James Claggett Jr. is the new general manager at Greenbelt Homes, Inc. (GHI). He has been on the job for four months, starting on July 10. The News Review talked with Claggett recently about how he was settling into his new job.
Claggett grew up in Montgomery County and has lived in Prince George’s County all his adult life. He currently lives in Cheverly with his wife and 22-year-old daughter. He has years of housing/community management experience, as chief engineer at Montgomery County’s Leisure World 55+ community and for the previous 10 years as general manager of the Belle View community near Alexandria, Va.
Where Belle View is a 70-year-old condominium of 980 townhomes and apartments on 56 acres, the GHI cooperative has 1,600 units and 60 apartments on 256 acres, most over 85 years old. Claggett was unfamiliar with GHI before learning of the general manager position. GHI interested him because it was a cooperative, unlike his previous experiences, and it is only eight miles from his home. He said communities have personalities just like people do. Claggett was impressed with GHI’s community, the way information was freely shared, the collective approach to completing large projects and the visible talent of the staff.
Belle View’s own townhome/apartment mix and large infrastructure projects prepared him for some of the work but differences include GHI’s larger size, its cooperative model, the members rules and regulations handbook and the need for greater engagement with local government and the public at large. Claggett interacts often with Greenbelt city staff and city council, and county and state leaders. He emphasized the commonality people share. “People are people,” he said, “so I found they have more similarities than differences.”
Getting Started
Before his official start, Claggett shadowed longtime, well-respected General Manager Eldon Ralph. After Claggett’s July 10 start date, Ralph stayed for three weeks before retiring in order to advise him as he settled into his new role.
Claggett said the transition couldn’t have gone any better, saying of Ralph, “With his [30 years of GHI] experience, he understood situations, he knew the members, he understood the handbook, so if there was a question that arose, he could act right away. Me, [because I’m still learning], sometimes I can’t act as quickly as I think he would have acted. But we’re very similar in temperament.”
Claggett continues to familiarize himself with the GHI bylaws, its member handbook and cooperative law. “I have to understand federal law, Maryland law, [county and city] and how they impact GHI policies and procedures,” he said, “[because] the first rule of managing a community living environment is never propose rules or policies that are unenforceable. Once you understand the [legal sources], you can build consensus and move forward.”
“My goal for the first 90 days was to learn GHI policy, how the different department heads worked and ran their departments and understand the different priorities,” continued Claggett. “Then maybe discuss implementing a new policy and how to go about doing that. That met with a lot of positive reception.” When asked to describe himself as a manager, he mentioned being fair, accessible and transparent.
Claggett is getting to know GHI staff, with biweekly breakfasts of five to eight persons from across GHI departments, where participants learn more about each other and their jobs. He has enjoyed discovering GHI’s “worldly, accomplished” staff. He began learning about the cooperative’s infrastructure and maintenance by visiting the crews doing roof replacements, looking at parking lot repairs and walking the Parkway Apartments.
Claggett has met GHI members at meet-and-greet events hosted by the GHI board and individual members in order to resolve specific issues. “The feedback that I’ve gotten is that I have been accessible, that I have been kind [and] I have been cooperative as we worked through different member matters.” He added, “GHI’s December 5 Town Hall meeting will include time for members to talk with me.”
Settling In
Claggett said he interacts most with the GHI board of directors and the GHI departmental directors (finance, member services, technical services, maintenance and human resources). “The board is the leader. The president sets the tone and he is intentionally inclusive. I view my role as a partnership with the board,” he explained. “They set policy and it’s up to me to understand and implement the policy. They may have questions, so [my role may be to advise] them. But I’m always second to the board. They set tone and policy, and I’m responsible for implementing and execution.”
When asked about how he supports and partners with GHI staff, he looked at the whiteboard on his office wall with each department’s activities and discussed three examples, one of which benefits from his Belle View experience. GHI is writing a tree maintenance policy to balance safety and beauty to preserve the tree canopy loved by members and other Greenbelters. Belle View implemented a tree maintenance policy that reduced tree removals/replacements to under 15 trees per year. A second example is supporting members who want to age in place by connecting them with city resources such as CARES and the Greenbelt Assistance in Living program and with making necessary home modifications. A third is the safety training the maintenance director holds biweekly with all maintenance staff.
