, it would be more sanitary for the building to have a dumpster outside. Bailey hopes this improvement will be complete in the next couple of weeks.

Then, Bailey hopes to improve the security system at the building’s entry, rather than just having a locked door, requiring residents making copies of keys.

“I’m not sure the residents are as safe as they could be because so many have home health aids, hospice nurses, housekeepers, etc.,” she said. “We’re looking at some improved access systems that allow our residents to have more control.”

On the exterior, she hopes to improve the building’s signage and get some façade improvements.

One bigger improvement Bailey would like to see is enclosing one of the community balconies, which can be found on each floor, to create a computer room with internet services for those residents who do not have computers or internets in their apartments.

“I don’t know what fiscal budget that will come from, but it will be in the next 12 to 18 months, I hope,” she said.

Another improvement she hopes to bring to the building is to expand the site manager’s office, which is small and right off the main lobby, so it is not very private when she is discussing private matters with residents. When the trash system is changed and the neighboring “trash room” is no longer necessary, she hopes to use that space to expand the office.

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