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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMHC 09/06/2023Minutes of the Public Hearing of the Proposse�, 1 � ICE and Regular Meeting of the Mansfield Hou i tj'.4 b i held at 22 Bicentennial Court and via GoToUbdtili§ 6h 3: 2b Wednesday, September 6, 2023, at 7:00 FiM'r IFS D 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 William Snyder Kenneth Tucker Mary Kate Flynn Olivier Kozlowski Also present was the Executive Director, Andrea McDougall, and 4 residents and one remote caller. 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 in person at 22 Bicentennial Court, Mansfield, MA and online via GoToMeeting at 7:00 PM on August 31, 2023. 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 6, 2023, 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 12'" day of September 2023. Andrea McDougall, cutive Director & Acting Secretary The Chairman asked for nomination for the position of Chairman. Mary Kate Flynn nominated Kevin Doyle for the position of Chairman; Kenneth Tucker seconded the nomination. Olivier Kozlowski nominated William Snyder for the position of Chairman; there was no second on the nomination. There were no other nominations for Chairman, Mr. Doyle accepted the nomination and it was Voted 4-1 to elect Kevin Doyle to the position of Chairman. Chairman Doyle asked for nominations for the position of Vice Chairman. Kenneth Tucker nominated Olivier Kozlowski for the position of Vice Chairman; Will Snyder seconded the nomination. Mary Kate Flynn nominated William Snyder for the position of Vice Chairman; Kevin Doyle seconded the nomination. There were no other nominations for Vice Chairman, Mr. Doyle Asked for a vote for Olivier Kozlowski and it was Voted 3-2 to elect Olivier Kozlowski to the position of Vice - Chairman Mr. Kozlowski accepted the nomination for Vice -Chairman. The Chairman asked for nominations for Treasurer. Kenneth Tucker nominated Mary Kate Flynn for the position of Treasurer; Kevin Doyle seconded the nomination. There were no other nominations for Treasurer. Ms. Flynn accepted the nomination, and it was unanimously 2 Voted 5-0 to elect Mary Kate Flynn to the position of Treasurer. The Chairman asked for nominations for Assistant Treasurer. Kenneth Tucker nominated William Snyder for the position of Assistant Treasurer; Mary Kate Flynn seconded the nomination. There were no other nominations for Assistant Treasurer, Mr. Snyder accepted the nomination, and it was unanimously Voted 5-0 to elect Willliam Snyder to the position of Assistant Treasurer. A Motion was made by Ms. Flynn and seconded by Mr. Tucker to Approve Warrant #422 for the Month of June 2023. 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 Warrant #423 for the Month of July 2023. Upon Vote, the Motion passed by a Vote of 5 to 0. The Chairman referred to Aaenda Item #4 Approval of Warrant #424 for the Month of August 2023. A Motion was made by Ms. Flynn and seconded by Mr. Tucker to Approve Warrant #424 for the Month of August 2023. Upon Vote, the Motion passed by a Vote of 5 to 0. 91 A Motion was made by Ms. Flynn and seconded by Mr. Kolowski to approve the Minutes of the June 7, 2023, Regular Monthly Board Meeting. Upon Vote, the Motion passed by a Vote of 5 to 0. A Motion was made by Mr. Kozlowski and seconded by Mr. Tucker to approve the Minutes of the June 28, 2023, Special 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 Mr. Kozlowski to accept the Executive Director's Report and Resident Service Coordinator Report. Mr. Kozlowski asked why there was a delay in making an offer of housing for the vacant family unit. Ms. McDougall responded by explaining that the applicants on CHAMP self -proclaim their priority and preference and as the Housing Authority has to determine if it meets the regulation of priority or preference status. Ms. McDougall added that there are numerous applicants that position themselves as emergency cases, that do nomeet the requirements resulting in the Housing Authority having to pull multiple lists. She finished by saying the process was very time-consuming. t Mr. Kozlowski commended the Resident Service Coordinator, Chyvonn Miller, for the successful distribution of the Federal Food Bank food donation to the elderly residents of the Housing Authority. Mr. Kozlowski also wanted to acknowledge the volunteers from the Mansfield Emergency Services who made themselves available to help deliver the food donations. Mr. Doyle asked the name of the Local Tenant Association Treasurer who had resigned from the position in order to give them recognition. Ms. McDougall said that the former LTO treasurer was tenant, Ms. Mary Ray. Upon Vote, the Motion passed by a Vote of 5 to 0. 0 A Motion was made by Ms. Flynn and Seconded by Mr. Kozlowski to accept the Balance Sheets and Financial Reports as of June 30, 2023, as Prepared by the Fee Accountant. Mr. Kozlowski brought to the Executive Director's attention that included in the board materials received by the board members were financial statements for May, June, and July of 2023. Ms. McDougall realized that she had mistakenly not placed May financials for board consideration on the posted agenda. Ms. McDougall stated that she will ask for approval of the May financials at the October monthly Board meeting. Upon Vote, the Motion passed by a Vote of 5 to 0. A Motion was made by Ms. Flynn and Seconded by Mr. Kozlowski to accept the Balance Sheets and Financial Reports as of July 31, 2023, as Prepared by the Fee Accountant. Upon Vote, the Motion passed by a Vote of 5 to 0. A Motion was made by Ms. Flynn and Seconded by Mr. Kozlowski to approve the Mansfield Housing Tenant Accounts Receivable Write -Offs for Fiscal Year 2023. Upon Vote, the Motion passed by a Vote of 5 to 0. 