HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-05-04 Housing Authority Minutes tovv d CLE"
READoNGHOUSF THE Rezular BoNRGhAU�THORING.May TY READING, MA.
MINUTES15
2019 JU � 2:
A regular business meeting of the Reading Housing Authority was held on Monday,May 4,2 530 36
P.M at the office of the Reading Housing Authority the town of Reading,Mass. The meeting was called
to order at 5:30 P.M.with the Chair, Diene L.Cohen presiding.Those members present and forming a
quorum were Timothy J.-Kelley,Kevin F.Mulvey and Lynn Hodgdon as well as the Secretary/Fsecutive
Director,Lyn Whyte. Fenton&Ewald Fee Accountant,Tom Fowler was present.Karen L. Flammia was
absent.
Minutes Move Tim Second Lynn Vote 4-0
15-074 VOTED: To accept for the record the Minutes of the Regular Business Meeting of April 6,2015,
as presented.
Finances Move Kevin Second Tim Vote 4-0
15-075 VOTED: To approve and sign the checkroll/billroll for the period for Accounts Payable Check
#5741-5757 Payroll Summary as presented for April, 2015. Section 8 Voucher Program, #10115-
10194 as presented.
Finances Move Tim Second Kevin Vote 4-0
15-076 VOTED: To certify receipt of monthly operating statements for all RHA programs for the month
end March, 2015 of the current fiscal year.
Personnel Policy Change Mme Kevin Second Lynn Vote 4-0
15-077 VOTED: To approve and implement a change to the RHA Personnel Policy Section 4.1
HOLIDAYS to read "Any full-time employee required to work on a holiday will be compensated at two
times hourly rate for hours worked in lieu of the observed holiday"retroactive to January 1,2015.
R"ritaniration of Section 8 Proaram Move Tim Second Lynn Vote 4-0
15-078 VOTED: To approve the reorganization of the Reading Housing Authority Section 8 department
by eliminating the current position of the Section 8 Program Coordinator and establishing a new Section 8
Leasing Manager position at a salary not to exceed$25,000 and to authorize the Executive Director to
advertise the open position as RHA policy dictates.
FY 2014&2015 CIP Move Tim Second Diane Vote 4-0
14-080 VOTED: To authorize the Executive Director to close out all FISH Projects completed in the
RHA FY2014 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP)as required by DHCD and submit the July 1,2015 Capital
Improvement Plan(CIP)as presented for ongoing approval by DHCD.
Personnel Matters:
- Confirmation of submittal of Board Attendance to DHCD for month of April,2015 was provided to
Board.
- Reminder to RHA Board of attendance at Reading Board of Selectmen meeting on May 5, 2015.
Final draft of change to Personnel Policy Section 4.1 pertaining to holiday pay was presented for
RHA Board approval and implementation retroactive to January 1, 2015.Motion was presented and
voted.Minor adjustments to payroll for the week ending February 20,2015 will be made for snow
removal on February 16,2015 holiday for maintenance staff,Frank Veglia and Joseph Costello to reflect
the approved overtime rate for holiday work.
Report of Proerams:
- Vacancy Report-Mitch Hudzik, State Program Coordinator provided her monthly report. All units in
both elderly and family developments are fully leased.
- Sec 8 Report- Report provided by K. Rolli indicating that 117 vouchers are leased as of May 1,
2015 and an additional 5 participants have been issued vouchers and are looking. A current waitlist
pull on April gih has resulted in three additional participants who are being screened at this time.
Upon completion of current Section 8 report,discussion continued on the overall financial status of
the RHP, federal program. Ow Fee Accountant, Tom Fowler was present to provide an overview
of operating statement through March 2015 for the Section 8 program. At the end of March,a loss
of approximately $25,000 was still being projected. All efforts to lower expenses in that program
have not improved the financial outlook moving into ow 2016 fiscal year. Upon prior request of
the Board, the fee accountant presented a financial proforma showing three potential scenarios for
our 2016 proposed budget: 1)No changes will continue to result in a substantial program loss.
