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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-02-08 Reading Housing Authority MinutesREADING HOUSING AUTHORITY MINUTES OF THE REGULAR BOARD MEETING OF FE13RUARY 8, 1999 A regular business meeting of the Reading Housing Authority was held on Monday, February 8, 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, Mr. Kelley and Ms. Connors, and the Executive Director, Ms. Plansky, Ms. Galvin and the associate member, Ms. Flammia. were not in attendance. Minutes 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 Regular Business Meeting of January 4 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 Mr. Kelley, it was unanimously VOTED: To approve and sign the checkroll/billroll for the period for Accounts Payable Check #4498 -4553; Payroll Check #2035 -2063; Section 8 Certificate Program #4803 -4859; Section 8 Voucher Program #2119 -2139; MRVP #563 & 564; as presented. The Chairman then declared said motion carried and said vote in effect. REPLACE COLLATERALIZATION- Ban kBoston Upon a motion duly made by Mr. Allen and seconded by Ms. Connors, it was unanimously VOTED: To substitute security: CUSPI 912827XE7 @8.875 expires 2/15/99 @ $125,000.00 with CUSIP3134AOVL3 @6.57% expires 2 /16106 @$125,000.00 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 authorize the Executive Director to transfer securities for equal substitutii of collateral for BankBoston collaterization. The Chairman then declared said motion carried and said vote in effect. Building Move - Pleasant and Wilson Streets Upon a motion duly made by Mr. Kelley and seconded by Ms. Connors, it was unanimously Page 2 Minutes 2/8/99 VOTED: To rescind and expunge from the record the prior action of January 4, 1999 relative to the bids for the building move project. 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, by 3 -0 -1 vote, (Mr. Kelley abstaining), it was VOTED: To approve the proposal from New England Building Movers in the amount of $16,800 for moving the current structure at 14 Brande Court to the lot at Pleasant and Wilson Streets. The Chairman then declared said motion carried and said vote in effect. Water Conservation -400 Upon a motion duly made by Mr. Allen and seconded by Ms. Connors, it was unanimously VOTED: To accept the ranking as presented and to award the contract for replacement of toilets .and showerheads /faucets at the State -aided developments to the lowest, qualified bidder, C. Perry & Co., Inc. of Cotuit, Massachusetts in the amount of $17,996.00 pending approval by the Department of Housing and Community Development. The Chairman then declared said motion carried and said vote in effect. Pleasant & Wilson Street Lot The Authority received the Order of Conditions from the Reading Conservation Commission on January 29, 1999. The appeal to DEP is ten days - Nancy Eaton said it was not business days; DEP says it is business days and time for appeal ends on February 12, 1999. Clerk in ConCom said that someone was in there about the appeal but she had no further information. Town Clerk and Peter did not know if there was an appeal in process. The Superintendent of Public Works has scheduled a meeeting for Tuesday at 10:30 AM with the following departments: Fire, Police, Public Works, Light Department,. Board of Health, Tree Warden. The RHA will have Bernie Goba and Waldo Jackson from NE Building Movers. Payment to Architect Upon a motion duly made by Mr. Allen and seconded by Ms. Connors, it was unanimously VOTED: To approve the payment of 30% of the fee to B. Goba Associates in the amount of $2220.00 for plan preparation and administration and meetings with Board and Conservation Commission. The Chairman then declared said motion carried and said vote in effect. Replacement of Windows - 667 Development Page 3 Minutes 2/8/99 The architect from DHCD has agreed to supervise and coordinate the specifications and other requirements for the replacement of the windows at Tannerville. There have been 2 on- site meetings and a prototype window will be installed in the RHA office with a different profile. After review and approval, we will go out to bid and the work should commence in late Spring -early Summer 1999. Resident Service Coordinator - Sanborn Home Cure Upon a motion duly made by Mr. Allen and seconded by Ms. Connors, it was unanimously VOTED: To approve the contract for Resident Services with Sanborn Home Care and authorize the Executive Director to sign the same, effective January 1, 1999 through June 30, 1999 for a total cost of $4,000.00 for a minimum of 10 hours per week for client services as outlined in the Contract. The Chairman then declared said motion carried and said vote in effect. Computer Purchase Upon a motion duly made by Mr. Allen and seconded by Ms. Connors, it was unanimously VOTED: To authorize and approve the expenditure from Operating Reserves to purchase 2 computer systems for Y2K compliance from Complete Communications not to exceed $3900.00. The Chairman then declared said motion carried and said vote in effect. HEARING OFFICER FOR RHA PROGRAMS Upon a motion duly made by Mr. Allen and seconded by Ms. Connors, it was unanimously VOTED: To appoint (The Reverend) Alan B. Bond as Hearing Officer and Jacqueline Carson as the Alternate Hearing Office for the RHA with a term from January 1, 1999 through December 31, 2002. The Chairman then declared said motion carried and said vote in effect: 1998 Annual Report Upon a motion duly made by Mr. Allen and seconded by Ms. Connors, it was unanimously VOTED: To approve and submit for publication both the 1 page and full Annual Report for 1998 including the change to the letter from the Chair in the full report. The Chairman then declared said motion carried and said vote in effect. Tenant Handbook The Board was presented a copy of the new tenant handbook for distribution to the Tannerville tenants. We are in the process of developing handbooks for the other properties. Page 4 Minutes 2/8/99 Barrington Management distributed a handbook for their requirements at the Annual Meeting; copies were distributed to the tenants at the Schoolhouse. Section 8 Program - Administrative Plan Upon a motion duly made by Mr. Allen and seconded by Ms. Connors, it was unanimously VOTED: To approve the changes to the Reading Housing Authority's Administrative Plan for the Section 8 Existing and Voucher Housing Programs as revised in January 1999 pending approval and final review by legal counsel. The Chairman then declared said motion carried and said vote in effect. VOTED: To approve the new Section 8 Income Limits and Median Family Income Limits as prepared by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in January 1999, as follows: Median Family Income Limit $ 62,700.00 # in Family Income Limit 1 $ 21,950 2 25,100 3 28,200 4 31,350 5 33,850 6 36,350 7 38,850 8 41,400 The Chairman then declared said motion carried and said vote in effect. Marriott Corporation - Assisted Living Facility Linkage The Chair reported on the meeting held with Lino Bernardi and Mark Favaloro, representing Marriott; and Mr. Sweet, Mr. Allen and Ms. Plansky representing the Reading Housing Authority. After some discussion, the offer given to the Authority was $200,000.00 total. The project is estimated to cost between $1.3 - 1.7 million to build; land costs were $1.7 million for full parcel -' /z parcel for playing field was given to the Town by Marriott. The Town Manager was surprised to hear about the playing field being considered as part of the linkage. This offer was part of the purchase agreement as he reported. Mr. Hines agreed with that position. • Discussion centered on the need to meet the requirements of the Zoning By -law which states that 10% of the units should be affordable or the RHA could accept a cash payment in lieu of unit. The discussion at the meeting reiterated the position of the Authority and confirmed on Town Meeting floor by CPDC that whether cash or units, the 10% requirement applied. Marriott representatives disagreed. The Authority asked them to look for a way to meet this requirements. Page 5 Minutes 2/8/99 The Chair reported that he would contact CPDC and request that a representative from their commission be present at the next meeting with Marriott. He would apprise CPDC and the Selectmen/Town Manager of the progress and current positions of both Marriott and the Authority. Summit Village - Resale of Affordable Units We have approved an eligible purchaser sent by the current affordable unit owner to purchase unit #910 at a price not to exceed $144,580.00. Report of Programs The statements for December 31, 1998 were distributed to the Board for review. The wait list for the family housing program was open and we are in the process of qualifying the applicants. We currently have 2 apartments vacant, - a 3BR at Waverly Oaks and a 2BR at Parker Place. We need to do a minority placement in one of the units to maintain our minority percentage. The annual meetings of Summit Village and Schoolhouse were held last month. The Executive Director submitted a letter to the Board of Directors regarding the complaints we have had and we have not received a response. The Executive Director had to leave the Summit Village Annual Meeting early to go to the Conservation Commission meeting to postpone the issuance of the Order of Conditions for the Pleasant and Wilson Street lot because Mr. Allen was sick. Conservation Commission concurred with the Authority's request and deferred their decision until January 28, 1999. The Schoolhouse Annual Meeting held on January 28, 1999 was very interesting. There was only one person running for the Board; 2 nominations were made from the floor. Those unit owners in attendance and those by proxy voted to defer any increase in the condo fees until 2000; there is estimated to be a 10 -12% increase in condo fees next year. In 2001, there will be a $40,000 assessment for capital improvements. Personnel The Board and Executive Director reviewed and commented on the Performance Evaluation for the Executive Director's position. The ranking was from 1 (low) to 5 (excellent) : Page 6 Minutes 2/8/99 Margaret K. Plansky, Executive Director - Performance Evaluation Administrative ability 5 Dependability 5 Management of Personnel 4 Planning 5 Professional Relationships 4+ Industry Knowledge 5 Work Quality 5 Work Volume 5 Judgment 4+ The Board voted to adopt the overall evaluation prepared by Tim Kelley as the official record of the Reading Housing Authority for the Executive Director's Performance Evaluation by the Board. Areas of Commendation: Ms. Plansky's organization and preparation for Board meetings are excellent. I find her to be well prepared for the specific subject areas to be entertained at the Board meetings as well as able to give informed responses to specific inquiries from Board Members on both subject of RHA property mattes and applicable law and regulations. Based on audits, I believe her supervision of the Authority's record keeping and reporting to be beyond criticism. Ms. Plansky takes her fiduciary obligations as Executive Director with the greatest seriousness. I see Ms. Plansky's greatest strengths to be innovation and preparing the Authority for the fiuture. Ms. Plansky keeps herself well - informed in constantly changing public housing regulations and trends. Her counsel to the Board regarding anticipated changing conditions of public housing has put the Reading Housing Authority in a forward- looking posture, which I believe has been and will continue to be to the RHA's benefit. Overall, I give Ms. Plansky the highest evaluation. Meeting Schedule • Meeting with Town officials regarding building move at 10:30 AM - Tuesday, 2/9 @ Town Hall - Executive Director • Meeting with Selectmen for transfer of title for Pleasant /Wilson Street - 2/9/99 - 8 PM @ Selectmen's Meeting Room at Town Hall - Chair • Decision regarding building move - Friday, 2/12/99 (fist date for filing at DEP; 4/23/99 for Superior Court • Next Board meeting scheduled for March 1, 1999 at 7 PM. Page 7 Minutes 2/8/99 There being no further business before the Board, it was unanimously voted to adjourn at 10:10 P.M. Respectfully submitted, -?Xj� < Margaret K. Plansky Executive Director