ALLENTOWN HOUSING AUTHORITY. REGULAR BOARD MEETING May 24, 2012

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1 ALLENTOWN HOUSING AUTHORITY REGULAR BOARD MEETING May 24, 2012 The Board of Commissioners was called to order by Mr. Donald Senderowitz, Chair, and upon Roll Call, those present and absent were as follows: PRESENT: Mr. Donald Senderowitz Chair Mr. John Sherry Vice Chair Mr. Alan Jennings Secretary Mr. Julio Guridy Treasurer Ms. Sara Hailstone Commissioner Also present at the Board Meeting were Mr. Daniel R. Farrell, Executive Director; Mr. Gerald L. Schlegel, Deputy Executive Director; Mr. Christian Perrucci, Esquire; Mr. Rob Donchez and Mr. Vince Bekiempis. PUBLIC COMMENTARY No public commentary. APPROVED MINUTES A motion was made by Mr. Guridy and seconded by Mr. Sherry to approve the Board Minutes of the April 26, 2012 Board Meeting. Ayes 4 - Senderowitz, Sherry, Jennings, Guridy BILLS & TREASURER S REPORT Mr. Guridy started by reviewing the draft of the budget for next year that Mr. Farrell presented to the Board. Board to review it was decided it would be discussed later in the meeting. It was discussed that there was a deficit running month to month. It was discussed that the money will come out of the reserve of which the Housing Authority has four months operating in reserve for each property. Mr. Farrell said the budget would not be voted on until June, and this was a progress budget to review. Options were discussed to save expenses. Ms. Hailstone came into the meeting at 9:15am. A possible legal action against HUD for their operating reserve rescission was discussed and the cost of the Housing Authority to join the lawsuit. It was decided that Mr. Perrucci look into this class action suit and see what the benefits would be to join or to file as a separate lawsuit and not 1

2 part of the class suit. There was a discussion of the financial reports and explanations to questions regarding expenses on the report such as postage, which was for a new postage machine; the employee benefit payment for the month; legal, some utilities, and training which seem to be over expended. Mr. Senderowitz asked if there were any more questions about the Bills and Treasurer s report. The motion was made by Mr. Guridy to approve the financial reports and seconded by Mr. Jennings. COMMUNICATIONS Mr. Farrell started the discussion with the NAHRO Merit Award for the landscape work at Gross Towers and Towers East and the other was for the revitalization at 9 th and Gordon Streets. He added these were both awarded the first level award and that NAHRO has pulled the Gross Towers project for consideration for their national award and we will have to do a presentation for that award at the end of July in San Francisco. The next item discussed was the problem with a property in the Overlook Park development. A non-public housing unit that was built on fill and is sliding downhill. The details of the unit s foundation problems were discussed and the fact that Pennrose has been working with the resident to get the problem resolved. He continued that the resident is being moved out of the unit and due to the resident having a Section 8 voucher with Lehigh County; she doesn t want to give it up the voucher for an accessible public housing unit in Overlook Park. The next step is to figure out how to fix the unit. The next topic discussed was the ongoing issue of residents and comments left on Facebook that are inappropriate. Mr. Perrucci stated that although the tenant issue is ongoing the Facebook issue is resolved. Mr. Farrell next discussed the inventory count by stating that we are going back through an audit stage as we have found a number of adjustments; most weren t properly recorded on work orders, not items that can t be found. Mr. Farrell went on to discuss a question regarding the retirement health care benefit in the Employee Handbook which was changed from 55 years of age and 20 years of service to 60 years of age and 25 years of service. The discussion centered around six individuals who prior to the change that met the 55 age and 20 years requirement. There are two individuals who now meet the 60/25 and two others who meet one of the two criteria, either over age 60 or have 25 years of service. The question was for those meeting those criteria would the Housing Authority allow them to buy the insurance at the buy in. The decision was to share in the cost for one to two years. Mr. Farrell continued with the audit to HUD and the corrective action plan from the findings in 2

