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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-03-09-LHA-minLEXINGTON HOUSING AUTHORITY REGULAR MEETING — MARCH 9, 2011 1. ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order by Vice Chairman Melinda Walker at 6:05 P.M. MEMBERS PRESENT MEMBERS ABSENT OTHERS PRESENT Melinda Walker Nicholas Santosuosso Leona Martin Robert D. Peters 2. ELECTION RESULTS Leo P. McSweeney Steve Keane Anne Frymer Dan McCabe Andrew Riffin Jonathan Doran Congratulations to both candidates for running successful campaigns. 3. MINUTES Approval of Minutes of Regular Meeting of February 9, 2011 Upon motion by Nicholas Santosuosso and seconded by Robert Peters, the Board voted to approve the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of February 9, 2011, all members having received copies. The roll call vote is as follows: YEAS NAYS ABSTAIN ABSENT Melinda Walker NONE NONE Leo P. McSweeney Nicholas Santosuosso Leona Martin Robert D. Peters 4. BILLS & CHECKS Approval of Bills and Checks paid in February 2011 February 2011 667- C/705 -2 Check Numbers 7050 and 7052 REVOLVING FUND Check Numbers 10030 through 10081 Check Numbers 4080, 4082, 4083 and 4085 689 -C MANAGEMENT Check Number 2157 BEDFORD STREET PARKER MANOR MRVP VOUCHER CF.0 TWW R Check Number 1142 Check Number 1946 Check Numbers 2752 and 2753 Check Numbers 15 5 8 6 through 15 610 Upon a motion by Robert D. Peters and seconded by Leona Martin, the Board voted to accept the Bills and Checks as presented for February 2011. The roll call vote is as follows: YEAS NAYS ABSTAIN ABSENT Melinda Walker NONE NONE Leo P. McSweeney Nicholas Santosuosso Leona Martin Robert D. Peters EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT A. Clarification of Open Meeting Law guidelines Public hearings are meetings in which the public is allowed and encouraged to comment and speak. Open Meetings are public meetings open to all but no one is guaranteed the right to speak. The Board chairperson has the right to allow or not allow anyone to speak. However, if someone is allowed to speak, they are forewarned not to bring up any of the daily operations of the agency or to state any name as this breaches confidentiality. They are asked to respect these guidelines. B. Update on tenant organizations The housing authority encourages tenants to participate in organizing different groups. If the tenants want to expand into a formal LTO, the housing authority will provide the information so that it can be researched in order to proceed correctly. C. Project updates and proposed tenant meetings at Greeley and Vynebrooke The Countryside Village siding and door project is in the final stage of completion. The exterior punch list has temporarily been put on hold due to the weather. We have advised the architect to move forward so that we can close out the project. The Board of Selectman requested the housing authority make a presentation for the Vynebrooke Village water remediation project so that any questions could be 2 clarified. Steve made that presentation on February 22, 2011. There were a few questions for the engineer who will respond. The project was also presented at a public hearing of the Conservation Committee on March 8, 2011. The meeting was informative and a few abutters did attend. The next meeting is scheduled for April 5, 2011, so that more information can be presented by our engineer. This should be the final meeting before being presented to Town meeting. The Greeley Village siding project is at the 50% submission stage. As soon as the project is submitted and approved by DHCD, a tenant meeting will be scheduled asking for color selection input. The tenants will be notified of the meeting in advance. The ADA compliant project is at 40% submission. As soon as this project is submitted and approved by DHCD, a tenant meeting will also be held asking for input. The tenants will also be notified of the meeting in advance. We are hopeful that will be sometime over the summer. As soon as the housing authority has formalized a Formula Funding Contract for Financial Assistance (CFP) Grant from DHCD, we will be asking for tenant input again. D. Greeley and Vynebrooke tenant survey Tenant surveys were sent to both state developments. The housing authority will be generating work orders for unreported deficiencies. We will also use some of the information for future planning of tenant needs and wants. E. Wego Wise utility consumption survey The housing authority is participating in a statewide effort to collect utility data from our federal sites. This will allow the housing authority to view utility consumption. This data will then be used to document energy saving measures. F. Leary Land update /LEXHAB Affordable Units update The Leary Land Committee will be reporting to the Board of Selectman the recommendations for the 30,000 square foot parcel on Vine Street. The second neighborhood meeting is being held at Countryside Village on March 17, 2011. An update will be given and feedback is welcome. The next two (2) units have been