SARATOGA SPRINGS HOUSING AUTHORITY THURSDAY, FEBRUARY16, 2017 STONEQUIST APARTMENTS 2:30 P.M. MINUTES PRESENT: ABSENT: ALSO PRESENT: Ann Bullock Susan Christopher, Resident Commissioner Michelle Deyette, Resident Commissioner Joanne Foresta, Chair Joy King Stephen Sullivan Lu Lucas, Vice Chair Paul Feldman, Executive Director Scott Peterson, SSHA Attorney Gerard Hawthorne, Facilities Department Cindy Gaugler, Finance Director Katie Sicko, Executive Resident Advisor CALL TO ORDER Joanne Foresta, Chair, called the meeting to order at 2:30 p.m. COMMENTS Joanne Foresta opened the public comment period. There being no one wishing to speak, Joanne Foresta closed the public comment period. RESOLUTIONS FY17-R24 Acceptance of the January 19, 2017, Meeting Minutes Steve Sullivan moved and Joanne Foresta seconded to adopt the following resolution: Acceptance of the January 19, 2017, Board Meeting Minutes WHEREAS, the Board of Commissioners has reviewed the minutes of the January 19, 2017, monthly Board Meeting, of the Saratoga Springs Housing Authority approves, at this meeting on February 16, 2017, the minutes of the January 19, 2017, Board meeting of the Saratoga Springs Housing Authority. Susan Christopher asked about water testing which was referenced in the minutes. Paul Feldman said that was in connection with what is happening in the community. He said he would address later in the meeting. 1
FY17-R25 Acceptance of Previous Month s Vendor Payments Joanne Foresta moved and Michelle Deyette seconded to adopt the following resolution: Acceptance of Previous Month s Payments WHEREAS, the Board of Commissioners has reviewed the monthly vendor invoices for payment of the financial obligations of the Saratoga Springs Housing Authority for the month of January 2017; and WHEREAS, the Chairperson of the Board of Commissioners has reviewed and signed off on each vendor invoice prior to payment; of the Saratoga Springs Housing Authority approves the disbursements for January 2017, copies of which were forwarded to Board members prior to this meeting. Joanne Foresta asked about the amount to be written off. Cindy Gaugler said there was a tenant at Jefferson Terrace who owes the SSHA a considerable amount. Steve Sullivan asked if we expected restitution. Cindy Gaugler said the tenant has made one payment towards this amount. Susan Christopher asked why the people who defraud the SSHA do not go to jail. Paul Feldman said it is a matter that is worked out among the courts, police and our attorney. Cindy Gaugler said there is a total of nine people who owe the SSHA money. Paul Feldman said the SSHA is taking these people to court. They are then entered into a national data base; so if they were to apply for public housing elsewhere, their name would pop up. FY17-R26 Housing Development Consulting Contract Joanne Foresta moved and Ann Bullock seconded to adopt the following resolution: Housing Development Consulting Contract WHEREAS, the SSHA has decided to move forward with their goal of developing more affordable housing; and WHEREAS, the SSHA has determined that a consultant is needed to provide the technical expertise necessary to complete the many tasks associated with affordable housing development; and WHEREAS, the SSHA put out an RFQ to procure the services of a qualified firm and received proposals from two firms; and WHEREAS, the Fresnel Group has been selected based on the scoring of the RFQ proposals; of the Saratoga Springs Housing Authority approves the awarding of the SSHA Development Consultant Contract to the Fresnel Group. Paul Feldman stated that if the Board approves this resolution, he will be in contact with the Fesnal Group tomorrow to begin work on the demo/dispo application and survey for the property. He said we also need to set up an affiliate organization to manage this project. Ann 2
Bullock asked if this company had any experience locally. Paul Feldman said no. They have worked downstate, but not in this area. He spoke with the housing authority downstate and got good references from them on this company. He said things will start to move quickly now. He also spoke with Sue Lombardi on the grant application program and he expected to have more information on that very shortly. Joanne Foresta asked what was the bid from this company. Paul Feldman said that in this bid, we sought information on hourly rates. As we need their services, they will submit quotes. Scott Peterson said we also have the ability to negotiate the price with them. FY 17-R27 Approval to Take Unit Offline for Maintenance Staff Employee WHEREAS, the SSHA has to hire a new maintenance staff worker to replace Timothy Traver who is retiring on March 15, 2017; and WHEREAS, the SSHA has advertise this position through the Saratogian and Times Union newspapers help wanted ads with negligible response; and WHEREAS, the SSHA would benefit from creating a maintenance position which would require the staff person to live on site to handle emergency calls during off hours; and WHEREAS, the Department of Housing and Urban Development allows PHA s to take units offline for this purpose (per PIH notice 2001-7) provided there is a Board resolution on file and HUD provides the final approval in writing to the PHA; and of the Saratoga Springs Housing Authority approves of creating a maintenance position which requires the individual to live onsite and handle emergency maintenance calls during off hours in return the SSHA will take a unit offline to house this staff person who will pay between $150 and $250 per month depending on family size. Paul Feldman said he had talked to his peers and many housing authorities have maintenance people live on site at a reduced rental rate. In return the individual is on call. He said the response rate to the ads in the newspapers was minimal and he was hopeful that this would expand the pool of applicants. He said this practice is quite common in the private sector. This person would be able to handle the lock out situations far more quickly than they currently are. He also said for emergency situations this person would be on site and be able to handle the emergency situation more quickly than if one of the other maintenance staff had to drive in to manage it. Michelle Deyette expressed some concern that residents would have complete access to this person. Paul Feldman said it would need to be made clear to residents that they need to know the process of calling in emergencies is not changing and they should not call this person directly. Paul Feldman said originally he was looking for an entry level person; however, because this person will now be on site and on call, he was looking for someone with a little more experience. Steve Sullivan suggested that Paul Feldman use the Chamber of Commerce web page for listing this position. Susan Christopher asked if an existing employee wanted the position, could he/she apply. Paul Feldman said yes. 3
