Brookline Housing Authority Regular Meeting Minutes March 21, Longwood Avenue 4:30 PM

Transcription

1 Brookline Housing Authority Regular Meeting Minutes March 21, Longwood Avenue 4:30 PM The meeting was called to order by the Chairman, Mr. Trietsch, at 4:35 PM. Those present included Ms. Dugan, Mr. Jacobs, and Ms. Sullivan. Steps To Success Mr. Trietsch said that he has been participating as a member of a stakeholders group for the Steps To Success program. This group is overseeing the development of a new governance structure to support this organization. School Buffer Zones Mr. Trietsch said that he has also been asked by the School Committee to be in a working group examining the buffer zones used to assign students to schools. Growth in school enrollment has exceeded expectations and the schools would like some additional flexibility in these student assignments. Trustman Construction Project Mr. Dober explained that the Trustman modernization work has reached the substantial completion point, with a punch list of approximately $70,000 worth of work remaining. Sussman House Accessible Unit Conversions Mr. Dober reported that Casby Brothers, Inc. is the low bidder for the work to create 3 new wheelchair accessible units at the Sussman House. The BHA has been pleased with this contractor s work in the past. Elevator Upgrades at Federal Developments Mr. Dober said that the BHA received four bids for the work to replace the elevator controllers at the O Shea House and the Morse Apartments, and for ongoing maintenance service at all BHA elevator buildings. This is an unusually high number of bids. Associated Elevator Companies, Inc. was the low bidder. They hold the current contract for elevator maintenance and the BHA has been pleased with their work. With lessons learned from previous elevator work, the BHA will be putting into place a program including: communication with residents before and during the work; requiring a period of time between the completion of work on a building s first elevator cab and the commencement of work on the second cab; and the readiness to employ a Brookline Fire Department watch if there is a prolonged interruption in service. Ms. Sullivan said that she wants to make sure that the BHA has taken all steps necessary to avoid the problems of the past with elevator electronics. Mr. Dober said that the BHA has hired a very capable engineering firm, Syska Hennessy, as consultants in developing the work specifications.

2 Mr. Trietsch asked about the estimated useful life of the replacement equipment. Carol Correnti, BHA Capital Improvements Coordinator, said that the new equipment is non-proprietary and should be able to be maintained for years to come. Dummer Street New Construction Project Mr. Dober explained that the BHA has approval from the state for building the new units and for entering a ground lease with the new owner. CDBG Grants Update Mr. Dober reported that the BHA has received the go ahead to spend approximately $330,000 in CDBG funding towards short term projects. The Town is at risk of losing this money if it is not spent soon. Mr. Jacobs asked about the bidding requirements pertaining to this work. Mr. Dober explained that sealed bids will be sought for the site work. The balance of the work will require the soliciting of prices from three contractors. Write Offs of Vacated Tenant Accounts Receivable Mr. Dober explained that the Board is being asked to write off some tenants accounts receivable for uncollectible debt. On the federal side, there is a small number to write off because these accounts are kept up to date. However, it is more complicated on the state side. There is approximately $90,000 - $100,000 in uncollectible debt from the state programs. If this debt was written off, it would seriously reduce the operating reserve levels at the state developments. The BHA, therefore, will be writing off a small amount of state debt in order to show some progress. Healthy Homes Coffee Hour at Morse Apartments Mr. Dober said that the BHA is looking forward to hosting, along with the Brookline Health Department, a coffee hour at the Morse Apartments next week. If all goes well, the BHA will consider having similar sessions at other developments. Legislation and Regulation Mr. Dober said that he has been asked by the Commonwealth Housing Task Force to chair a committee studying the issue of consolidation/regionalization of housing authorities. This committee will make recommendations to the State Public Housing Reform Commission. There is no threat of consolidation to the BHA. Included in the Board package is a summary of federal public housing funding over the past five years. It reveals that from FY 2008 to FY 2012, federal public housing operating funds have been cut 5.7%, and capital funding has been cut by 29% and these cuts are much higher when taking inflation into account. Collective Bargaining Mr. Dober explained that over the next several weeks, he and Ms. Dugan will be meeting with representatives from the two BHA unions, AFSCME Local #1358, and Teamsters Local #122, to negotiate new wage rates.

