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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-04-05 Reading Housing Authority MinutesREADING HOUSING AUTHORITY MINUTES OF THE REGULAR BOARD MEETING OF APRIL 5, 1999 A regular business meeting of the Reading Housing Authority was held on Monday, April 5, 1999 at 7:00 P.M. at the office of the Authority, 22 Frank D. Tanner Drive in the town of Reading, Massachusetts. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 P.M. with the Chairman, Mr. Sweet, presiding. Also in attendance were Mr. Allen, Ms. Galvin and Ms. Connors, and the Executive Director, Ms. Plansky as well as the associate member, Ms. Flammia. Mr. Kelley was riot in attendance. Minutes Upon a motion duly made by Mr. Allen and seconded by Ms. Galvin, it was unanimously VOTED: To accept for the record the Minutes of Regular Business Meeting of March 1, 1999, as presented. The Chairman then declared said motion carried and said vote in effect. Upon a motion duly made by Mr. Allen and seconded by Ms. Connors, it was unanimously VOTED: To accept for the record the Minutes of Executive Session Meeting of March 1, 1999, as presented. The Chairman then declared said motion carried and said vote in effect. Finances Upon a motion duly made by Mr. Allen and seconded by Ms. Connors, it was unanimously VOTED: To approve and sign the checkrolUbillroll for the period for Accounts Payable Che( #4599 -4662; Payroll Check #2083 -2122 Section 8 Certificate Program #4918 -4963 Section Voucher Program #2162 -2178; MRVP - #567 & 568; as presented. Building Move - Pleasant and Wilson Streets Move The Board reviewed the cost estimates for the building move; the costs to date and oth relevant matters. Costs and commitments to date were estimated to be about $60,000.00. The Department of Environmental Protection has scheduled a site visit for Tuesday, April 1 1999 at 10 AM. The appeal has been perfected and accepted by DEP; this mandates that t RHA cease and desist from any work on the lot until a decision has been rendered on the app( and the appeal process is exhausted. The Director was instructed to keep moving forward with the building move, foundation, etc. the project, if given permission by DEP. Page 2 Minutes 4/5/99 Water Conservation -4001 The replacement of toilets and showerheads /faucets at the State -aided developments started on April 5, 1999 and is expected to be completed within 10 working days, or about April 16`h by C. Perry & Co., Inc. of Cotuit, Massachusetts. The Authority has received a check from the Commonwealth in the amount of $17,996.00 for the cost of replacement per the contract. Section 8 Boucher Payment Standards All certificates will change to vouchers effective April 1, 1999. This means that any new lease must be signed as a Voucher Lease/HAP Contract. in effect, this gives the tenant more choice as they are not confined by the limits of the fair market rents, which includes utility payments. In the Reading area in particular, the FMR standard has been detrimental to tenants finding and keeping units. The voucher allows a tenant to negotiate a rent that is reasonable for their budget and cannot exceed 40% of their income. Therefore, the, Board discussed adjusting the payment standards for the Reading area from what they are currently. Upon a motion duly made by Mr. Allen and seconded by Ms. Galvin, it was unanimously VOTED: To adopt the Fair Market Rent standards effective April 1, 1999, as published by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and changed from time to time, as the Voucher Payment Standard for the Section 8 Program for the Reading Housing Authority. The Chairman then declared said motion carried and said vote in effect. Currently, the FMRs/Payment Standards for the Reading Housing Authority as of April 1, 1999, are as follows- BR SIZE FMR CURRENT VOUCHER PAYMENT STANDARD APPROVED VOUCHER PAYMENT STANDARD STUDIO 643 575 643 1 BR 723 675 723 2 BR 906 850 906 3 BR 1132 1050 1132 14 BR 1329 1200 1329 15 BR 1528 - -- 1528 Section 8 Program Coordinator - Administrative The Program Coordinator position was advertised and we are still receiving inquiries from individuals. We have not found a successful candidate to date and may have to readvertise. Page 3' Minutes' 4/5/99 Summit Village - Resale of Affordable Units The first affordable unit ( #910) was sold to the approved eligible purchaser who was sent by the current affordable unit owner for less than the approved price of $144,580.00. We have received a request to approve another resale price for a 2BR Arlington unit with market rate appraisal of $181,000; deducting the 20% from the market rate, the discoun "affordable" price would be $144,800. The current median income for the area is $62,700..00 The Director advised the Board that she had rejected the appraisal because of the deduct value for square footage; baths; garages and has requested that the sellers submit another appraisal. Assisted Living - Marriot Corporation The Chairman reviewed the current status with the Board. He will continue to work with the attorney and attempt to move forward on agreement. The Chairman spoke with the Tow Manager who assured him that Marriot was well aware of the linkage requirements when the first approached the Town. Real Estate Proposal The Authority has been contacted by one of our Section 8 landlords that his house at 324 Hav( Street in Reading is up for sale and would like to know if we are interested. The Authority w do an inspection of the house to determine if we are interested. It is a single family house with bedrooms. There is currently a Section 8 tenant living in the unit. It has not been deleade there is probably work that will have to be done to bring it up to code. There is also a house ( Chute Street owned by the Episcopal Church that will be going on the market. The Boa requested that the Executive Director explore the best way to proceed to acquire properties f the Authority. Report of Program The statements for February 28, 1999 were distributed to the Board for review. The F) Section 8 Budget adjustment; the FY2000 Budget and Requisition were submitted to the Bo for their information. There was a vacancy at one of the units on Main Street on March 6, 1999. Lease -up anticipated for this week to another Section 8 holder. Meeting Schedule • Building Move from Brande Court to Pleasant /Wilson Streets - 6 AM on Sunday, AE 25, 1999, permitting approval from DEP; • Pleasant Street lot - neighbors filed an appeal for Pleasant /Wilson Street; DEP site visit 10 AM on 4/13/99; • Pleasant Street lot - 4/23/99 last date to file in Superior Court • Next Board meeting scheduled for May 3, 1999 at 7 PM. Page 4 Minutes 4/5/99 There being no further business before the Board, it was unanimously voted to adjourn at 8:55 PM. Respectfully submitted, Margare K. Plansky, Secretary and Executive Director