DEPARTMENT REPORTS Finance Cindy Gaugler said the SSHA is doing quite well. She said she had budgeted rents at $77,000, but we were up to $85,000. Expenses are also stable. The final payment on the cameras had been made at $32,000. Ann Bullock asked about rent restitution. Cindy Gaugler said typically those are fraud cases. Paul Feldman said Katie Sicko had been working diligently on certifying and recertifying residents to ensure that they are paying their fair share. Ann Bullock asked if we expected restitution. Cindy Gaugler said we write it off and if it is received at a later date she books it. Cindy Gaugler said seven months into the year, we are $200,000 to the good. Susan Christopher asked if all of the refrigerators and stoves had been purchased. Cindy Gaugler said yes. Susan Christopher asked about building 24 and whether they were scheduled to get stoves and refrigerators. Joanne Foresta suggested that Susan Christopher speak directly with Paul Feldman about building 24 after the meeting. Ann Bullock asked about the outside services Cindy Gaugler said typically that is for plumbing, trash removal, etc.. Facilities Gerard Hawthorne said the Danforth Company had given the SSHA estimates on the hot water matter. He said he had prices for water testing. The price ranged from $40 up to $650 depending on what type of test we ask for. Joanne Foresta asked if the $40 was for lead testing only. Gerard Hawthorne said yes. He said the more expensive test was for PFOA. Joanne Foresta asked what we would do if the lead tests came back high. Paul Feldman said we would need to do some type of remediation. It was agreed that testing water for lead would be done in four units at Stonequist. Michelle Deyette asked what happened to the generator during the recent power outage. Gerard Hawthorne said there was a computer glitch. It has since been fixed. Joanne Foresta asked about the intercom system. Gerard Hawthorne said they are getting quotes to fix it. Occupancy Report Katie Sicko said the current vacancies are undergoing renovation. There are five vouchers for people looking for apartments. Joanne Foresta asked about the open cases with the police department. Paul Feldman said he is taking a strong position on residents who may be trying to defraud the SSHA. It will take a few more arrests before residents see that he is serious. He said it took a meeting with the district attorney, the police department and him for the district attorney to realize that he was serious. He said when there are residents who are suspected of defrauding the SSHA, the SSHA research is turned over to the police department and they do an investigation. After that investigation, it is taken to the district attorney where charges are filed. Often is consists of restitution, eviction and a misdemeanor charge. He said the rent amount could get high enough though for grand larceny. He said the balance may get that high because of the delays in the original discovery, the police department investigation and then the time it takes at the district attorney level. 4
Director s Report Paul Feldman said the SSHA now has a contract with Verizon and AT&T for cell towers on the top of Stonequist. Both contracts are for $24,000/year for 15 years. Paul Feldman said he would talk to Scott Jansen tomorrow concerning the Energy Performance Contract. He said he hoped to have approval of the EPC very soon. The elevator project should start by mid-march. Joanne Foresta asked about the entrance at Stonequist and the minimalistic approach in handling the call entry system. Paul Feldman said that $10,000 should get the system running for those who don t have it. To do the job right and run Ethernet and new wiring throughout the building could run as high as $120,000 and up to $140,000. He said over the next few years, he hoped to make funds available to do this project. Michelle Deyette said the public hearing on the annual plan is scheduled for March 15 at 1:00 p.m. She said that is the same time as the elections for commissioners. Paul Feldman said he expected to hear soon on the court ruling. He said it could be upwards of a couple hundred thousand dollars if the ruling is in housing authorities favor. Joanne Foresta said she would like everyone to make an effort to use the phrase affordable workforce housing. Paul Feldman said the online application process will be up and running by March 20. He agreed that affordable workforce housing is the focus. NEW BUSINESS Combatting Housing Fraud-Meeting with District Attorney and Saratoga Springs Police Department Paul Feldman reiterated that we now have a system set up to go after the people who defraud the SSHA. Michelle Deyette said it was important to note that she and Susan Christopher were very supportive of this action. She said many residents found it somewhat insulting that the district attorney had taken a soft approach in this area because of the type of residents who live here. She said all for the residents are very well aware of their obligation to pay rent and it is a serious situation that the SSHA needs to stay on top of. Paul Feldman said there was a connotation that because the residents are low income that they may not know they were doing wrong. He said that is not true. He said they know they are breaking the law. It is clearly communicated to the residents in many ways. He said at this time, though, there are some residents who have come forth and have started to report additional income. Ann Bullock asked that this matter be included in the newsletter. ANNOUNCEMENT FROM COMMISSIONERS Susan Christopher thanked the staff for all of their hard work. She said she and the residents appreciate everything they do. Paul Feldman said the maintenance staff has done a great job with snow removal. Susan Christopher said there was some concern by residents on snowplowing during the last storm. Paul Feldman said when the Governor and other public safety officials express concern about being on the road, he did not believe that it was appropriate to ask staff to come in and plow. He said they waited until the storm was over. 5
Michelle Deyette thanked Paul Feldman for asking the residents for their design thoughts for the interior of the elevators. Gerard Hawthorne reminded everyone that the Indoor Recreation Facility is an emergency shelter location if residents don t have power. EXECUTIVE SESSION None. ADJOURNMENT Steve Sullivan moved and Susan Christopher seconded to adjourn the regular meeting at 3:30 p.m. There being no further business, Joanne Foresta adjourned the meeting at 3:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Katherine A. Moran Clerk 6