3 the audit. Most of the audit issues were identified with the Section 8 program and we have been working on a corrective plan for that. Also discussed were strategy memos regarding the upcoming contract negotiations. Information was also discussed about the new scoring system from HUD for the Public Housing Assessment. Mr. Farrell explained we need to learn the new system and make the proper adjustments. Mr. Senderowitz asked if there were any more questions. Old Business Mr. Senderowitz asked if there was any old business and there was none. New Business Resolution 2373 Agreement With LANTA For Transit Shelter Mr. Farrell stated this is for Susquehanna Street in Cumberland Gardens and is for giving LANTA access to put up the transit shelter which they will maintain, the only minor point is that they put up advertising on it. Mr. Senderowitz asked for a motion, the motion was made by Mr. Jennings and seconded by Mr. Sherry. Resolution 2374 Write-Off of Uncollectible Accounts There was a discussion regarding vouchers and whether people could go to other Housing Authorities if they were on the list and apply. Mr. Farrell stated they can go to other Housing Authorities, but cannot come back to the Allentown Housing Authority for 3 years. We record the debt they owe us and before they come back here, they have to pay. Also, HUD has created a central reporting location for the Housing Authority to post this information and if the person shows up at another Housing Authority and they check the database, they will inform us. A motion was made by Mr. Guridy and seconded by Mr. Jennings. Resolution 2375 Contract For Cleaning and Painting Vacant Units There was a discussion as to if there were other bidders and if any were on the minority 3

4 contractors list. Mr. Farrell stated he was not sure if we had the minority contractor list and he would check into it. A motion was made by Mr. Jennings and seconded by Ms. Guridy. Resolution 2376 Contract For Towers East Roof Replacement A motion was made by Ms. Sherry and seconded by Mr. Hailstone Resolution 2377 Contract For Towers East HVAC Replacement There was a discussion as to when this would take place. Mr. Farrell explained that the HVAC work would be coordinated and the HVAC would be done and then the roof replacement. He continued that depending on when the equipment comes in, it may not be until August when there would be no air conditioning in Towers East in the hallways. A motion was made by Ms. Hailstone and seconded by Mr. Jennings Mixed Finances Mr. Senderowitz asked for Mr. Bekiempis report. Mr. Bekiempis started with an explanation that his report will include other items besides mixed finances. He continued that with Overlook Park/HOPE VI the final grant audit has been submitted to HUD for their approval. In the Home Program Activities, we will be making the final payment. On the Home Loan Bank Program, there are a few units eligible to receive their $10,000 grant and then we need to close out that program. Mr. Bekiempis continued with the RACP for the home ownership phase and that as soon as the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania gets the information they need, we will close out that grant. Mr. Bekiempis discussed that as of April 20, 2012, all 53 units had been closed and settled. A discussion took place regarding mortgage companies and banks with regards to these units. Ms. Hailstone started a discussion regarding the homeowners and their understanding of the KOZ 4

5 (Keystone Opportunity Zone) benefits. Mr. Bekiempis replied that they were given the information regarding who to contact and talk to relative to reapplying every year. The discussion continued with these homeowner s real estate taxes being escrowed with their mortgages and if there was a way someone could work with these homeowners to help them with any problems. Mr. Farrell suggested that a meeting for them should be set up at the community building and have someone there to talk about the KOZ, someone to talk about the counseling site and promote savings. Mr. Bekiempis discussed the Section 3 program and stated the we are almost done and have two MOU s being written and they will be given to Mr. Farrell to review. We will match up low income families in public housing and Section 8 and direct them to CareerLink to register for jobs. Mr. Bekiempis continued with the Cumberland Gardens project which he said is approximately 44 percent complete. He continued with a new HUD program out called Rental Assistance Demonstration Program that he is working on with Mr. Farrell. It allows Housing Authorities to convert half of their public housing in a particular development into Project-Based Vouchers which allows the assumption of debt financing and this is something we are looking into for Phases 2 and 3 in Cumberland Gardens. Mr. Senderowitz asked if there were any more questions. Mr. Jennings made the motion to adjourn the meeting and Mr. sherry seconded. The meeting adjourned at 10:50 AM. Executive Session There was no Executive Session. ATTEST 5

ALLENTOWN HOUSING AUTHORITY. REGULAR BOARD MEETING January 30, 2019

ALLENTOWN HOUSING AUTHORITY. REGULAR BOARD MEETING January 30, 2019 ALLENTOWN HOUSING AUTHORITY REGULAR BOARD MEETING January 30, 2019 The Board of Commissioners was called to order by Mr. Bañuelos, and upon Roll Call, those present and absent were as follows: PRESENT: