Fitchburg Housing Authority

FITCHBURG CITY CLERK Oct 18 2024 10:46 am Fitchburg Housing Authority Minutes of FHA Regular Board Meeting, September 30, 2024 Daniels Heights Community Room, 1 Daniels Heights Street, Fitchburg, MA A Regular Meeting of the Fitchburg Housing Authority was called to order by Chair, Linda Byrne at 8:30 AM on Monday, September 30, 2024, in the Daniels Heights Community Room at 1 Daniels Heights Street in the City of Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Present: Absent: FHA Board Members: FHA Board Members: Linda Byrne, Chair N/A Adam Goodwin, Vice Chair David Basilio, Treasurer Janice M. Spellane, Assistant Treasurer-Tenant Representative Thomas Hughes, Member-State Appointee FHA Staff: FHA Staff: Douglas M. Bushman, Esq., Executive Director & CPO, FHA Board Secretary Andrew T. Skoog, Deputy Director Genesis Ruiz, Director of Public & Community Housing Alicia Santucci, Executive Finance Manager Brianna Boulay, Resident Service Coordinator Sandra Perez, Leasing Clerk Cameron Davis, Executive Clerical Assistant Mayor’s Office Samantha Squailia, Mayor, Fitchburg Mayor’s office FHA Tenants: N/A Quorum: Yes (Quorum Requirement: Three FHA Board Members) 1. Motion to Open Meeting Chair, Linda Byrne opened the meeting at 8:30 am. Move: Adam Goodwin Second: David Basilio All in favor 2. Motion for Public Comment on Agenda Items, Maintenance, & Occupancy Issues Move: Adam Goodwin Second: Janice Spellane All in favor No public or tenants attended. No Comments. 3. Motion to Approve Minutes of the FHA Regular Board Meeting Held on August 28th, 2024 Move: Janice Spellane Second: David Basilio All in favor 4. Motion to Approve Payables for August-September 2024 Move: David Basilio Second: Adam Goodwin All in favor 5. Motion to Elect Board Member to Permanent Labor Advisory Committee Move: Adam Goodwin Second: David Basilio All in favor Janice Spellane was nominated and accepted the position. 6. Motion to Approve January – August 2024 Financial Statements Move: Adam Goodwin Second: David Basilio All in favor The Executive Director gave recognition to Alicia Santucci for changing the process of handling FISH invoices, which has improved the reserve rate. “Every Family Deserves a Home” 7. Tenant Account Receivable (TAR) Updates Tenant accounts receivable is still at 15% for the family side, while the elderly side is in better shape. Brianna and her Resident Services team have reoriented to assist with RAFT applications, helping reduce legal fees. TH raised concerns about tenants taking advantage of the system and asked about the possibility of paying legal fees for evictions. AG suggested exploring everyoneon.org for providing electronics to low-income areas. 8. Motion to Accept FHA FY 2023 Audit Move: Thomas Hughes Second: David Basilio All in favor The Executive Director reported a 63.19% increase in construction spending, a favorable trend. The Chair confirmed that Marcum compiled the audit report. 9. Motion to Approve Employee Wage Rate Move: Adam Goodwin Second: David Basilio All in favor The Executive Director mentioned that normally wage increases fall under his purview, but recent circumstances warranted board awareness. TH raised concerns about qualifications and the professional development plan. 10. Motion to Approve Honoring of David Rousseau Service to Community Move: Adam Goodwin Second: David Basilio All in favor The board agreed to name the 4th-floor office after David Rousseau in recognition of his service. Thomas Hughes, Board Member, left at 9:02am 11. Motion to Approve Waiver Request for Compliance with 760 C.M.R. 4.03(d) Move: Adam Goodwin Second: David Basilio Four in favor Thomas Hughes Abstained The Executive Director noted he has had no discussions at all with Commissioner Hughes about Jordan Hughes and that the regulations have been fully complied with as documented by EOHLC. Thomas Hughes, Board Member, returns at 9:05am 12. Yoko Ishii, Executive Clerical Assistant Resigns The Executive Director mentioned Yoko’s resignation, reflecting on her contributions, and is saddened by her departure. The Executive Director expressed satisfaction with the current team and noted that the people of Fitchburg deserve a properly staffed housing authority. Commissioner Hughes commented that when people leave FHA, he is pleased that we have a system that allows the system/team to work even with a departure. 13. MA NAHRO Convention The MassNAHRO Annual Conference was held at the Sea Crest Beach Resort from September 8th to the 11th with the following FHA staff members attending, Ada Alvarado, Andrew Skoog, Bruce Budrick, Douglas Bushman, Genesis Ruiz, and Sol Toro. Two Commissioners from the FHA Board were also in attendance, Commissioner Janice M. Spellane and Madame Chairperson Linda E. Byrne. The Executive Director recognized Sol Toro and her receiving a certificate at the event. 14. FHA-OFH Annual Employee Appreciation Lunch On August 26th the first combined FHA and OFH appreciation day was held at the Canton Valley community room. 15. Evictions The Deputy Director spoke about evictions and 30-day notices. He mentioned there were several court appearances, and that every other Friday they are typically in court. The board discussed several reasons why tenants struggle to pay rent. Afterwards they discussed how much the tenants communicate with the staff and what is provided to the tenants for assistance. Brianna spoke about all the different ways in which Resident Services is now assisting the tenants, and many of the tenants have other services available in the city. The board was reassured that a process and programs are in place to help all tenants pay their rent. “Every Family Deserves a Home” 16. Vacancy & HAFIS Report The Deputy Director explained that there will be some movement next month because of the Wallace Tower relocation, but overall numbers are stable. 17. Resident Services Brianna updated that they are trying to provide most of our services in-house instead of referring tenants to outside resources. They now attend settlement hearings, which helps them know more about what's happening with the tenants. They attend the city homeless commission, domestic violence, and school support programs. If they hit their FSS goals and the 2024 budget allows, they will hire another RSC. 18. Public Housing Inspections Starting in October, the City of Fitchburg Board of Health will be performing inspections that will save many staff hours and prevent reports to the Board of Health. They had proposed an outside contractor to do inspections, which is still on the table, but the service is being offered for free by the BOH. 19. Wallace Tower Groundbreaking Ceremony The Wallace Tower Groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for October 18th at 11:00 am and planning is underway. 20. Motion to Discuss Housing Now Grant Acceptance Move: Thomas Hughes Second: David Basilio All in favor The board discussed tabling the Housing Now Grant Acceptance motion as the grant’s details were clarified. Thomas Hughes brought up a point of order that a vote was needed to table the motion. 21. Motion to Table Housing Now Grant Acceptance Move: Adam Goodwin Second: David Basilio All in favor 22. Motion to Approve Final Completion with Contingencies - 174 Milk Street Move: Adam Goodwin Second: Janice Spellane All in favor The Executive Director discussed minor contingencies needing resolution, but occupancy will move forward. The unit will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, and will be FHA’s 3rd federal unit. Additional discussion about the CIP occurred and the Executive Director highlighted that Bruce Budrick is slowly increasing the skillset of the maintenance staff. 23. Motion to Enter to the Executive Session (at 10:00am) Move: Adam Goodwin Second: Thomas Hughes All in favor 24. Motion to Close to the Executive Session (at 11:31 am) Move: Adam Goodwin Second: Dave Basilio All in favor 25. Motion to Adjourn Regular Session (at 11:32am) Move: Adam Goodwin Second: David Basilio All in favor “Every Family Deserves a Home”