Housing Authority

MONTPELIER HOUSING AUTHORITY Regular Meeting October 17, 2017 The meeting was called to order at 6:05 p.m. by Chairman McCullough with Commissioners Hannon and Larson present. Commissioner Zern entered the meeting at 6:10 pm. Commissioner Stevens- Favorite was absent. Agenda Item II – Approve Agenda Mrs. Troiano reported that she had received a request from Downstreet Housing and Community Development to make a presentation at the meeting after Board packets had gone out. After consulting with Chairman McCullough and learning that the request was time sensitive he agreed the item could be added under other business. The agenda was approved as amended. Agenda Item III – Approval of Minutes Commissioner Larson moved that the minutes of the July 31, 2017 regular meeting be accepted as written. Commissioner Hannon seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Agenda Item IV Introduction of New Board Members Liz Hannon was welcomed to the Board. Katy Stevens-Favorite was unable to attend due to a prior family commitment but will join us in November. Agenda Item V - Review of Vouchers, Bank Statements and Financial Reports Vouchers and bank statements were made available for Commissioners to review. Mrs. Troiano reviewed the financial reports. As previously reported our public housing programs ended the year in a slightly better position than budgeted after depreciation was accounted for. Higher than anticipated vacancies resulted in lower rental income and higher contract cost than budgeted. We have 108 vouchers under contract and are issuing vouchers to maintain that level. We ended the fiscal year with only a slight deficit. We increased our net income for management fees, adding to our reserves. Gould Apartments is fully occupied as of October 1. Chairman McCullough suggested shifting the Executive Director’s Report to the end of the meeting to accommodate our guests. Agenda Item VII – Update: Montpelier Warming Shelter- Brooke Jenkins Brooke Jenkins, Executive Director of the Good Samaritan Haven, gave an update on the efforts to utilize a $300,000.00 state grant to open a warming shelter in Montpelier and provide case management services. They hope to open the shelter at the Bethany Church in November. They are currently fund raising for expenses not covered by the grant. Their biggest need is to install an accessible shower. -1- A discussion followed about how the Montpelier Housing Authority could support their efforts. Commissioner Larson inquired about other fund raising efforts. Brooke stated that she and her Board were reaching out to several organizations. After further discussion Commissioner Larson moved that the Montpelier Housing Authority pledge up to $5,000.00 toward the cost of installing the shower. Commissioner Hannon seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Agenda Item VIII – Other Business – Downstreet Housing and Community Development Request Liz Genge, Director of Property Management discussed Downstreet’s request that we provide written permission for the Vermont State Housing Authority to administer ten Project Based Vouchers in Montpelier. Montpelier is not within VSHA’s jurisdiction and they do not operate in Montpelier except for a few specialized vouchers covered in an MOU. Mrs. Troiano explained that our program is too small to set aside the Vouchers for specific projects, and granting permission to VSHA would not have any adverse effect on our Voucher program. A far ranging discussion followed on the merits of the request, details about the two properties including the number of market units and income limits for tax credit units. After further discussion Commissioner Zern moved that the Montpelier Housing Authority grant permission for the Vermont State Housing Authority to administer up to ten Project Based Vouchers at two properties managed by Downstreet Housing and Community Development. Commissioner Hannon seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Agenda Item VI– Executive Directors Report In addition to the written report Mrs. Troiano expanded on a letter we received from PHADA and NAHRO. HUD declined to appeal the decision to award 309 housing authority’s $136 million withheld in 2012 operating reserve offsets. We were not a party in the original lawsuit but have joined the second lawsuit. If successful we could receive $89,039. which would be added to our public housing reserve. There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 7:40 pm. Respectfully submitted Jo Ann Troiano, Secretary -2-