approved by DHCD for lease up. The housing authority has sent out letters to the next two families on the lottery list asking for updated information in order to qualify them for the units. G. Training updates Pat has been attending the monthly Section 8 meetings. Steve and Carol attended a DHCD training regarding MRVP and state lease updates and regulations. The maintenance staff attended the required annual training on Right to Know and Blood Bourne Pathogens. Ted and Mike R. will be attending training at Stoneham Housing Authority on March 23, 2011. Kathy will be attending a GIC Training on March 31, 2011. H. Community Outreach from Senior Center; April newsletter will include affordable housing information and guidelines Steve met with Charlotte Rogers. She will insert our housing information quarterly in the senior newsletter. We have also posted this information at various churches and with the Planning Board. I. Charlotte Rogers from Senior Center has donated a ping pong table Charlotte donated a ping pong table for Vynebrooke Village. Charlotte also went into detail about a group called Evergreen. This is a support group for the Asian speaking population. Steve spoke to Lori McBride, our DHCD Regional Attorney, regarding the language barrier. State Regulation 760 CMR 5.16 paragraph 3 states: Any notice to an applicant or tenant, who is known not to speak English, shall bear a notice in commonly spoken foreign languages of the importance that the notice be translated. Steve also inquired about an interpreter. According to Lori McBride, the only time an interpreter can be used is if the language being spoken is one that is not commonly used. The interpreter would then convey to the parties that the document is of an important nature and needs to be translated. The housing authority would be in violation of the regulation if this were approached in a different manor. Although our personal opinions on this matter may be different, it is a regulatory requirement we must abide by. Steve is waiting for Marion Abrahams of the Rotary Club to get back to him in regards to magnets, barbeques, bike racks and financial help with a bump out project at Greeley Village. Steve also contacted Dave Eagle about the possibility of using students from Minuteman Tech to work on the bump out. In the spring, Steve and Dave will walk through the site and discuss options. 4 J. Use of Community Room The housing authority encourages the use of the Community Rooms. The application must be filled out prior to and must be approved in order to use the room. There is a busy schedule at the Greeley community room. Vynebrooke and Countryside are reserved less frequently. K. NAHRO Conference May 22 -25 and Program Ad The annual MassNAHRO conference is being held May 22 -25, 2011 at the Resort & Conference Center at Hyannis. Steve and Nick are both attending this year. If other Board members are interested in attending, please let Kathy know as soon as possible so reservations can be made to avoid having to stay off site if the hotel fills. In prior years the housing authority has taken out a full page ad for the Conference booklet in the amount of $125.00. The Board agreed to place the ad again this year. Upon a motion by Nicholas Santosuosso and seconded by Robert Peters, the Board voted to place a full page ad in the MassNAHRO Conference booklet in the amount of $125.00. The roll call vote is as follows: YEAS NAYS ABSTAIN ABSENT Melinda Walker NONE NONE Leo P. McSweeney Nicholas Santosuosso Leona Martin Robert D. Peters L. LHA and Parker Manor Financials Copies of the financials were included in the Board packet for review. If after review there are any questions, they can be addressed at the next meeting. 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Steve has asked 6 local housing authorities for copies of their personnel policies. At a previous meeting, the Board requested that we compare at least 5. As soon as they are received, we may adjust our policy according and send to DHCD for required approval. Home visits are allowed as part of our Admissions and Continued Occupancy Plan. A major concern of the Board is the amount of time staff will be spending on home visits prior to lease up. It was decided once again to table this discussion. 5 Steve has been in contact numerous times with the Lexington Police Department in regards to the latest Worthen Road accident resulting in a fatality. Currently, this matter is being investigated by the office of the District Attorney. A resident meeting cannot be scheduled until the DA's office has completed their investigation. Steve has made it very clear to the Lexington Police Department that the housing authority is very interested in all meetings scheduled regarding the Worthen Rd accident. Jonathan Doran, a resident of Greeley Village, has filed the necessary paperwork to have the traffic advisory committee move forward with their study study of that intersection, including the timing and access of the crosswalk button. Steve has been in touch with Marty Robb, our DHCD asset manager, to provide us with information on our Bond status for future planning. There was a question regarding the housing authority website and if Board members are listed. They are listed along with their titles. However, Board members are not listed in the free Lexington phone book. The 2011 edition has already been published but we will work on contacting the phone book in order to have the Board listed in future publications. The Vice Chairman opened the meeting to the public. Anne Frymer, a resident of Lexington, began by asking Steve if he has acknowledged her Public Records request email for financials and the Resident handbook. Steve mailed her the financials she requested in her email. Her email did not include the handbook request. Although she did not request that in her email, Steve welcomed her verbal request this evening to stop by the office the following morning to pick up a copy. Anne has also been in contact with the ESL Coordinator for the Lexington School Department regarding translating notices. There is a company in New York that will translate each page for $50.00. She also made a suggestion to partner with surrounding communities to split translation costs. She also questioned the date of State Regulation 760 CMR 5.16 and what year it was implemented. She is wondering if it would be possible for the housing authority to have any safety notices translated for the $50.00, even though the regulation states otherwise, because her thought is that if a tenant does not care they will not have the notice translated. Leona questioned why none of the non - English speaking families of tenants have approached the housing authority regarding this issue. It does not appear to be an issue. At the time of lease up, each tenant that does not read or speak English is asked to have a family member, or other, there to translate the lease and also initial the lease to that effect. Dan McCabe, a resident of Greeley Village, gave a summary of the Tenants Association meeting that was held here last month. There were 17 in attendance. He also explained that the Greeley community of tenants plan to work together. 6 They are looking forward and will try to schedule the next Tenant Association meeting on the weekend so that other family members can attend. He was also under the impression that the meeting tonight was in regards to the Worthen Rd. accident. The Board clarified to Dan that this is the Regular monthly Board meeting. It is usually held at Countryside Village but months ago the Board discussed meeting at the different villages once in a while. At the February meeting the Board discussed setting up a possible meeting with Greeley tenants regarding Worthen Rd. Dan also questioned why tenants did not receive notice of the meeting. The procedure for posting a meeting is that the notice and agenda are sent to the Town Clerk for posting at Town Hall, Police Station and the Town website. The housing authority posts the same at all three villages. Jonathan Doran, a resident of Greeley Village, spoke highly of the housing authority, in particular, Steve and his staff. He said they do an excellent job and there is no need to question anything the Board does. He said that every resident of Greeley, regardless of the culture, have family support. He has contacted the families of the other 3 residents in his building and they get right back to him. They do not need special translations, they know what is going on, and they react. He said they are the nicest people he could live with and he has so much appreciation for what the housing authority has done for him. He is very appreciative that housing has promoted from within. Steve has moved up, knows the job and does it well, and has an excellent staff. There is no reason to challenge anything that Joe Rooney put in place many years ago. Jonathan wants to thank each and every member of the Board. Many of the residents are grateful as well. Anne Frymer sent out an email to the twenty (20) Precinct 8 Town Meeting members inviting them tonight. She also claimed that residents of Greeley were not informed of the meeting, although Dan knew of the meeting. There was never any intention of the Board to hide the meeting, the same practice was followed for this meeting as was every other past Board meeting. Nick suggested that in the future, Board meetings be listed in the Senior Center newsletter. Dan claims that he was unable to speak at the last Board meeting. He was not on the Agenda. At any open Board meeting it is up to the Chairperson to allow or disallow public input. Steve suggested to Dan that if he has a concern to come to the office and speak to him. Andrew Riffin, a resident of Greeley Village, introduced himself. He was asked if he had any matter to bring before the Board and he replied that he did not. 7 6. NEW BUSINESS Steve would like to thank Melinda for her article on Ann Whitney. The Executive Director contract discussion has been tabled until the April meeting. 7. ADJOURNMENT 8:30 P.M. A true copy attest ........................... STEPHEN KEANE, SECRETARY