When asked how his beliefs about GHI have evolved since he began his job, Claggett said, “My understanding of the talent base was very high but [still] I underestimated it. The people here are very knowledgeable and very passionate about protecting GHI. I appreciate that very much. I also appreciated Ralph. He is an excellent identifier of talent. The [department] directors and the other staff members here are extremely dedicated, extremely talented.”
GHI Board President Stefan Brodd commented, “The transition has been very smooth. The board is very pleased with how things are going … Particularly after such a long tenure for Ralph and the outstanding job he did for us, we had some trepidation, but it’s proven to be unfounded. We’re delighted with Mr. Claggett’s professionalism, his knowledge of the field, the compassion and kindness with which he treats our members. We feel very fortunate.”
Going Forward
Claggett sees GHI’s top three priorities as relating to the aging water infrastructure: 1) the replacement program for water supply and wastewater pipes in GHI homes, 2) stormwater facilities and management, including working with council and staff on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) of responsibilities for areas affecting both GHI and the city and addressing flooding from 33 Ridge, 56 Crescent and 1 Gardenway downhill to the underpass near the Sunoco and 3) reaching an agreement with WSSC Water, who owns pipes between streets and GHI homes, with its maintenance and replacement implications.
Personnel retirements and departures of city and GHI staff delayed the MOU effort that began several years ago. In fact, four of GHI’s five departmental directors are new to their positions within the last two years. When asked for the effect of that turnover, Claggett said some efforts require more research than with previous staff, because they have less institutional memory. He described the turnover’s bright side: with five of six senior staff newer to their jobs, together they bring a renewed energy to managing GHI. Brodd said the personnel turnover is another reason why the board appreciates Claggett’s transition. “GHI is a very large, very complex community,” said Brodd. “We have a long history, we have a lot of quirks. It can take a long time to understand how things are done. The very smooth and quick way in which Claggett has adapted to that situation was very pleasing.”
Building Relationships
The MOU illustrates Claggett’s growing relationships with city staff and council, including his counterpart and equally new City Manager Josué Salmerón who started work two months after Claggett. “[Mr. Salmerón] and I met on numerous occasions, about various projects that affect GHI and the city,” said Claggett. “Our interactions have been very kind and very faithful. It appears that we both just want to do the best job we can for the citizens.” Brodd later added, “I don’t think in the history of Greenbelt we’ve had a new GHI general manager and a new city manager at the same time. It’s a historic changeover in governance.”
Another issue Claggett is undertaking is ensuring county rent control legislation does not adversely affect GHI. He is working with County Councilmember Ingrid Watson, State Senator Alonzo Washington and State Delegate Marvin Holmes. The legislation prevents landlords from increasing rent over 3 percent per year. Though originally written to include cooperatives, which could have constrained GHI’s ability to manage its own finances, it was amended to exempt cooperatives.
Brodd shared that Claggett is interested in building relationships with Greenbelt homeowner associations, local housing cooperatives, the Prince George’s Commission on Common Ownership Communities and national organizations such as the Community Associations Institute and the National Association of Housing Cooperatives, with which GHI is affiliated. Doing so could provide insights on how similar communities are facing shared issues. One concrete example is already having attended Watson’s HOA roundtable, which Brodd described as very informative and an opportunity to meet others in similar situations.
Brodd said of Claggett’s relationship building, “I think he’s very aware of the importance of relationships, especially in a community like ours that’s quite close-knit.” Claggett said he is “a family man and that may be why things appear to be meshing well with GHI, because it’s a family-oriented community and I identify with those values.”
Pastimes
Claggett said he enjoys activities with his family such as walking, grilling and cooking. Asked for something about himself that others might not know, he responded, “I LOVE to shop. My wife and I, we can go all day, all weekend. At least once a year we’ll go to King of Prussia, Pa. It’s not for expensive things, just to be out and to people-watch and window shop. One of our annual traditions is Black Friday shopping. So, after Thanksgiving, we’ll go to the farthest place [of the stores we want to visit] and go all night.” He said they haven’t decided where they are going this Black Friday, but “we’re gonna do something” because they haven’t done it for a few years.