 So, I'd like to call to order the Wednesday, June 22nd, 2020 meeting. We'll go the special meeting first. So call to order, Joanne. Here. And Fiorella. Here. And Garra is here and. So have, let's have Jack go over the DHCD flood survey funding stuff. So this is. So this is great news. So if you remember, we have been given about $15,000 in grants and same type of grant from DHCD probably about six to eight months ago, six time months ago. So we have been given about $15,000 in grants and same type of grant. Strictly form an auto in the inner. DHCD ended up deciding to expand that survey to all of our developments. Which is, which is great. It gives us that much more data. To make sure that we're as climate resilient as possible. So this additional grant funding will fund that. The expansion of that survey. So again, it's not going to be. It's not going to be delayed. It's not going to be delayed. It's not going to be delayed. It's not going to be delayed. So we already find this can be funded through this special money. Sustainability money through DHC. Go ahead. Fiorella. Wait. So does that mean that. That's going to be like delayed from an autonomy or so I just kind of going to happen at the same time. The survey. And this is a different survey than the window survey. Okay. I know, but it's still going to be delayed because of that or. But it's still a good thing to get this data from all that. Yes. Go ahead. Yes, I would think that. That would be important to know. Trichillage. Since they have a body of water going on. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. But I haven't received an update lately as far as when. That information is going to be available, but it's very, it's very likely that it will be delayed because of this, but it's still a good thing to get this data from. And if they have a body of water going right by them. Absolutely. But especially an autonomy manner, I hope it's not delayed very much because already. Sections of it are in a flood. And people have flooded basements and so forth. So did we get the study done that we can look for funds to remediate? Yeah. For options and you know that will help us and I appreciate if like you said finding ways to fund and and act on it Any other questions or discussion It's it seems like a no-brainer to me Am I missing something Jack easy, right? Nope. This is this is good. This is a good thing. Okay This if someone wants to make a motion I make a motion to pass the accepting What is it accepting do your word for the from DH City for the flood survey? I second it Okay All in favor Joanne. Yes Viorella. Yes, and Gar is a yes I guess we are done with our meeting special meeting. So do we have a motion to adjourn this meeting? I make a motion to run second that Okay, seconded by Fiorella and all in favor Joanne. Yes Fiorella. Yes, and Gar is a yes. So meeting for a special meeting is adjourned Let's see. Let me see if Nick's she's still in no man's land. He's not getting back to me. So Jack you should be called to order the next meeting, right? Yes. Okay hearing. Yeah, call to order the public hearing for the 2023 annual plan Call to order Fiorella here Joanne here and Gar is here I'm gonna let Jack take over now and explain this the annual plan and So so there's a lot that goes into the annual plan We look at a lot of different things whether it's our maintenance department and the ways in which we can Use data and find ways to improve as well as to indicate to not only the board but the public like what our processes Will engage the whatever our processes are So what I'm going to do first is Chris Partridge the director of maintenance and modernizations on the call I'm going to hear on the floor over to him just so he can give you an overview of Of the maintenance department and what they're doing what they are planning for the next year Chris is a yep. There he is. Hi good evening everyone. Can you hear me? Yes? Okay, thanks for having me everyone. Jack. Thank you Good evening. I wanted to thank everybody for the opportunity to speak about the maintenance initiatives at the Allerton Housing Authority as part of our annual plan Our department objective is to continue to meet resident needs by exceeding standard set by the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development Some of our key maintenance initiatives that we've been working on this year are We decentralized the maintenance department by adding two working foreman Roland Merz our former superintendent of maintenance is now in an expanded role of assistant director of maintenance And he's doing a great job along with our maintenance clerk Catherine Burns These additions have led to a streamlined communication process and an enhanced work order flow and a better better resident experience Our maintenance continues to be on the forefront of our integrated pest management system We are communicating with residents to ensure the process has as much traction as possible and residents have a clear definition of the protocol Our department has an ongoing partnership with the Massachusetts Association of Authority maintenance supervisors. They provide training and education for our staff to better prepare them for the maintenance demands of this modern lha Um, we are finding creative ways to access revenue streams Bolster the equipment and education needs of our staff We have been able to take full advantage of grants and opportunities from agencies like MIMA and MIA to keep our buildings safe and sanitary Our team commitment to our economy and grounds have been enhanced AHA maintenance staff are on standby 24 7 365 days a year for any snow or ice event As a result, our properties now can be enjoyed by residents and safely traveled through the warm or cold weather And finally with our guidance from the ag board of commissioners and the executive director jack nagle management now conducts monthly maintenance meetings with tenant presidents This process allows for more customized and focused approach to the tenant maintenance requests And this is yielded positive results today Thank you again for the opportunity to serve the allington housing authority and we look forward to Using the annual plan and maintenance repair plan to the residents advantage. Thank you everyone Thanks, chris. Uh chris. Can you you're going to stay on right in case? Yes When we open up a public hearing, maybe you can jump in if jack needs you. Absolutely. Okay Uh jack you want to keep going? Yeah, so and the next thing I wanted to do is just to briefly Uh go over just some of