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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMHA 10/0602022Minutes of the Public Hearing of the Proposed Annual Plan and Regular Meeting of the Mansfield Housing Authority held at 22 Bicentennial Court and via GoToMeeting on Wednesday, October 5, 2022, at 7:00 PM The Members of the Mansfield Housing Authority met in Regular Session in person and by video conference at 7:00 PM. The Meeting was called to order by the Chairman, Kevin Doyle at 7:00 PM and upon roll call, those present and absent were as follows: Present: Absent: Kevin Doyle Olivier Kozlowski Kenneth Tucker Mary Kate Flynn William Snyder Also present was the Executive Director, Andrea McDougall, 6 residents and no remote callers. A copy of the Notice of Meeting, pursuant to Section 23A of Chapter 39 of the General Laws, with the Certificate as to Service of Notice of Meeting attached thereto was read and ordered spread upon the Minutes of the Meeting and filed for record. NOTICE OF MEETING Notice is hereby given in accordance with Section 23A of Chapter 39 of the General Laws that a Meeting of the Mansfield Housing Authority will be held online via GoToMeeting at 7:00 PM on October 5, 2022. CERTIFICATE AS TO NOTICE OF MEETING (Section 23A, Chapter 39, General Laws) I, the undersigned, the duly appointed qualified Executive Director of the Mansfield Housing Authority do hereby certify that on September 30, 2022, 1 caused to be filed, in the manner provided by Section 23A, Chapter 39, General Laws, with the Clerk of the Town of Mansfield, Massachusetts, a Notice of Meeting of which the foregoing is a true and correct copy. IN TESTIMONY HEREOF, I have set my hand this 25'h day of October 2022 Andrea McDougall, cutive Director & Acting Secretary The Chairman requested Commissioner Kozlowski to lead the group in the Pledge of Allegiance. The Chairman referred to Agenda Item #1, Approval of Warrant #413 for the Month of September 2022 in the amount of $276,399.66. A Motion was made by Ms. Flynn and seconded by Mr. Kozlowski to Approve Warrant #413 for the Month of September 2022 in the amount of $276,399.66. Upon Vote, the Motion passed by a Vote of 5 to 0. A Motion was made by Mr. Tucker and seconded by Mr. Kozlowski to approve the Minutes of the September 7, 2022, Regular Monthly Board Meeting. Upon Vote the Motion passed by a Vote of 5 to 0. A Motion was made by Mr. Tucker and seconded by Ms. Flynn to accept the Executive Director's Report and Resident Service Coordinator Report. Upon Vote, the Motion passed by a Vote of 5 to 0. A Motion was made by Ms. Flynn and seconded Mr. Kozlowski to Approve of the Balance Sheets and Financial Reports as of May 31, 2022, as Prepared by the Fee Accountant. a The Board of Commissioners reviewed the financial statements provided by the Fee Accountant. Upon Vote, the Motion passed by a Vote of 5 to 0. The Chairman referred to Agenda Item #5, Reviewing the Bids and Awarding of the Contract for the Water Shut Off Valve Replacement Protect #167097. A Motion was made by Ms. Flynn and seconded Mr. Tucker to Award the Contract the Lowest Bidder, Performance Plumbing, Inc. for the Water Shut Off Valve Replacement Project #167097. Upon Vote, the Motion passed by a Vote of 5 to 0. A Motion was made by Ms. Flynn and seconded Mr. Tucker to Approve Change Order #1 in the Amount of $0.00 for the Hawthorne Court Window Replacement Project #167095. Upon Vote, the Motion passed by a Vote of 5 to 0. A Motion was made by Ms. Flynn and seconded Mr. Snyder to Approve of the Certificate of Final Completion for the Hawthorne Court Window Replacement Project #167095. Upon Vote, the Motion passed by a Vote of 5 to 0. 3 A Motion was made by Ms. Flynn and seconded Mr. Tucker to Approve the Certificate of Final Completion for the Eddy Street Stair & Railings Project #167089. Upon Vote, the Motion passed by a Vote of 5 to 0. A Motion was made by Mr. Tucker and seconded by Mr. Kozlowski to Approve the 2023 Proposed Section 8 Payment Standards. Ms. McDougall stated that 110% of the Small Area Fair Market Rents will be used for zip code 02048, the same as in the prior two years. Upon Vote, the Motion passed by a Vote of 5 to 0. A Motion was made by Ms. Flynn and seconded Mr. Tucker to Approve the Mansfield Housing Authority Holiday Closures for 2023. Ms. Flynn asked the Executive Director to confirm that the holidays being proposed are the same that have been approved in previous years. Ms. McDougall confirmed that they are the same holidays. Upon Vote, the Motion passed by a Vote of 5-0. Iv' A Motion was made by Ms. Flynn and seconded by Mr. Kozlowski to Approve the Executive Director's Performance Evaluation. Mr. Kozlowski explained that he felt that he could not evaluate the Executive Director on the last three categories. Mr. Kozlowski informed the Board that he had requested a copy of the Executive Director's Performance Objectives Policy that is referenced in those categories. Upon receiving the policy from the Executive Director, he was made aware that the policy was developed in 2003 and really was no longer relevant. Mr. Kozlowski suggested that we place the policy on the next agenda to modify the existing policy and create new goals for the Executive Director. Ms. Flynn modified her motion and it was seconded by Mr. Kozlowski to Utilize the Results from the First Seven Categories of the Executive Director's Performance Evaluation to Obtain an Overall Rating. Upon Vote, the Motion passed by a Vote of 5 to 0. The Chairman referred to Agenda Item #13 Approval of the Application for Additional Funding for the RSC Grant Award. A Motion was made by Ms. Flynn and seconded by Mr. Tucker to Approve the Application for Additional Funding for the RSC Grant Award. Ms. McDougall explained that the Department of Housing and Community Development had issued a Notice of Additional Funding Availability for the Resident Services Coordinator Grant Award. The application submission requires the approval of the Board of Commissioners. Upon Vote, the Motion passed by a Vote of 5 to 0. s A Motion was made by Ms. Flynn and seconded by Mr. Tucker to Approve the Application to Terminate the Management