The Housing Authority of Southeastern Utah now has a new, interim director, officials with the agency told the Grand County Council on Tuesday. Longtime director Karena Gholson was terminated by the housing authority’s board of commissioners, according to the board chairman Gary Jacobson.

“A series of events led to the board making a decision to go a different direction,” Jacobson said.

At this week’s council meeting, Jacobson introduced Fremont Woodward as the housing authority’s interim executive director. He said Woodward assumed the agency’s top post on Nov. 12.

“He’s done a great job as construction manager,” council member Audrey Graham said of Woodward, who has been working in Moab as the HASU construction manager since last July. Graham said Woodward is well known throughout the state.

“We think you got a really important job,” council chairman Bob Greenberg told Woodward.

During a phone interview Wednesday morning, Jacobson explained that issues involving the board, Gholson, the county council, and U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development, have been festering for quite some time. Jacobson said that Gholson did nothing illegal during the performance of her job with the housing authority, but he noted that funds were lost and promising housing programs were not accessed at times while Gholson was the housing authority’s executive director.

Under another agenda item in the same meeting, the council unanimously appointed Martha McGraw to the HASU board. McGraw will replace Moab resident Craig Hibberd, who resigned his seat in July.

There was very little discussion among council members and Jacobson regarding the changes to the HASU administrative staff, but it was revealed that longtime HASU board member Janie Tuft has resigned from the board and Jacobson said he will not apply for reappointment when his term expires at the end of this year.

That means the council will have two more vacancies to fill next month. In addition to McGraw, four other people applied to fill the seat left vacant by Hibberd’s resignation.

“The world has changed,” Jacobson said about volunteer membership of boards. Anybody thinking about serving on a board must be prepared to put a lot of work into it, he said.

As the residential and construction loan officer for Zions Bank in Moab, McGraw brings financial expertise to the board that will be lost when Jacobson’s term expires, he said. Her application stated that she has worked in corporate sales, marketing, and account management for over 20 years.