the different funding sources that we've been able to require just to Give you some better insight into the the capital plan and maybe even some of the additional flexibility that we'll have moving forward um just to just to um as again as a um Just to remember what we have so the town arpa money that we received for capital improvements those capital improvements being for the minority We manner window replacement project was two and a half million dollars In addition to that we received arpa formula funding from the state In nine hundred and six thousand nine hundred and six thousand one hundred and thirty one dollars We additionally just got news from dhcd that we received a targeted opera funding for three projects Three electrical panel upgrades and right now based off of current estimates that will That will will save authority at least one In addition to that we have the department housing community to only create a placemaking grant that's i'm going to be up at drink village and that was a five hundred thousand dollar grant Also, we have community preservation act funding that totals over one million dollars And that's um for three different projects as for the door replacement project up at great village That's for the electrical panel upgrade at the house or building and for And for the window replacement project at the minority manner and we we hope to apply for additional funding next year In addition to that we have cdbg funding That's it's still pending had approval, but if approved it will be a little total six hundred thousand dollars for two separate projects Well, six total six hundred thousand dollars 250 000 of that being for For the roof replacement project and 350 000 of that being for the fire alarm system upgrade At the house or building if again if how to if how to prove In addition to that we have a pending high lap Grant request through dhcd and we hope to receive Some news about that maybe in the next month or so Also, we've received a sustainability we've received sustainability funding Like like I indicated for the flood survey which totals about a hundred thousand dollars Missed it here, but we also received about I think it's about a hundred and fifty thousand dollars And compliance reserve funding through the state too which funds asbestos abatement and other important types of Additional components that are needed in a lot of projects So with that being said the total amount of funding that we've received is is is is over 6.7 million dollars And and we're and it's going to continue growing and just to give you some some additional insight into that or something to take into consideration is that Each year we get about nine hundred thousand dollars in formula funding Or our actual capital funding from dhcd and over five years that would be about four and a half million dollars So we've we've already you know There's some of the different initiatives of the board and and others we've been able to Surpass the amount of money that we would have already gotten From dhcd over a five-year period So we're going to continue pushing and and use that money to do all the necessary work on the upgrades that we We know are so vital to To our residents having a safe and healthy experience in our buildings Now with that being said, you know, I think as you looked at the at the annual plan the capital improvement plan this year You saw a lot of electrical panel upgrade projects You saw a lot of fire alarm and fire alarm system upgrades and I think you know with the fire at chest that matter Um, it it brings even more to light the importance of these projects So we're we're very happy to be able to get these projects on there And we're hopeful that we can get them moved up in the chain as quickly as possible so that all Upgrades can happen and in a timely fashion, but we are very very pleased with dhcd's target opera targeted opera awarding award Awards because that's going to move those electrical panel upgrade projects up just that much quicker Also, you'll probably notice too in the capital improvement plan in the fifth year There's a is a handful of projects that are hanging on by by essentially just a thread And the reason why we did that is because there's been just so much Um, this was before even we got the opera formula funding We weren't sure exactly what we're going to get from dhcd or from some of these other sources So we want to try to get as many projects in our capital plan as possible Because it's going to allow us to act quicker and more effectively once we're able to secure that funding So we're kind of we're betting on ourselves here Getting them in the capital plan even if it's just by a little by by a hair so that we can move them into Try to get them moving forward as quickly as possible to Chris already went over some of the different maintenance initiatives our maintenance goals and plan You know, what you'll notice too is at the end of the the end of the annual plan There's a survey that that puts us in comparison to not only the state of the state house of a housing authority across the state but Other large housing authorities in this region And by and large we do pretty well, but it's always a it's a it's a great tool For chris myself in myra To sit down and try to understand the ways in which we can better our our services and hopefully do better even better on future surveys So we're excited to see what where those results go and we're we're confident that they will improve more and more over time Yeah, so I guess at this point If there's any any questions or yeah, let me yeah, let me see if anyone from the board has I know I do but I'll Feel well go first um, this one's for chris chris. Is there any policies on um, like What companies we use? I've noticed in the past in the budget that we use a lot of companies that are in arlington So are we um reaching out to make sure like we're making the most? affordable choices Yes, ferala. Thank you Cost effective effectiveness is always at the forefront of our decision And by state code with a lot of our service contracts Chapter 30b. We have to comply with the lowest Responsive and responsible bidder So all the monetary price price thresholds depending upon the size of the project are carefully analyzed And looked at and then when the decision is made it ultimately comes down to price So yeah, that's a great question, but we do Also have to take into account like the proximity to the arlington housing authority and their ability to be able to respond To certain things, especially if it's like an