December 19, 2024 Board Meeting Minutes

REGULAR BOARD MEETING
Elkhart Housing Authority
December 19, 2024

The Board of Commissioners for the Housing Authority, City of Elkhart met in regular attendance at 4:30 p.m.; on Thursday, December 19, 2024.

Board Members Present: Kristen Smole, Loria Mayes, Dan Boecher, Helenia Robinson, and Cynthia Billings

Board Members Present Via Dial-In: None.

Staff Members Present: Angelia Washington, Erik Mathavan, Amy Gonzalez, Julie Stebbins, Alicia Kimble, Nekisha Roberson, Danielle Gilbert, Tiphany Trivet, Stephanie McMorris, Olesia Melnyk, and Morgan Gibson-Day.

Harris Law Firm Attorney Present: Nick Snow via Ascension Meeting.

Audience Members Present: None.

---

• Audience Concerns:
  None.
  
  
• Approval of Minutes
  
  
  • Exhibit A - Approval of Meeting Minutes - November 21, 2024, Regular Meeting
    All commissioners present voted to approve the November 21, 2024, meeting minutes.
    
    
• Approval of Vouchers
  
  
  • Exhibit B - Approval of Vouchers - November 21, 2024
    All commissioners present voted to approve the November 21, 2024, vouchers.
    
    
• Executive Director's Report
  
  
  • Exhibit C - Executive Director's Report
    
    
    • Human Resources:
      Angelia reported one ended employment, Kennedy Lafayette.
      
      
    • Comprehensive Improvements:
      
      
      • Scattered Sites:
        Griffen Heating & Plumbing completed work on the replacement of the sanitary lines for twenty-four units from the kitchen to the main sanitary line at the Banneker Heights community. Griffen also replaced the shutoff valves and plumbing underneath the sink of those units.
        
        
      • Riverside Terrace:
        R. Yoder continued work on the kitchen cabinet upgrade project. Specifically, they placed a new order for the remaining kitchen cabinets on three units that were incorrect upon delivery.
        
        
      • Washington Gardens:
        Monroe Restoration commenced insurance claim work at 335-A Chapman Ave for the repair of the interior drywall and studs damaged by the car into the building.
        
        
      • Waterfall High-Rise:
        Schwartz Electric continued work on the fire panel upgrade. Specifically, they worked on the installation of the new fire panel and annunciator on the ground floor.
        
        Schuster Sheet Metal completed the replacement work of all 7 rooftop exhaust fans and dampers. Erik stated that the air handler went down a few weeks ago, and they replaced the motor. He said
        that it ran for a couple of days and then the air pressure switch went down. He said that it is currently running but it is only blowing temperatures between 50-60 degrees. He said that he is looking to have it replaced in the spring with a brand-new air handler. Commissioner Smole asked if there was any way to get it sooner. Erik said that the air handler is being delivered on Monday, but the guys need 2-3 weeks of warm climate to install it. Commissioner Mayes asked what would happen if the air handler died during the Winter. Erik said that they have a couple of options, but neither is that great. He said he discussed it with E.J. White and the climate outside should be between 50-60 degrees. Angelia said that she wanted to alert the board to the cost because they have to get it repaired each time it goes down. Commissioner Billings stated that she was told that HUD regulations stated that the common areas have to be at least 65 degrees. Angelia informed Commissioner Billings that there are no regulations for the common areas, only inside the units which have to be at least 68 degrees. Erik said that the downstairs at Riverside is actually a weather haven and is 70 degrees because the first-floor rooftop units are brand new. Commissioner Smole asked if there was any way to supplement the heat in the hallways and common areas. Angelia stated that she and Erik did look into that, but they had to look at fire hazards, so they do not know about putting space heaters in the halls. Erik said as a backup they could put in stand-alone forced air heaters but their concern with those is theft. He said that they did do a round of preventative maintenance before, but it was a question of how far they wanted to be in the hole financially.
        
        Commissioner Billings informed Angelia that she is hearing a lot of complaints from residents about receiving $200-$300 electric bills. She said that she has a large gap under her door and cold air is coming in. She asked if it could be covered with something. Angelia stated that any resident that has heating concerns should call in a work order and if that work order was not processed, we can go back and see why. Angelia explained that when the air handler first went down, she came to Riverside and knocked on doors to check the temperatures of the individual units and every unit she checked was 68 degrees or higher. She said that she advised the residents who opened their doors to notify her directly so that she could make sure that their heating concerns were addressed. She said that she shared the air handler concern with the resident council and she asked them to communicate the concern to their neighbors and if anyone had any concerns, let the housing authority know, and our maintenance department will address it. She said that she felt that this was the proper procedure when addressing the heating concern. Commissioner Smole said if there is an influx of calls it may not be a bad idea to issue a notice informing residents on what they can do like installing weather stripping for example. Angelia said that is why she asked Todd about the call volume because if there were a sudden influx of calls that would entail a deeper problem. She said that we encourage our residents to call the maintenance department directly.
        
        
      • Rosedale High-Rise:
        No work at this time.
        
        
      • COCC:
        No work during this time.
        
        
    • Housing Choice Voucher Program:
      Angelia reported for the month of November, 45 Annual Certifications were completed, 63 Interim Certifications Completed, 3 Unit transfers, 3 New Admissions and Absorbed Incoming Portabilities, 2 End of Participations, 7 Applications Remaining in Process, 674 Lease Ups on the last day of November and 91% Lease-Up Percentage.
      