2)Out sourcing the program,although an improvement in our goal towards financial stability, will
still present a minor projected loss. 3) final option to eliminate existing position and establish a
new position at a much reduced rate will result in a positive net income. The Board expressed a
desire to have the Section 8 program remain in house, therfore, recognized that a change in the
staffing must occur in order for RHA to succeed in maintaining said program. As a result, and with
regret, the Board proposed eliminating the existing position and place an ad, per RHA hiring
procedures, for a Leasing Manager to fill a part-time position at a salary not to exceed$25000. The
position will be for 24 hours at a rate of$20 per hour to start with benefits included. The Board
asked that our present staff person be informed immediately and afforded the opportunity to apply
for the new position. A motion was presented and voted.
- Resident Service Coordinator-Current Tannerville Newsletter provided.
- Monthly Work Order/Maintenance Report for month of April,2015.
New Business,
- FY 2014 and FY 2015 Capital Improvement Plan was presented for review and discussion. The
Executive Director reviewed all the projects that had been scheduled for this fiscal year that have been
completed or are in final stages for our current fiscal year to close out.All planned projects have been
finalized with the exception of the siding job at our Oakland/Waverly family property which is
underway and should be completed by June 30, 2015. In addition, a new group of five projected
projects in both our elderly development and at our Bancroft property was outlined for input into our
new CIP due by July 1, 2015 for future monetary consideration. Proposed plans for improvements will
be shared with residents through our weekly Tannerville Newsletter so as to keep tenants informed.The
Executive Director will prepare all required documentation for submittal to DHCD. A motion to close
out current 2014 CIP and approve 2015 proposed CIP was presented and voted.
- The RHA office received a complaint about the "upkeep" of one of our RHA-Owned properties. The
Chair was notified of the complaint. Executive Director was asked to prepare a written response to
party. Said response, outlining maintenance schedule, was prepared, presented to the Board for review
and further discussion. Written response was approved,signed and will be mailed to neighbor.
Board was informed that the Antis project located on the former site of Eric's Greenhouse is moving
forward. The Town Planner's office did ask me to confirm the prior RHA Board vote regarding
payment and schedule for receipt of the affordable portion of said project. The Executive Director
responded by email to Town Planner with prior dates and motions regarding the Artis development.
- The Board was informed of an upcoming event at Tannerville on May 14, 2015 referred to as "Red
Day".KellerWilliams Realty will be volunteering their time and staffto assist with routine spring clean-
up of our senior development. The HA will provide waste bags for debris for use by volunteers and
will assist with disposal.The Community Room will be made available to all volunteers with coffee and
donuts provided by HA. Other area restaurants will be donating lunch for the realtor staff volunteers.
The event should a fun time for all and residents have been informed by noting the activity in our
weekly Tannerville Newsletter.Many residents mayjoin in to help out as well.
- RHA maintenance staff is proceeding with our plans to complete the installation of new windows at our
Summer/Main RHA-owned development. Funding for the costs associated with this project will come
from RHA-Owned operating funds and all work will be done by RHA staff.
- A plan for installation of new siding at our Oakland/Waverly family development is underway. The
Board was shown the three colors chosen for each building. Contracts have been signed and we are
awaiting final signature from DHCD in order to issue a Notice to Proceed to contractor,Rick Buskey of
Aboveboard Contracting. Tenants will be informed of start date. In addition, the Executive Director
requested that the porches be addressed at this time. Request was made to use operating funds to
repair/replace the front porch areas at an additional cost of approximately $1800 per unit. The
expenditure will be considered an emergency job and added to the current fiscal year budget for the
state program as an Extraordinary Maintenance item. The Board concurred that completing this
additional work at same time as siding construction was an acceptable request.
Real Estate Matter:
No real estate business at this time.
Board Schedule
June,2015 BOARD MEETING: 06/01/2015 Q 5:30pm
15-080 TO ADJOURN: 5:45 PM. Move Tim Second Lynn Vote 3-0
Res Ily submitted„
Lyn E. Whyte, Secretary&Executive Director