Agreement with the Plainville Housing Authority. The Executive Director explained that when Mansfield entered into the Management Agreement with Plainville Housing Authority, the staff in Mansfield was seasoned and needed very little guidance. Recently there has been some turnover in the administrative positions and Ms. McDougall feels that she could no longer be successful splitting her time with another Authority and that more attention was necessary in Mansfield. Upon Vote, the Motion passed by a Vote of 5 to 0 The Chairman referred to Agenda Item #15, Questions and Comments. The Chairman mentioned that the Board had received a Letter from the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office requiring the Mansfield Housing Authority Board Members make public a letter that had previously been sent to Governor Baker's office. The Chairman asked that the minutes include a copy of this letter. Commissioner Kozlowski wanted the minutes to reflect that at his request, the Attorney General's Office investigated four members of the Mansfield Housing Authority Board for noncompliance with the Open Meeting Law. Mr. Kozlowski stated that the Attorney General's Office determined that Mr, Doyle, Ms. Flynn, Mr. Snyder and Ms. Tatum were in violation of the Open Meeting Law. The Chairman stated that the Attorney General's Office requested the Board Members make the letter public if they had not already done so. The letter reads as follows: November 18, 2021 The Honorable Charlie Baker Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Boston, MA 02133 Dear Governor Baker: It is with deep regret that we write this letter, but it is also with profound concern and frustration. We are the three elected and one town -appointed (soon to be Housing Resident seat) Commissioners of the Town of Mansfield Housing Authority. We believe that recent actions of your Governor's Appointee to this Authority, Olivier Kozlowski, are an intentional and persistent undermining of the jurisdiction of this Commission, the welfare of the people we are charged with serving, and even your own stated policy and recommendations. The Mansfield Public Health Department, following CDC recommendations, instituted a mask mandate in all municipal buildings on September 13, 2021 (Attachment 1). Bristol County has been designated a "High" transmission area since July, and with the exception of one week in October, Mansfield specifically has been in the "High" or "Substantial" transmission categories over that same timeframe (Attachment 2). Our schools have also instituted a mask mandate. We acknowledge that we are not strictly a municipal facility, occupying instead a difficult -to - define hybrid space between state and local entities, and therefore may not be legally subject to the municipal mandate of the local Public Health Department. However, we recognize the grave public health concern posed by the COVID 19 pandemic and its variants, the specific vulnerabilities of residents in our facilities, and your own policy recommendation that municipalities should follow the guidance of their own Public Health Departments. Therefore, pursuant to these recommendations, on October 13, 2021, the Mansfield Housing Authority drafted a policy mandating masks in indoor common spaces in our properties (Attachment 3). We acknowledged that this policy was temporary and would be relaxed if Mansfield's COVID 19 transmission numbers lowered to categories of "Moderate" or "Low" for a consecutive two -week period. The vote on the policy was 4 to 1, with only Mr. Kozlowski opposing — which is, clearly, his right. However, he publicly questioned the very authority of the Housing Authority to create policy at all. (The authority, of course, comes from MGL Ch 121B, Sec. 11). His apparent confusion over the fact that creating and reviewing policy is one of the central charges of Housing Authority commissioners concerns us that, at best, he does not understand his role as commissioner. Additionally, his actions have created a climate of hostility and animosity within a Commission previously lauded for its cooperative and effective leadership, despite varying political party affiliations. In recent open meetings, he has referred to other commissioners as "you people", he has leveled other disrespectful retorts toward individual commissioners, and he has mocked the gravity of the health crisis and the intent of the mask policy by suggesting that we might as well write a policy "mandating that everyone must wear red shirts." At our subsequent meeting on November 10, 2021, Mr. Kozlowski arrived maskless despite the policy (the meeting was held in person in a common room at a Housing Authority property). Chair Kevin Doyle asked him to put on a mask. He refused. We continued with the meeting in order to do the work that needed to be done, but were uncomfortable with his blatant disregard for voted upon policy and flagrant disrespect for the office, his fellow commissioners, and the housing residents. We urge you to reconsider Mr. Kozlowski's appointment to the position of Governor's Appointee. Not only is Mr. Kozlowski unwilling to respect the decisions of this Authority on which he sits, but his recent actions demonstrate a blatant disregard for the vulnerable population of elderly that predominate the Housing units here in Mansfield. Additionally, his very appointment itself seems inappropriate in light of the fact that the people of Mansfield previously voted him out of his elected position on the Housing Authority in 2008. We respectfully request that you intervene now and remove Mr. Kozlowski from this position and appoint a more appropriate candidate. Sincerely, Kevin J. Doyle, Chair Mansfield Hoits ingAuthority Mary Kate Flynn, Treasurer Mansfield Hoits ingAarthority The Chairman asked for a Motion to Adiourn. William Snyder, Asst. Treasurer Mansfield Housing Authority Deborah Tatum, Commissioner Mansfield HousingAarthority There being no further business to come before the Board, a Motion was made by Ms. Flynn and seconded by Mr. Snyder to Adjourn at 7:35 PM. Upon Vote, the Motion passed by a Vote of 4 to 0. Approved on November 2, 2022 - Board of Commissioners: E