5 A Motion was made by Mr. Tucker and seconded by Mr. Kozlowski to Approve the E-Bike and Gas -Powered Vehicle Policy. The Executive Director informed the Board that there had been a smoke incident at Park Street that triggered an emergency response from the Mansfield Fire Department. A resident had been charging home made batteries for an E-Bike when the battery pack began to smoke. Ms. McDougall explained that the Housing Authority was lucky not to have experienced more damage or injury from the incident, but realized there was a present danger to all of the Housing Authority residents. Ms. McDougall said that the Mansfield Fire Chief had come to see her at the office to explain the incident and provided pictures to document the seriousness of the event. The Chief expressed concern that these types of emergency calls were becoming more frequent on a local level, and he also shared that Massachusetts does not currently have laws that specifically pertain to the a -bike batteries. Ms. McDougall said that during the annual inspections this year two households were housing these bike batteries and felt that the Housing Authority Board should consider adopting a policy to protect the residents. Mr. Kozlowski stated that he had also spoken with the Mansfield Fire Chief and was given the same information. Mr. Kozlowski added that the Chiefs main concern was the quality of the batteries being used and that the batteries need to be taken off the charger when the charging is complete. 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 FSS Forfeited Funds Account Addendum to the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Administrative Plan. The Executive Director explained that the FSS program allows participants to earn a savings account that is funded by HUD. As the participant earns more household income HUD matches it in an escrow account. When the participant successfully graduates from the program, they are entitled to the full amount of the escrow account. If a participant does not graduate or is terminated prior to the contract end their earnings are forfeited. Ms. McDougall stated that HUD recently changed the regulation so that all forfeited amounts will now be kept by the Housing Authority to use to assist with funding requests by other program participants as opposed to returning the funds to HUD. Ms. McDougall said that she developed this addendum so that the Housing Authority had a specific process for the allocation of the forfeited funds. She said she felt it was important to add parameters surrounding funding requests to be fair for all participants. Upon Vote, the Motion passed by a Vote of 5 to 0. Having missed the agenda item # 8 the Chairman reverted to the previous agenda item. A Motion was made by Ms. Flynn and Seconded by Mr. Kozlowski to accept the Balance Sheets and Financial Reports as of May 31, 2023, as Prepared by the Fee Accountant. Upon Vote, the Motion passed by a Vote of 5 to 0. The Executive Director stated that she scheduled a meeting with the Mansfield Building Planner Director, Sarah Raposa. Ms. McDougall explained that the purpose of this meeting was to determine the town's position on how the land should be developed and to ensure the Housing Authority has their support. The Executive Director added that the process was to apply for a grant through Mass Development to obtain a consultant who could advise what our options were for the property. The Chairman referred to Agenda Item #10 Questions and Comments. No comment from the Board Members. No comments from the Executive Director. Ms. Cornetta, a Bicentennial Court resident, asked why the write off was in fiscal year 2023 when the past due amounts were from 2022. Ms. McDougall stated that there is a time that is offered for collection and accounts receivable amounts are written off after a year. Ms. Cornetta asked if the paving project plan had been approved and Ms. McDougall said that it had been. Ms. Cornetta requested that the architectural plans be made available to all residents. Ms. McDougall replied by saying the plans are available in the Housing Authority office for anyone interested in viewing them. Mr. Kozlowski asked if applicants needed to be US Citizen's to be eligible. Ms. McDougall said that they did not have to be. Mr. Kozlowski asked if they needed to be here legally. Ms. McDougall stated that the Housing Authority does not verify citizenship. Emergency case applicants are outlined in the state regulations. The Chairman asked for a Motion to Adjourn. There being no further business to come before the Board, a Motion was made by Ms. Flynn and seconded by Mr. Tucker to Adjourn at 7:59 PM. Upon Vote, the Motion passed by a Vote of 5 to 0. Approved on October 4, 2023 - Board of Commissioners: F: