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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMansfield Housing Authority 02/04/2019Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Mansfield Housing Authority held at 22 Bicentennial Court on Monday, February 4, 2019 at 7:00 PM The Members of the Mansfield Housing Authority met in Regular Session at 22 Bicentennial Court, Mansfield, MA at 7:00 PM. The Meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM by Chairman Kevin Doyle and upon roll call, those present and absent were as follows: Present: Absent: Kevin Doyle rn i "rn Debra Tatum Mary Kate Flynn 1n J Elizabeth Dye u ry o0 Olivier Kozlowski rno c-, cn Also present was Executive Director, Andrea McDougall, and nine tenanes. o rn 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 at 7:00 PM on February 4, 2019 at 22 Bicentennial Court, Mansfield, MA 02048. CERTIFICATE AS TO NOTICE OF MEETING (Section 23A, Chapter 39, General Laws) 1, the undersigned, the duly appointed qualified Executive Director of the Mansfield Housing Authority do hereby certify that on January 30, 2019, 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 13th day of February 2019. z u' 2 drea 1. McDk0ga%rffxec,1yVe Direc r & Acting Secretary The Board and attendees recited the Pledge of Allegiance. A Motion was made by Ms. Flynn and seconded by Ms. Dye to approve Warrant #369 for the Month of January 2019 in the amount of $201,020.37 Upon Vote, the Motion passed by a Vote of 5-0. A Motion was made by Ms. Dye and seconded by Ms. Tatum to approve the Minutes of the January 9, 2019 Mansfield Housing Authority Board Meeting as presented. Upon Vote, the Motion passed by a Vote of 5-0. A Motion was made by Ms. Dye and seconded by Ms. Flynn to approve the Executive Directors report. Mr. Doyle asked Ms. McDougall if there was anything submitted that was should be noted. Ms. McDougall stated that the Housing Authority has sent a questionnaire to all residents, asking for their feedback on the tenant Association. Ms. McDougall said the residents have until February 22, 2019 to return the form. The current Elevator Service contract was terminated as per the contract. The RCAT (Regional Construction Advisory Team) has developed a request for proposal template specifically designed for the Mansfield Housing Authority's Park Street elevator needs. Ms. McDougall stated that repairs and upgrades for the existing elevator will be included in the service contract. Mr. Kozlowski inquired about the inability of the contractor to complete the Bicentennial Court window and door project. He asked if there was a way to review the contractor and he asked if the Housing Authority had access to that type of information. Ms. McDougall responded affirmatively stating at the end of any project the Housing Authority fills out and returns a DCAM survey that makes the evaluation on the contractor available when bidding future jobs. Ms. Dye asked what the appropriate amount of time after the project deadline would be before the Housing Authority should take action. Ms. McDougall stated that the deadline allows the Housing Authority to act immediately, but each project varies. The Bicentennial Door and Window project was making progress at the beginning of last year and the contractor had valid reasons as to the delay, but in the end, they had not been treating the Housing Authority as a priority. Upon Vote, the Motion passed by a Vote of 5 to 0. A Motion was made by Ms. Flynn and seconded by Ms. Dye to accept the Balance Sheets, Quarterly Financial Reports, and Quarterly Modernization Reports as of as December 31, 2018 as prepared by the Fee Accountant. Upon Vote, the Motion passed by a Vote of 5-0. A motion was made by Ms. Tatum and seconded by Ms. Dye to accept the Office Snow Cancellation Policy. Mr. Kozlowski asked if any changes had been made to the policy. Ms. McDougall stated that there were no changes and that upon vote at the January 2018 Board Meeting it was requested that the Board of Commissioners review the policy annually. Upon Vote, the Motion passed by a vote of 5-0. A motion was made by Ms. Dye and seconded by Ms. Flynn to approve the 2018 Planning Year Performance Management Review Results. Ms. McDougall stated that the DHCD had implemented the Performance Management Review (PMR) to review the policies and procedures by which Housing Authorities manage their properties. Ms. McDougall clarified that an initial PMR was performed at the Housing Authority to review the 2017 fiscal year and was used for planning purposes. She said that the DHCD initially intended to publish the 2018 results but later decided to use 2018 as another planning year. In the 2018 Review there was a finding of "Corrective Action" for the budget to actual variance. Ms. McDougall stated that the rating was given to the Housing Authority because the income amount included monies owed for repayment agreements and there was no line item to offset this total. Ms. McDougall stated that the Fee Accountant had been in touch with the DHCD finance department and as a result, this correction will be made for the publishing year. There were "Operational Guidance" findings with the Tenant Accounts Receivable and with submission of the Capital Improvement Plan. 3 The Tenant Account Receivable (TAR) included monies owed from deceased tenants and tenants who had vacated. Ms. McDougall stated that the TAR accounts will be reviewed and write offs will be presented to the board annually. Lastly, the Operational Guidance surrounding the Capital Improvement plan, was given to the Authority because the submission date was twelve days beyond the DHCD deadline. While a response was not required, it was recommended by the DHCD and Ms. McDougall stated that she had responded to all findings. Upon Vote, the Motion passed by a vote of 5-0. A motion was made by Ms. Dye and seconded by Ms. Flynn to Approve the disposal of the Mansfield Housing washers and dryers from the 667-1, 667-2, and 667-3 developments by auction on the Municibid.com website. Upon Vote, the Motion passed by a vote of 5-0. The Chairman referred to the letter submitted by the Executive