June 15, 2023 Board Meeting Minutes

REGULAR BOARD MEETING
Elkhart Housing Authority
June 15, 2023

The Board of Commissioners for the Housing Authority, City of Elkhart met in regular attendance at 4:30 p.m.; on Thursday, June 15, 2023.

Board Members Present: Willie Brown, Tonda Hines, Dan Boecher, Helenia Robinson, and Synthia Billings

Board Members Present Via Dial-In: None

Staff Members Present: Angelia Washington, Clarence Jones, Erik Mathavan, Todd Fielder, Jessica Brittain, Tasha Andrews, Tiphany Travet, and Teri Ivory

Harris Law Firm Attorney Present: Jewell Harris

Audience Members Present: Tamika Jones

Audience Concerns:
Former employee, Tamika Jones stated that she is here to submit a written request to the board members for a grievance. Attorney Harris stated that we will not hear Ms. Jones's concern today, but this is just a formal part of the process. Angelia asked Attorney Harris if she would receive a copy as well. Attorney Harris stated yes.
Approval of Minutes
- Exhibit A - Approval of Meeting Minutes - May 25, 2023, Regular Meeting
  Commissioners Brown, Hines, Boecher, Robinson, and Billings unanimously voted to approve the May25, 2023, board minutes.
Approval of Vouchers
- Exhibit B - Approval of Vouchers - May 25, 2023
  Commissioners Brown, Hines, Boecher, Robinson, and Billings unanimously voted to approve the May 25, 2023, vouchers.
Executive Director's Report
- Exhibit C - Executive Director's Report
  - Human Resources:
    Angelia reported 2 new hires, Brock Phillips, (General Maintenance Technician), and Josh Garnett, (General Maintenance Technician), and no ends of employment.
  - Comprehensive Improvements:
    - Scattered Sites:
      Demolition work on the Banneker Heights playground is complete and the old playground equipment has been removed. The contractor commenced work on the base concrete slope.
    - Riverside Terrace:
      Reith-Riley completed the re-pavement and re-striping of the parking lot areas. New metal handicapped parking signage to follow.
    - Washington Gardens:
      ServPro continued rehabilitation work of the 334-A Chapman Ave burn unit.
    - Waterfall High-Rise:
      No work at this time.
    - Rosedale High-Rise:
      OTIS continued to make progress on the modernization of the large passenger elevator. OTIS just about completed the buildout of the large cab itself.
    - COCC:
      No work during this time.
  - Housing Choice Voucher Program:
    Angelia reported for the month of May, 51 Annual Certifications were completed, 64 Interim Certifications Completed, 0 Unit transfers, 15 New Admissions and Absorbed Incoming Portabilities, 5 End of Participations, 67 Applications Remaining in Process, 706 Lease Ups on the last day of May, and 96% Lease-Up Percentage.
  - Family Self Sufficiency Programs:
    Angelia reported the Family Self Sufficiency program is currently serving 51 participants of which 27 participants are currently employed, 2 participants are enrolled in GED/HSE education programs, 9 participants are attending college, 4 participants are enrolled in job training programs, 8 participants are disabled or unable to work. 17 participants are currently earning escrow, $6,918 earned in escrow funds in May, and $134,538.08 total current escrow balance.
    
    Angelia stated that she has set up a meeting with HCV staff to discuss making the FSS graduations more celebratory. She said that she may make a public announcement to show all the good work that we are trying to do here.
  - Public Housing:
    Angelia reported Rosedale's Occupancy rate for the month of May is 97%, Washington Gardens Occupancy rate for the month of May is 98%, Waterfall Occupancy rate for the month of May is 97%, Scattered-Sites Occupancy rate for the month of May is 99% and Riverside's Occupancy rate for the month of May is 99%. Angelia went on to say Public Housing's overall Occupancy rate for the month of May is 98%. She also stated that public housing received 132 applications, mailed 265 orientation letters, processed 65 applications, approved 19 applications, denied 10 applications, and 40 applications were withdrawn. We received 13 homeless applications, and 0 application(s) were approved and waiting for an available unit. Angelia reported there were 13 new admissions and 11 move-outs in May.
    
    Commissioner Brown asked Angelia how quick the eviction process is. Angelia stated that it depends on the backlog of the court. Attorney Harris stated that we are at the mercy of the court, and we go whenever they set a date. He further stated that we do not have a lot of control over when we can get in. He said if there is a significant basis for emergency eviction, we can allege that, but it would have to be significant. Commissioner Boecher confirmed that an arrest is a lease violation but that doesn't necessarily mean eviction. Angelia went on to say that we get calls from time to time from residents and citizens reporting crime and they may complain because they feel like we haven't done anything about it, but we cannot share that information with the person who is calling to report the crime.
  - Maintenance:
    Angelia reported that 11 move-outs were received and 9 were completed, 2 emergency requests received and completed, 390 tenant requests received and 384 were completed; and there were 63 annual inspections received and 42 completed, totaling 437 completed work orders.
  - Financials and Write-Offs:
    Jessica Brittain reported for the month of May, Rosedale high-rise earned $28,539.00 in Revenue and $25,647.00 in Operating Subsidy Revenue. Jessica went on to say Rosedale high-rise had $45,321.00 in Expense without depreciation. Jessica reported Rosedale high-rise had a profit for the month of May in the amount of $8,865.00. The previous past due rent was $2,434.00, and the current past due rent is $1,947.00. The decrease in past due rent is $487.00.
    