emergency or That type of thing So how many within the towns around us? Is there a lot of other towns that go into this bidding process or is it You know, yeah, and the uh, the state actually has a great website It's the osd website And all the vendors are already pre approved by the state So that's one of the tools that we frequently use Or if we don't use that we traditionally put it out to bid like some of the larger projects Where you advertise it and they're really contractors from all over the state And they all have to be approved by dhcd for the larger scale projects Cool. Thank you. You're welcome Anyone else Joanne? Yes, um First time I noticed that we had a big increase Because of need in legal fees. So I assume we'll Hopefully go back to It's $10,000 a year Yeah, and I'll have to look into that Joanne, but um There was a time where um, there was a backlog and We were we were processing some of the different uh fees associated with the attorney. Um, so we There may have been just a lot processed at once and that might be what what's reflected there But I can I can look into that and get back in touch with you Also, did all of the tenant presidents sign off on the annual planner if that's still That's correct. They do. Yeah And they have we we sit down with all the tenant associations and review the annual plan Okay, and I I read in the past one of these in which um The a lawyer from legal aid also signed off on an annual plan or is that a different plan? I'm not aware of Of a legal aid signing off on the annual plan So legal aid lawyer who signed off on it. So I don't know I can go back and get in touch with you um It was very thorough by the way Um, I did have a question or I just wanted to comment. I should say I'm one of the projects I think they're it's at the these are the ones which Are still Trying to develop and when this energy or water saving initiative kids I use the um the rain barrels down it and not any manner I was amazed at how much water was in these barrels And um hadn't even rained in a while And I think that might be something Good, they're not expensive These ones I saw on the internet that might be something we could expand on because there are probably other reasons To have water outside cleaning and stuff like that water also um It looked wonderful. It was very clean Or say have a great in the town um so also As you know, we had some issues Uh with a couple of them and they need to have their Faucets replaced it's that We're watering the garden Yes, yeah Yes, um and chris and I have talked about that and ten association also brought that up this month At the meeting so we're we're we're looking into that and we'll generate a we'll create a plan Yeah, you can just order them right and I don't think they're very expensive because barrels aren't that expensive Um because we can't use them And they're just sitting there with all this water in them. But anyway, that seems like a good strategy to cut back on on a water bill which is Very expensive. I think the last thing I wanted to ask is um, so we talked about a week ago What you're talking about vacancy refurbishment What's happened to those 18 units? Would they be ready soon or? In just I don't foresee them being I don't foresee them being ready. Um in the in the near future We're right now. We're we're our worst case scenario where we're You know, essentially what we plan with the insurance company is worst case scenario would be by january of 2023 We hope it's much sooner than then but that's kind of that's what we've our communication with the state and the insurance company is kind of a worst case scenario And that's that's a water damage Yes, yeah, large water damage It's not fire. It's water damage. Okay. Thank you Feral anymore questions Yeah, um, Joanne just reminded me of it where all the tenant association signed off I do see that there's no date to see if like there was a quarterly meeting to discuss the annual plan with tenant associations I'm not sure what you mean. You're all um All right here, um Sorry one second There we go, uh P quarterly meeting with LTO or RAB to review the draft of the annual plan So that so there are some letters in the annual plan That in which the tenant presidents have signed off on indicating that they did They did review discuss and suggest projects relative to the annual plan And so and we did meet with them and um Chris was there so I mean you want to if you want a second uh A second second said eyes. He was near as well. Cool. Yeah, there was just no date for it. So I was just wondering Uh, I have I thought just a comment. I guess our question the I thought the survey part was very informative and uh I think because you know, the we do do pretty well Compared to our peer group and the state averages But I think I think we can even do better and I think we will based on you guys implementing Like the decentralization and tenant meetings and um, and we were keep in mind that probably when the service was going the survey was Was going we were in a transition from one executive director to another Chris started. So I think we I think we're going to Only go up Is what I'm saying is that is that is that how you guys see it? That that's the way that we see it based off of when this survey was done I think it's not while we've been really in these positions and we feel that we're we're hope Our our hope and what we feel is is that the survey will improve as a result of Okay, so I guess the next step would be to encourage public participation. Is that right? Uh, I'm gonna I'm gonna leave that up to you jack since you control the board All right, if um, so I guess probably the best way to move forward is if somebody does I want to participate they could just raise their raise their hand I'm not seeing um any hands raised dark I don't I don't see the tenant presidents on that. Yeah, I don't see anyone either Where did they know about this meeting? It was posted at all the all the developments Okay, so now I don't know what to do um should we Have a motion to approve the 2023 annual plan is that next? I'm sorry A motion to approve the 2023 annual plan And then a second And all in favor joanne. Yes, and fiorella. Yes and gar is a yes So we are done with the agenda. So now a motion to adjourn our motion to adjourn And I second it So uh all in favor joanne Yes, and fiorella. Yes, and gar is a yes The public hearing meeting for the 2023 annual plan is adjourned Thank you guys. Thank you. Have a good night. Hey, thank you jack and john greco too Thank you. All right see you