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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1980-01-14 Reading Housing Authority MinutesREADING HOUSING AUTHORITY Minutes of the Regular Meeting January 14, 1980 The members of the Reading Housing Authority met in regular session atj 7:30 P,M. on Monday, January 14, 1980, at 22 Frank D. Tanner Drive in the Town of Reading, Massachusetts. The meeting was called to order by the Chairman, Mr. White. Those members also present were Mr. Johnson, Mr. Ogden and Mr. Dempster, forming a quorum. Mrs. Pierce, the Executive Director, was also present, as was James Muise, the Mainten- ance Man. Before going into the regular order of business, the Board met with Mi. Andreys Strikis, from Envirodesign, Inc., who, with his partner Rick Heym is dli the architectural work for the Authority's Modernization Program. Mrs. Pierce re- ported that the Contract with the Architect had not fret been approved by E.O. .$., but through a telephone inquiry she found that it was ready for the final sign4tttre Mr. Strikis then presented the preliminary drawings in the earliest stages fo the Authority's review covering the curb cuts for the handicapped, and the attic nsula tion. In addition to the four cuts originally requested, the Board felt that at least one more should be put in between Buildings #36 and #37, and perhaps an they in front of Building #9. In other words, it was the general feeling of the members that as many cuter as possible should be made within the funds allowed for thi purpose, and this would mean going out on bids on a per unit basis. Mr. Strikis made note of the Board's wishes. t Concerning the attic insulation, everything seemed to be fairly routine - since the Contract calls for adding to the existing insulation. However, the' question Was raised as to whether or not there is insulation between the in the buildings, and Mr. Strikis said he could tell further by looking at th drawings of the Project and would report later on this. He &s#ed if it would be possible to set up a Special Meeting with the Board bethmen regular meetings in order to expedite matters, and Mr. White said that would be no problem. Mrs. Pierce was asked to make the arrangements once she hears from 1C.O.C.D. that Hnvirodesign's Contract is approved. At this point, Mr. Strikis left the meeting. While Mr. Muise was still present, Mrs. Pierce asked the Board t9041scuss the proposed Burglar Alarm system. Since the last meeting, she had received more complete account of the system proposed by James Doyle of Revere for $57 with a year's warranty. This system includes contacts on all windows !&ad doo in the Maintenance Shop, Kiln Room and Office with two outside audible horns. It is battery operated, but the Control has a built in parker peck and does not r uire battery change-. The system proposed by North East Alarm Company of forth Reading consists of contacts on all windows and doors in the Ibintenance area, and an Ultra -s is motion detector in the office area. Also included is protection to the tale sion in the main hall (the old set was stolen in the last robbery, and will be re ced shortly by the generous donation of a new color set by the Reading Rotary C1 .} The cost of installing the above system is $591, with a year's warranty also. 1. Before going further into the matter, Mr. unite asked all members if hey were in agreement that the Authority should install such a system in the fi st _,4w place. Mr. Ogden then expressed his feelings that he was inclined to go al ng with Reading's Police Chief Beaudoin who first discouraged the Board from look- ing into a system based on what he thought was an "isolated incident ", event though the Authority had had two robberies in two months. The Chief did not feel that both were connected and at the time, he felt they had a good lea& on the guilty party. e When asked their opinion, both Mrs. Pierce and Mr. Muise said they f strongly that the building should be covered, if only to alleviate for the future, the upsetting experience of replacing stolen equipment and repair! damages incurred during the breaks. Mr. Dempster voiced his opinion that, tem of some type should be installed also. Mr. Ogden said he also based his feelings on the fact that occasiona false alarms in the nighttime would upset the tenants and cause them needle concern. Mrs. Pierce and Mr. Muise seemed to favor the system proposed b, North East Alarm Company due to their accesa*bility in emergea*ies, and th fact that their proposed system appealed to them. Therefore, Mr. White r -_. quested that Mrs. Pierce obtain some references from them and check to see how their system has worked out.in places where it has been installed. In meantime, she is to check again with Chief Beaudoin to see if his feelings still the same in this regard.. The matter will be taken up again at the n meeting. Mr. Muise left the meeting at this point. Upon a motion made by Mr. Ogden and seconded by Mr. Dempster, it w unanimously: VOTEDj To accept the Secretary's Report for the regular meeting; December 10, 1979, copies of which had previously been mailed to all memb The Chairman thereupon declared said motion carried and said vote in effe Upon a motion made by Mr. Johnson and seconded by Mr. Deaeppter, it unanimously: 11 sys- VOTED: To approve and pay checks and bills, a list of which is attac hereto and made a part of these Minutes in the amount of $7,845.34 for 667 - The Chairman thereupon declared said motion carried and said vote in Mrs. Pierce reported to the members that the balance in the BayBank Middle- sex Checking Account for 667 -C was $1,436.41 as of 'December 31, 1979. As of January 14, the date of this meeting, if all bills signed above were to belpai.d, there would be a deficit balance in this account of $186.48. The balancelin the Massachusetts Municipal Depository Trust savings account was $35,081.19 atl1wesent It was-al-so reported that all rents for the month of January had been collected, amounting to $6,222.00. Upon a motion made by Mr. Dempster and seconded by Mr. Ogden, it unanimously: VOTED: To withdraw $500 -from the M.M.D.T. accovnt,to 'oover the month's bills, and to accept the Financial Report as read. The Chairman thereupon declared said motion carried and said vote in effect. 