    Jessica reported for the month of May, Washington Gardens earned $20,966.00 in Revenue and $75,210.00 in Operating Subsidy Revenue. Jessica went on to say Washington Gardens had $95,212.00 in Expense without depreciation. Jessica reported Washington Gardens had a profit for the month of May in the amount of $964.00. The previous past due rent is $30,046.00, and the current past due rent is 31,275.00. The increase in past due rent is $1,229.00.
    
    Jessica reported for the month of May, Waterfall high-rise earned $32,051.00 in Revenue and $42,605.00 in Operating Subsidy Revenue. Jessica went on to say Waterfall high-rise had $91,443.00 in Expense without depreciation. Jessica reported Waterfall high-rise had a profit for the month of May in the amount of $1,825.00. The previous past due rent is $5,742.00, and the current past due rent is $6,639.00. The increase in past due rent is $897.00.
    
    Jessica reported for the month of May, Scattered Sites earned $16,318.00 in Revenue and $9,525.00 in Operating Subsidy Revenue. Jessica went on to say Scattered Sites had $91,443.00 in Expense without depreciation. Jessica reported Scattered Sites had a loss for the month of May in the amount of $65,600.00. The previous past due rent was $17,610.00, and the current past due rent is $19,792.00. The increase in past due rent is $(2,182.00). Commissioner Boecher asked Jessica to explain the loss at Scattered Sites. Jessica stated that this loss was due to a lot of our fee-for-service maintenance guys getting called out.
    
    Jessica reported for the month of May, Riverside high-rise earned $38,450.00 in Revenue and $46,755.00 in Operating Subsidy Revenue. Jessica went on to say Riverside high-rise had $55,958.00 in Expense without depreciation. Jessica reported Riverside high-rise had a profit for the month of May in the amount of $29,247.00. The previous past due rent is $78.00, and the current past due rent is $(1219.00). The decrease in past due rent is $(1,297.00).
    
    Jessica reported for the month of May, COCC earned $179,702.00 in Revenue. Jessica went on to say the COCC had $129,999.00 in Expense without depreciation. Jessica reported the COCC had a profit for the month of May in the amount of $75,595.00.
    
    Jessica reported HCV had a profit for the month of May, in the amount of $272,407.00. The net position YTD is $243,838.00.
Old Business:
None at this time.
New Business:
- PHAS & Auditor
  Angelia asked the board to look at the PHAS (Public Housing Assessment System) score printouts that she sent. She said that the EHA has an overall score of 63 which means that we are a standard performer. She said this was due in part to our 0 score for the financial indicators. She said that we could have scored 25 points, but we scored 0 due to what HUD calls a late presumptive failure which was due to our auditor's error. She stated that HUD gave us two opportunities to correct our financial submission, but the auditor did not respond, and once he did, both deadlines had passed. She said that when she asked about appealing, she was told that this is the reason she can't appeal. Angelia stated that even though we lost 25 points, we are still a standard performer. She stated that Commissioner Robinson, Commissioner Hines, and Todd sat on the evaluation committee, and we have selected a new auditor that is required to put in the contract how they will address response errors and corrections when they are notified. She said that the new auditor stated that they would respond in 15 days which is the same deadline that HUD gives us. She further stated that this score just means that they will reassess our performance next year.
- Summer Youth Employment
  Angelia stated that for the past few years, she has implemented a summer youth employment program to give our public housing youth an opportunity for economic gain. She said that she has notified public housing residents that their children can apply for summer jobs here at the EHA. She stated that she was informed by HR that we have received eight applications so far, and we will start the hiring process next week. Commissioner Brown asked Angelia how many youths she will hire. Angelia stated that she will hire 4. The commissioners asked what their rate of pay would be and what job they would be doing. Angelia stated that their rate of pay will be $15 per hour, and they will be doing groundskeeping.
- Oakland Estates
  Angelia stated that she emailed everyone about a unit that someone was moving into and how they were going to increase the rent. She said that Oakland Estates is our rental company under Elkhart Community Housing Corporation, and she has tried to schedule a meeting to discuss an exploration of how to use the instrumentality that has been identified to us by Attorney Harris' office. She said that she hopes to get a meeting scheduled soon so that they can discuss those vacant lots that we own over there. She said that we have a mixture of about six homes and six vacant lots that Commissioner Boecher has talked about developing in the past, and she will have a unit on Fieldhouse as well as one on Markle.
- Hammond Visit
  Angelia stated that back in the Winter she and the commissioners talked about visiting Hammond, Indiana. She said that the Hammond Housing Authority also has a development company, and they have developed two affordable housing communities. Angelia talked about possibly taking a group trip to Hammond to explore those communities and speak with the executive director about development opportunities. Angelia asked the commissioners if they were ready to set a date now. Attorney Harris informed Angelia and the board that East Chicago has a development under construction right now, and it's a partnership deal involving tax credits. The commissioners agreed that they should check it out during their Hammond visit. Angelia suggested sending out dates to the commissioners. Commissioner Hines stated that a date after the end of June would work best for her. Commissioner Billings asked Angelia for the name of the housing development in East Chicago. She said that she will send everyone that information along with the dates.
Handouts:
None
Adjournment
Commissioner Willie Brown without any objections declared the June 15, 2023, Board of Commissioners' meeting adjourned at 5:00 P.М.

Signed July 27, 2023
Willie Brown, Commissioner
Angelia Washington, Executive Director