A long waiting list for housing at a senior complex in South Rome illustrated a further need for low-to-moderate income housing, said members of the South Rome Redevelopment Corp. Board of Directors on Tuesday night

Elaina Beeman, the site manager for Mercy Housing at Etowah Terrace told the panel that she has a steady waiting list for residences at the senior complex.

In spite of a little higher turnover rate than she originally thought, Beeman said she still has 39 people on her waiting list at this time.

The 77-unit apartment complex has seven open market-rate apartments, and the rest are governed by strict income eligibility guidelines

“It’s a great place to be,” Beeman said. “We do need another phase.”

Joe Montgomery, a member of the SRRC board of directors told Beeman and the board that her message was an important one for the entire community to hear.

Assistant City Manager Sammy Rich said when the Etowah Terrace project was still in the developmental phase no one thought it would stay full and have maintained a long waiting list, even a full year after it opened.

Bishop Daniel Foster, another member of the SRRC board said that the economic development committee was still working with potential developers for a phase two housing project.

“Finding the right site and finding the right developer — this is a process,” Foster said.

The SRRC board also got an update on a community garden project from intern Paul Sills and Executive Director Melissa Jones. Sills said that he hopes a location for the community garden can be identified by April and that ground could be broken as early as May.

Jones said that an official at Georgia Highlands College had talked to her about submitting a grant application that could bring $20,000 to the community garden project.

The garden would have to include an educational component to qualify for the grant. Jones will be meeting the college officials later this week to try to pin down exactly what type of commitment would be required of the South Rome group.

Dr. Paul Ferguson said he hopes to have a final Memorandum of Understanding related to the operation of both early and adult learning centers at the new Anna K. Davie Elementary School site ready for the board’s consideration next month.

The MOU will involve the SRRC, the Rome City schools, Berry College and Georgia Northwestern Technical College.

The memorandum will also outline how many classrooms will be available in the new Anna K. Davie building and the types of programs offered along with who will be responsible for funding.