MINUTES

GREEN BAY HOUSING AUTHORITY

Thursday, February 19, 2009

1424 Admiral Court, Second Floor Reading Room

Green Bay, Wisconsin 54303

10:00 AM

MEMBERS PRESENT: D. Dolan-Wallace, Chair; D. Piton; H. Genunzio

MEMBERS EXCUSED: W. Vande Castle, Vice-Chair; W. Van Ess

OTHERS PRESENT: R. Strong, A. May-Steffel, A. Monday, M. Barron

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

D. Piton requested a correction to the minutes. His name was misspelled.

A motion was made by D. Piton, seconded by H. Genunzio and carried to approve the minutes of the December 18, 2008 with the above correction.

D. Dolan-Wallace stated he had had conversations with the other Housing Authority members regarding creating a calendar of events for the year for the Authority. He said it would be very helpful and would like it available on line.

D. Dolan-Wallace requested that this be put in place.

R. Strong stated staff would put this together.

D. Dolan-Wallace also requested information for the Authority members regarding out-standing loans, bonding issues, timelines for Department of Housing and Urban Development submittals, budget, deadlines for use of capital funds and upcoming projects.

R. Strong stated any changes to the budget would be brought back to the Authority for approval. He stated he is authorized to proceed if the expenditure is less than $5,000.

NEW BUSINESS:

1. Review and approval of Resolution No. 09-01, PHA Certifications of Compliance with PHA Plans and Related Regulations for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2010, Pending Public Comment.

R. Strong presented the resolution and plan. He stated this year the Authority was not required to submit a formal plan. The items that are required to be submitted were included in the members mailing packet. The only additional documents will be the minutes of Mason Manor’s and Scattered Site’s Tenant Advisory Councils. At these council meetings will be presented the same material as was given to the Authority.

A. Monday stated the Mason Manor Resident Council meeting will be on Wednesday, March 4 at 1:30 PM.

R. Strong stated the meeting with the Scattered Site residents has not been set yet but should be in early March.

D. Piton asked if anyone could attend.

A. Monday said it is an open meeting.

A motion was made by D. Piton, seconded by H. Genunzio and carried to approve Resolution No. 09-01, PHA Certifications of Compliance with PHA Plans and Related Regulations for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2010, pending public comment and comments by the Resident Advisory Councils.

2. Review and adoption of Resolution No 09-02, Adopting Revised Flat Rents and Ceiling Rents for Mason Manor and Scattered Site Public Housing.

A. Monday presented proposed flat and ceiling rents for Mason Manor. She presented comparables to the Authority. She also indicated she had contacted the Housing Director in Sheboygan. Sheboygan has a similar building to Mason Manor and obtained their flat and ceiling rents, which are much lower than Mason Manor’s.

A. Monday recommended that the ceiling and flat rents remain the same as last year’s.

D. Piton asked how keeping the rents as is would affect our operations.

A. May-Steffel stated that our operating subsidies are determined by our vacancy rates. She indicated that Mason Manor is well in the black.

D. Dolan-Wallace asked when was the last time we raised ceiling and flat rents for Mason Manor.

A. Monday stated it was three years ago.

D. Dolan-Wallace stated we have to remember we are dealing with person on fixed incomes.

M. Barron addressed the Authority on the flat and ceiling rents for the Scattered Sites. She stated the flat and ceiling rents would be increased to the Fair Market Rents established by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

After further discussion, a motion was made by D. Piton, seconded by H. Genunzio and carried to adopt Resolution No. 09-02, Adopting Revised Flat Rents and Ceiling Rents for Mason Manor and Scattered Site Public Housing as presented.

3. Review and adoption of Utility Allowances for Scattered Sites.

M. Barron addressed the Authority regarding the Utility Allowances for Scattered Sites.

D. Piton asked how the allowances are arrived at.

M. Barron stated they use what the Brown County Housing Authority adopts and uses for the Housing Choice Voucher Program.

A motion was made by D. Piton, seconded by H. Genunzio and carried to adopt the Utility Allowances for the Scattered Site properties as presented.

4. Adoption of a Policy establishing an Identity Theft Prevent Program.

R. Strong presented the item. He stated the City Attorney has asked that all authorities adopt this policy. He stated this would formalize the way things are being done. He also stated the policy outlines how to respond to such a situation.

D. Dolan-Wallace asked how this would affect our internal workings.

R. Strong stated this would not really affect our internal workings as there are requirements in place right now regarding privacy, which are mandated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

D. Dolan-Wallace asked if the policy would set repercussions regarding the disclosing of confidential information.

R. Strong stated he felt if there were such an incident, it would be turned over to the City Attorney’s Office.

D. Dolan-Wallace indicated there are companies who set up such policies.

A. Monday stated the tenants at Mason Manor sign a Federal Privacy Act Notice which stated that all information collected is to be held in strict confidence and to be used only to determine qualifications for tenancy and to determine the person rent amount.

A. May-Steffel stated the Department of Housing and Urban Development has a system for earned income verification and any person using the system must be trained and certified to the use and confidentiality of the information.

D. Dolan-Wallace questioned the policy in regarding to our contracted agency managing the Scattered Sites.

R. Strong stated the policy would be made a part of the present contract with Barron Rentals.

After further discussion, a motion was made by D. Piton, seconded by H. Genunzio and carried to adopt the Policy Establishing an Identity Theft Prevent Program as presented.

5. Report on painting and replacement windows for Scattered Site properties.

R. Strong presented the item. He stated he has been working with the City Purchasing Department to prepare bid documents for the painting and replacement windows.

R. Strong stated the bids for window replacement would be on a per size basis and would be bid in bulk so windows would be replaced as needed. The bid would also include the installation. He stated most of the replacements would be done when the units became vacant.

R. Strong also stated the painting contract would be bid on a square footage basis. He stated in the document would be an estimate for a year on how many square feet of surface would need painting. He stated both bids would be brought back to the Authority for awarding.

6. Authorization to submit a Homeland Security Fiscal Year 2009 Fire Prevention and Safety Grant to complete installation of fire safety elements on the stoves at Mason Manor, to install fire safety elements in the Scattered Site units, to purchase evacuation chairs for each floor at Mason Manor and authorize the allocation of revenue bond reserve funds as matching funds.

R. Strong stated this is the same grant that was received last year. The 2009 Grant would be to finish the fire safety element installation at Mason Manor, install the elements in the Scattered Site properties and purchase evacuation chairs for Mason Manor.

D. Piton asked about the matching funds.

A. May-Steffel stated the matching funds are from revenue bond fees, which are collected. She indicated there are also capital improvement funds that could be used for the match.

After further discussion, a motion was made by D. Piton, seconded by H. Genunzio and carried to authorize the submittal of the Homeland Security Fiscal Year 1009 Fire Prevention and Safety Grant using either revenue bond reserve funds or available capital funds.

FINANCIAL REPORT AND BILLS:

A motion was made by D. Piton, seconded by H. Genunzio and carried to accept the financial report and bills as presented.

STAFF REPORT:

M. Barron reported there are two vacancies in the Scattered Site properties. She also stated she will be serving five eviction notices. She reported that she is having a hard time finding qualified tenants to fill the units. She indicated she would begin marketing.

A. Monday stated one unit is being prepared for rental. The applicant for the unit has taken ill and she is waiting to see if she will be moving in. If not, she stated she would contact the next person on the wait list.

R. Strong stated he would be working with the Department of Public Works on the resurfacing of the ramp area for Mason Manor. He stated an assessment was done last year by Department of Public Work staff, but feels after this winter this may have to be redone.

R. Strong also stated he would be contacting the Department of Public Works to see what the hold up is regarding the security camera system replacement at Mason Manor.

R. Strong also reported Lisa O’Leary has resigned her position of Custodian at Mason Manor due to health reasons. He stated he has contacted Human Resources and the position will be posted pending Personnel Committee authorization next Thursday.

A motion was made by D. Piton, seconded by H. Genunzio and carried to accept the reports as given.

There being no further business to come before the Authority, the meeting was adjourned at 11:30 AM.