3 Resident Association Agnes Rogers, Town-Wide Resident Association President, reported that everything is quiet at the developments. The only complaints she has received have to do with the hot weather. Approval of the Consent Agenda Mr. Jacobs asked that the FY 2013 budgets be pulled from the consent agenda for further discussion. He also asked why the final payment for the O Shea House roof job is directed to a bonding company. Mr. Dober said that Joe Squillante, Inc. apparently wasn t paying his materials supplier. The bonding company became the payee for the owner, with Joe Squillante, Inc. in agreement with this arrangement. On a motion from Ms. Dugan and a second from Mr. Jacobs, the consent agenda was unanimously approved, and authorized the following: the minutes of the regular meeting held on February 15, 2012; the Certificate of Substantial Completion for the Trustman Apartments modernization work with Colantonio, Inc.; the Certificate for Partial Release of Retainage for the Trustman Apartments modernization work with Colantonio, Inc., in the amount of $309,859; the Certificate of Completion Consolidated for the O Shea House roof replacement work with Joe Squillante, Inc., and Final Payment in the amount of $42,662 to United States Surety Company (bonding company for Joe Squillante, Inc.); award of the elevator modernization contract for the O Shea House and Morse Apartments including the maintenance of all elevator sites to Associated Elevator Companies, Inc., in the amount of $299,884; award of the contract for construction of accessible units at the Sussman House to Casby Brothers, Inc., in the amount of $188,500; and approval of writeoffs of vacated tenant accounts receivable which are included in the year-end financial statements for FY FY 2013 Budgets Mr. Dober explained that included in the Board package is a summary of the FY 2013 budgets. Mr. Jacobs said that it had been his understanding that the federalization of the Col. Floyd Apartments would lead to a healthier subsidy. His calculations show the federal unit month subsidy to be $344 versus the state unit month subsidy of $317. He is surprised that the subsidy increase is not more significant. John Marotto, BHA fee accountant, explained that it is hard to compare the two, as state subsidy is calculated in a different manner than federal subsidy. The state subsidy includes actual utility consumption adjusted by an inflation factor, whereas the federal subsidy is based on a 3 year rolling base. Also, the state subsidy went up 3% this year, which is very unusual. Mr. Trietsch said that for many years, the BHA has believed that federal public housing subsidies are more generous than state public housing subsidies. He wondered if this is likely to be the case going forward. Mr. Marotto said federal public housing subsidies are likely to continue to be more generous than state public housing subsidies in the future.

4 Mr. Jacobs pointed out that the annual expenses per unit for state developments are approximately $500 per unit higher than for federal developments. Mr. Marotto said that prorations have changed based on project-based accounting and that this affects expense levels. He added that generally, state buildings are more expensive to run. Mr. Dober said that he believes it is best to be aggressive in expense projections with the state budget. The utility expense projections will likely prove to be on the heavy handed side. The new heating systems in the Veterans developments as well as the Trustman Apartments should save the BHA money. Mr. Jacobs said that over one-third of the BHA s operating expenses are utilities. This is striking. He wondered if cost savings through energy conservation could be passed back to the BHA. Mr. Marotto said that DHCD guidelines provide that one-half of energy cost savings can be shared with housing authorities. However, this is in theory. He has never seen this happen. On a motion from Mr. Jacobs and a second from Ms. Sullivan, BHA Board certifications were unanimously approved for the following programs: FY 2013 federal operating budgets for AMP 1 and AMP 2; FY 2013 state consolidated budget, including High Street Veterans, Egmont Street Veterans, and Trustman Apartments; FY 2013 state Chapter 689 budgets; and the FY 2013 MRVP budget. Next Meeting Mr. Trietsch confirmed that the next regular meeting will take place on Tuesday, April 10, 2012 at 4:30 PM at the Morse Apartments. Mr. Trietsch said that he would be out of Town on this date but other Board Members are planning to attend. ROSS Service Coordinator Grant Application Matthew Baronas, BHA Assistant Executive Director, explained that the BHA has applied for HUD funds totaling $243,000 over a three year period. If funded, this money would go primarily towards the salary and benefits of a full-time coordinator who would focus on workforce development, resident self-sufficiency, and education and health programming. The BHA expects its application to meet an acceptable threshold and to be included in a lottery. Historically, about 50% of applicants have received funding. Mr. Dober said that the BHA s Next Steps program has a half-time employee. If the ROSS Grant is funded, this program could be expanded. Resident Issues BHA resident, June Roberts, said that the BHA Board is supposed to act as a safety net for residents interests against BHA Management. She said that the BHA Board is not acting in such a manner. She has concerns regarding the dust that was generated during the Trustman construction project and she believes that the dust damaged computers. She asked what the BHA was doing to address residents concerns about health and safety.

5 Mr. Trietsch said that the BHA has a Healthy Homes event planned for residents. Mr. Trietsch said that the BHA Board is aware of Ms. Roberts accusations regarding construction dust and has received information indicating that there was no problem with the construction protocol. Ms. Roberts said that she has given documents to the BHA regarding her things that were damaged during construction. Even though the BHA said that it would compensate residents for their losses, they have only offered her $65. The BHA has given her a deadline for providing additional information regarding her claim. Mr. Trietsch said that BHA staff has reviewed Ms. Roberts information and has made its decision, and the BHA Board supports this decision. On a motion from Ms. Sullivan and a second from Ms. Dugan, it was unanimously agreed to adjourn the meeting at 5:45 PM.