      
    • Family Self Sufficiency Programs:
      Angelia reported the Family Self Sufficiency program is currently serving 55 participants of which 32 participants are currently employed, 5 participants are attending college, 6 participants are disabled or unable to work, 17 participants are currently earning escrow, $9,025.58 earned in escrow funds in November, and $172,697.73 total current escrow balance.
      
      
    • Public Housing:
      Angelia reported Rosedale's Occupancy rate for the month of November is 93%, Washington Gardens Occupancy rate for the month of November is 96%, Waterfall Occupancy rate for the month of November is 99%, Scattered-Sites Occupancy rate for the month of November is 99% and Riverside's Occupancy rate for the month of November is 99%. Angelia went on to say Public Housing's overall Occupancy rate for the month of November is 97%. She also stated that public housing received 71 applications, mailed 50 orientation letters, processed 36 applications, approved 24 applications, denied six applications, and 6 applications were withdrawn. We received no homeless applications, and 24 application(s) were approved and waiting for an available unit. Angelia reported there were 13 new admissions and 13 move-outs in November. Commissioner Boecher asked if it was a typo that there is no rent roll listed for Scattered Sites. Alicia said that it was not a typo, Scattered Sites did not generate any revenue. Angelia stated that she believes that enhancing our Scattered Sites properties will help to generate more income-earning residents.
      
      
    • Maintenance:
      Angelia reported that 13 move-outs were received and nine were completed, seven emergency requests were received and completed, 655 tenant requests were received and 640 were completed; and there were 44 annual inspections received and 33 completed, totaling 689 completed work orders.
      
      
    • Financials and Write-Offs:
      Julie stated that there was a net loss in November in the amount of $851,549. She said that this does not include the 1406 CFP operations draw, or the 10% CFP administration draw. She said that this would help the bottom line by $639,000. She said that it was posted to our bank on December 9. She said at the rate we are going; the financials will be negative $200,000. She said the lower rents are a contributing factor as well as insurance costs and several other reasons. She said that the EHA is also watching its spending.
      
      
• Old Business:
  
  
  • Maintenance Wages
    Angelia stated that she included the current wages for all of our maintenance staff in the board packet. She said that she wanted the board to see the salaries compared to the recent salary study that the EHA just conducted. She said that the groundskeepers and the high-rise custodians are paid more than the median. She said that the biggest difference that was found between the Nelrod salary study recommendations and what we are currently paying was $1.30. She said that this is just base pay, we also pay 12.5% of all staff's annual income into their retirement plan on a monthly prorated basis and the HA also pays 80% of all staff's insurance coverage. She said that the EHA's pay, and benefits package is really good compared to the salary study. Angelia stated that she wanted to provide this information to the commissioners, and she is open to suggestions.
    
    
  • Elkhart Police Department Interlocal Agreement
    Angelia stated that she, Alicia, and the EHA's security liaison Cordell, met with the Elkhart Police Department and they discussed services that they will provide. She said that they came up with a good plan to move forward on and now they just need to send it back to their attorney. She said once the attorney sends it back, she will present it to the board for approval.
    
    
• New Business:
  
  
  • Resolution 24:21 - A Resolution to Award the Contract for Renovation of Vestibule at Rosedale High Rise
    Erik stated that this renovation would entail replacing the TCP, and roof membrane, upgrading the storefront, automated operating doors with ADA functionality, upgrading glass, new lighting on the outside, and patching the concrete on the underside. He said that there was only one bidder for $188,000 and that was R. Yoder. Commissioner Boecher asked Erik if this would be paid for using capital funds and Erik said yes. All commissioners present voted to approve resolution 24:21.
    
    
  • Resolution 24:22 - A Resolution to Approve the Annual Agency Plan
    Angelia stated that the annual plan is a derivative of the five-year plan. She said that every year HUD requires housing authorities to submit their annual plan for work that will be done to improve the safety and appearance of its properties. She further stated that the five-year plan is a rolling plan that has more long-term goals for the housing authority. She said that the five-year plan drives all of the applications for our capital grant funding. She said that if we did not have the annual plan in place then  we would not be awarded the approval of our grant fund application. She said that most of the work that we have listed on our annual plan is driven by our Physical Needs Assessment that was conducted in 2021, and we want to pay close attention to everything that the contractor recommended, and have it replaced as soon as possible so that further deterioration does not occur. She said that HUD requires housing authorities to submit an annual plan on an annual basis and that is what this packet consists of. Commissioner Smole stated that she had one change that she would like to ask commissioners for a motion for. She said it was located in section B2 of the annual plan regarding the choice neighborhood grant. She said that it needs to be amended. She asked for a motion to amend the plan to have it changed to "yes." All commissioners present voted to amend section B2: Choice Neighborhoods. All commissioners present voted to approve the annual agency plan.
    
    
• Handouts: 2025 PHADA Scholarship Program
  Angelia stated that PHADA awards three memberships on an annual basis to public housing or HCV youth who are graduating high school in the spring. She said that they have made Elkhart Community Schools, Concord Community Schools, and Tolson Center  aware of these scholarships as well as our program participants. She said that there is a posting in the lobby and on the website and she has asked public housing and HCV staff to make their program participants aware.
  
  
• Adjournment
  Commissioner Kristen Smole without any objections declared the December 19, 2024, Board of Commissioners' meeting adjourned at 5:03 P.M.

Signed January 16, 2025
Willie Brown, Commissioner
Angelia Washington, Executive Director