Director in consideration of the Meeting day change. The Chairman acknowledged that changing the day of the board meeting to Wednesday evenings would coincide with the business hours of the Authority and that to him "it makes all the sense in the world." A motion was made by Mr. Kozlowski and seconded by Ms. Dye to change the Monthly Executive Board Meeting from the first Monday of the month to the first Wednesday of the month. Upon Vote, the Motion passed by a vote of 5-0. The Chairman referred to Agenda Item #9 Correspondence The Chairman acknowledged the DHCD's letter awarding the Mansfield Housing Authority $267,657.00 in Formula Funding for the Fiscal Year 2022. The Chairman referred to Agenda Item #10, Questions and Comments. Mr. Prestwich, a Bicentennial Court resident, asked if the residents will be getting stoves. Ms. Martinelli, a Bicentennial Court resident interrupted and said " when?". Ms. McDougall stated that the Stove Replacement Project is in the beginning stages, El that to date, the specifications for the stoves had not been written. Ms. Martinelli stated, " I understand that there are people now that don't have working ovens." Ms. McDougall replied stating that not one tenant has recorded a repair order for their stove with the Administrative Office. Ms. McDougall announced that if there was a tenant without a working stove, they should call the Authority Office and have a work order written and Maintenance would make the repair. Ms. Martinelli asked for a projected date the stoves would be installed in each unit, Ms. McDougall explained that there was quite a process for procurement of the stoves and that she couldn't give an approximate date. Ms. McDougall did state that the project was a priority and should be completed within the upcoming months. Mr. Prestwich spoke up by asking the Board Chairman if "you and the members of the Board have followed the regulations in ensuring that you had the proper training?" He continued by stating that there were several areas specified in the regulations, like the Open Meeting Law, and their fiduciary responsibilities that called for training within 90 days of taking the Board position. Mr. Prestwich spoke again stating " secondly, after two years, if you have served two years on the Board you have to be re-trained in that and I would like you, if you could explain to me, maybe next time, if this has been done?" The Chairman stated that the Board would investigate the answers to his questions and provide him the answers at an upcoming meeting. Mr. Prestwich added that he had been to the Town Clerk office to inquire why there was no Board Member up for re-election this year, He stated that there was one Member of the Board who is 'appointed for life.' He said that the information he received was confirmed by the Town Attorney. Mr. Kozlowski clarified, adding that the Board member will remain in the position until the state figures out how to promulgate the tenant board member legislation. Mr. Prestwich agreed. Thomasina Turner, Bicentennial Court resident, asked about the doors to her building not properly closing. Ms. McDougall stated that any resident encountering a problem with their doors should contact the Housing Authority Office to have a work order issued. Ms. Turner also asked if the Executive Director was going to hold a meeting for the tenants regarding the Local Tenant Association. Ms. McDougall stated that she distributed a survey to all the residents and the result would be turned over to Jack Cooper, President of the Massachusetts Union for Public Housing Tenants, to see if he could assist in any way. Marge O'Loughlin, Park Street resident asked for more information on the Park Street Elevator Project. Ms. McDougall stated that the elevator at Park Street needs repair and currently the service contract only covers monthly maintenance. The Project will soon be put out to bid and description of new agreement will include repair work as well as the monthly service contract. Ms. O'Loughlin also asked about a delivery date for the new washing machines and dryers. Ms. McDougall stated that the Housing Authority is waiting to hear back with an update from the contracted company. Ms. Martinelli interrupted "Why does this always happen to the things that we need, I mean we are promised things and then its months because of this or that, I mean it just goes on?" Ms. McDougall stated that there is paperwork and that the washers and dryers had been ordered which both take time. Ms. Martinelli said, "This is going to take a long time isn't it, really, seriously?" Ms. McDougall stated that there is a contract in place for February 1, 2019 with the Washing Machine Service and we are working to accomplish these goals any day. Ms. Martinelli spoke, "Because I bet nobody on the Board would like it if their washers and Dryers weren't working." Ms. McDougall replied saying that all the washers and dryers work, the Housing Authority is currently waiting on new ones to be installed. Ms. O'Loughlin affirmed that the drains at the Park Street location be cleared prior to the installation of the washers and dryers. Ms. McDougall stated that a professional Plumber had been scheduled to clear drain lines at all the properties prior to the installation of the new machines. Ms. O'Loughlin asked if the Board would be making a rotation between the three sites. Mr. Doyle stated that the board would be happy to accommodate all residents and continue to rotate meeting locations. Ms. O'Loughlin thanked the Maintenance for doing a fantastic job on clearing the ice and snow in the last storm. Ms. McDougall spoke about a conversation she had with Lee Azinheira, DPW Director regarding the paving around the Park Street Building. Mr. Azinheira had informed Ms. McDougall that they would be out to see what corrective measure they could take to ensure that handicapped individuals had proper access to the parking lot. There being no further business to come before the Board, a Motion was made by Mr. Kozlowski and seconded by Ms. Dye to Adjourn at 7:44 PM. Upon Vote, the Motion passed by a Vote of 5 to 0. on March 6, 2019 - Board of Commissioners.