2. Concerning the Section 8Program, Mrs. Pierce reported that she had no heard anything from HUD about the recent application for additional funding, but it is not unusual to wait several months before receiving approval from them. Mr. White asked Mrs. Pierce to see that a representative from D.S.I. would attend the February meeting to update the current rental assistance program and to discuss further the possibility of becoming involved in the Section 8 Substantial Rehabilitation Program. A draft of the 1979 Annual Report was passed among the members for review and comment before submitting it to the Town for publication. Upon a motion made by Mr. Ogden and seconded by Mr. Johnson, it was unanimously: VOTSn: To approve the Annual Report for submission as written. The Chairman thereupon declared said motion carried and said vote in effect. It was reported that three vacancies in the Project were becoming a 1 't- able before hsrch 1st. Mrs. Mary Francis of Bldg. #32 and Mrs. Isabel MacDonald of Bldg. #37 were going into nursing.homes, and Mrs. Erma Bartlett of Bldg. passed away during the month. Their,4partments will be occupied by Mrs. Pbrence Plourde, Miss Nary Hurley and Mrs'. Janice.Starbard, respectively. On this subject, Mrs. Pierce'read excerpts from the proposed new reg - tions which S.©.C.D. had submitted for review. The only change which would affect the Authority would be the 'raising of the income limits to meet the Section 8 standards, and also an increase in the asset level to $15,000.00 If this goes into effect in the Spring as it is suppose to, a review of the files will have to be made to activato people who were previously over- incom� or over - assets onto the current waiting list'. A letter from N.A.H.R.O. (National Association of Housing & Redevelo ent Officials) was read in thich the Authority was urged to become a member of this group for a membership fee of $50 per year. The Board did not feel the need to join this Association since Yzs. Pierce receives a lot of N.A.H.R.O. material, at her monthly N..S.H. S.D.A. (North Shore Housing Executive Directors Assoc ia ion) meetings of which an officer of N.A.H.R.O.'=is a member. A letter was read from Simplex Time Recorder Company in answer to the! Authority's refusal to pay charges for service which they felt was covered undo warranty. In it, Mr. Barrett of that Company cancelled the invoice in question to show "good will to a valued Simplex Customer ". However, he made it very clear that in the future, any service required on an "after- hours" basis will be chargeable. Mr. White asked Mrs. Pierce to write a letter to Mr. Barrett, expressing the Board's appreciation for their fairness in this matter. There being no further business to come before the meeting, and upon a motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously voted to adjourn the meeting. The Chairman thereupon dec the meeting adjourned at 9115 P.M. i Respectively submitted, J Executive Dir ctor and Becre y 3• _ate No . 2154 2155 2156 2157 2158 2259 2160 2161 2162 2163 2164 2165 2166 2167 2168 2170 2171 2172 2173 2174 21.75 2176 2177 READING HOUSING AUTHORITY CHECKS AND BILLS January 14, 1980 Account James L. Muise (ratify only - already signed) N % It to N % % p N p p % % Janet Pierce Mahlon D. Crouse U. S. Trust Company (State Deferred Comp.) BayBank Middlesex (Fed. Inc.Tax. Withheld) Comm. of Mass. - Group Ins. Comm. (JLM) Comm. of Mass. - Dept. of Revenue (Inc. Tax) Town of ReadingContributory Retirement Fund Chipman Shade Company North Shore Housing Directorts Assn. (1980 dues) Reading Municipal Light Dept. New England Telephone Johnson Farm Supply, Incorporated Corroon A Black Ins. (Prop. Ins. 667 -2) Kass. Sanitary Supply Co. (cleaning supplies) All Electric Supply Corp. - (switch) McNelly A Parker Ins. Agcy. (Auto- Non - Ownership) Somerset Supply Co.- (plumbing supplies for stock) Reading Disposal, Inc. (trash pickup, Y. Canelas Co., Inc. (garbage pickup) Petty Cash 2178 Comm. of Mass. Group Ins. Comm - Authority's share of ins. - JLM 2179 Corroon & Black of Mass. - (Gen. Liability Ins) 0 Date of Inv. 1/4/80 1/11/80 1/18/80 1/25/80 12/31/79 12/31/79 1/1/80 12/31/79 1/31/80 12/31/79 12/31/79 12/12/79 1/14/80 12/20/79 12/16/79 12/24/79 1/3/80 1/3/80 12/7/79 1/3/80 12/18/79 12/31/79 12/31./79 1/11/80 Total 12/28/79 1/8/80 TOTAL Amount $ 221.03 221.03 221.03 197.87 379.14 240.88 180.00 256.70 23.16 363.94 i 120.17 86.00 25.00 ,876.71 38.61 95.33 266.00 20.60 1.71 17.00 64.72 120.00 20.00 57.17 313.26 418.28 845.-34 The Chairman thereupon declared said motion carried and said vote in effect. i Mrs. Pierce advised the members of a very upsetting problem in the P ojec with television interference. It has been established that it is definitely electrical interference and since all apartments are affected, she suspected electrical coming from some major electrical equipment in the Project. Mr. Carson, the engineer for the Municipal Light Department offered to send a man over to see,what he could find, but he said that this type of thing is usually very difficult to detect. Mrs. Pierce said that she had written to the F.C.C. and that they could send a troubleshooter out after all other souro" of assistance have been uste This will be her next step if the Municipal Light Department does not come up with a solution. There being no further business to come before the meeting, and upon a motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously voted to adjourn the meeting. The Chairman thereupon declared said meeting adjourned at 9s45 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Janet Piwce, Executive e and Secret 3 v 3• sm C t To Town Clerk 16 Lowell Street t Reading. Ala., o1m; 1�. accordance with the provisions of Chapter 39, of the General a meeting of on the following datels will be held i Location ) ... a w Time: Time: Posted