September 18, 2025 Board Meeting Minutes

REGULAR BOARD MEETING
Elkhart Housing Authority
September 18, 2025

The Board of Commissioners for the Housing Authority, City of Elkhart, met in regular attendance at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 18,2025.

Board Members Present: Willie Brown, Dan Boecher, Kristen Smole, Loria Mayes, Synthia Billings, Helenia Robinson, and Sandi Schreiber

Board Members Present Via Dial-In: Helenia Robinson via Teams.

Staff Members Present: Amy Gonzalez, Erik Mathavan, Nekisha Roberson, Olesia Melnyk, Redginald Norris, Terrance Trotter, Teri Ivory, and Morgan Gibson-Day.

Harris Law Firm Attorney Present: Nick Snow via Teams

Audience Members Present: None.

Audience Concerns:
None.
Approval of Minutes
- Exhibit A - Approval of Meeting Minutes - August 21, 2025, Regular Meeting
  All commissioners present voted to approve the August 21, 2025, meeting minutes.
- July Financial Report
  - AMP 261 - Rosedale
    Revenue $309,759.00
    Expenses $354,172.00
    YTD End of July - Loss $(54,093.00)
  - AMP 262 - Washington Gardens
    Revenue $617,136.00
    Expenses $645,703.00
    YTD End of July - Loss $(76,129.00)
  - AMP 263 - Waterfall
    Revenue $388,225.00
    Expenses $414,096.00
    YTD End of July - Loss $(58,798.00)
  - AMP 264 - Scattered Sites
    Revenue $279,879.00
    Expenses $302,499.00
    YTD End of July - Loss $(37,661.00)
  - AMP 267 - Riverside
    Revenue $356,211.00
    Expenses $388,228.00
    YTD End of July - Loss $(25,819.00)
  - Fund 110 - СОСC
    Revenue $1,048,600.00
    Expenses $1,063,990.00
    YTD End of July - Loss $(15,390.00)
  - Fund 800 - HCV
    Revenue $326,043.00
    Expenses $400,833.00
    YTD End of July - Loss $(57,743.00)
  - Marsha's Report:
    Marsha thanked the board for their support with the sudden death of one of our employees. She said that she will be attending her funeral service on Saturday on behalf of the agency, and Alicia and Diona Jones from South Bend have been working together, and Diona will fill in until we can hire someone to fill Lori's position. Marsha thanked the board for allowing her to close the agency, and she thanked Teri for coordinating counseling services for EHA employees struggling with the recent loss.
    
    Marsha said that there were some formats for logos done for us at no charge. She asked the commissioners to state which logo they liked and to email Morgan with comments. She said that she sent the board chair the contract for the website. She said we are going to piggyback on Norwalk, Connecticut, so it does not have to go out for bid. She said that the same company is designing the logo, and they have about 200 housing authorities across the country that they do websites for, so they are very familiar with housing authorities. Marsha further stated that they created their logo in South Bend as well. Commissioner Smole asked if this company was familiar with integrating tenant services. Marsha said yes, we will have two-way communication, and we can send out forms. Marsha said that this would not replace Yardi; Yardi is more specific to the participant for paying rent and making interim changes. She said the website changes would be for things that we want the tenants to know about, like inspections and upcoming events for the Resident Council and the Resident Services Coordinator. Marsha informed the commissioners that she would bring the formal agreement to them during the next board meeting. She said that she would send a link to her website so they can look over it and see the work that they do.
- Exhibit C - Department Directors' Reports
  - Human Resources:
    Teri stated that for August, the EHA had 37 total employees, 36 full-time, one part-time, three vacancies, two new hires, and two separations. Vacancy Comments: 1 Custodian open position, 1 Recertification Specialist, and 1 Resident Service Coordinator. Retirement Comments: HVAC - Terry Waugh retiring September 26, 2025. The HVAC position is filled, and a new hire begins on 9/29/25. Recruitment and Retention Challenges: Accepting positions and then declining. Training and Development: August training programs offered by departments. Annual NAHRO Conference, Erik and Morgan attending 9/26-9/30. Community Outreach and Partnership: HR, FSS Coordinator, and PH Resident Coordinator participating in Full-Service Community Resource Fair. 9/11/2025 (Withdrew participation).
  - Comprehensive Improvements:
    - Scattered Sites:
      Kitchen Modernization - Exhaust Fan & Kitchen Cabinetry replacement, New Range Hood Installation - Alliance is putting together the final specs to bid out, most likely over the course of three phases, starting with Banneker Heights.
      
      Jetting and Camera Work of Toilet Plumbing - Scattered Sites to receive jetting, cleanout, and toilet plumbing over the course of the next 9 weeks.
    - Riverside Terrace:
      Kitchen Cabinet Upgrades - KCS Construction has completed the initial kitchen cabinet upgrades of the 66 units, and by 9/12, should be complete on the fixes called out during the inspection process.
      
      ElectriCorpe completed 5 of the 11 resident unit electrical panel upgrades, as well as completed 65 of the 77 resident unit LED lighting upgrades scheduled for the fiscal year.
      
      Alliance is working on putting together specs for the replacement of USPS mailboxes that will also provide for large parcel storage.
      
      Backup Generator Replacement - Work scheduled to commence mid-October.
    - Washington Gardens:
      No work during this time.
      
      The Housing Authority did apply but was not selected for A HUD Lead Hazards Grant to perform a lead risk assessment of the Washington Gardens buildings not tested in 2019. Alternate options are being explored.
    - Waterfall High-Rise:
      Shambaugh & Son continues to work on the retrofit of the fire sprinkler system throughout the building. They are currently working on the second-floor piping of the common hallway.
      
      Waterfall Offices Security Upgrade - scheduled to commence the 2nd week of October, slight delay due to the backorder on the windows.
      
      Backup Generator Replacement - work scheduled to commence mid-October.
    - Rosedale High-Rise:
      Slope fix on the new vestibule roof - R Yoder and Midland Engineering to correct slope on the newly installed roof by 9/12.
      
      Basement Piping Replacement - EJ White slated to start work the week of 9/22.
      
      Commissioner Boecher asked if there was work being done at the cost center. Marsha stated that changes are slated for the boardroom, and they are going to see what their options are and weigh the cost. She said that she, Morgan, and Teri decided that on October 10 and 11th,we are going to go through all of the offices, get some dumpsters, and get rid of all the stuff that we do not need. She said that they will remove the ceiling fans in the boardroom, paint, and replace the furniture. She said that it does not need to be bid out; they will take care of everything internally.
      
      Commissioner Smole asked Erik if lead testing had ever been done at Washington Gardens. Erik said that the most recent testing was done in 2019, and it was random sample testing. He said that they tested 29 units across 28 buildings; he said that there was one finding that they remediated right away. He said recently the city tested one building, but all four units came back negative for remediation.
      
      Marsha stated that she had a meeting with IESP regarding energy efficiency, and they have a federal grant to replace outdated appliances, so they will provide heaters, heat pumps, and stoves. She said it would include anything that is not heat-efficient, except for stoves. She said that she would be scheduling a meeting with this company, along with Erik, to see what we can do.
    - COCC:
      No work during this time.
  - Housing Choice Voucher Program:
    Amy reported for August, 54 Annual Certifications were completed, 77 Interim Certifications were completed, 6 Unit transfers, 0 New Admissions and Absorbed Incoming Portabilities, 4 End of Participations, 1 Application Remaining in Process, 651 Lease Ups on the last day of August, and 88% Lease-Up Percentage. The previous month's lease-up percentage: 89% The waitlist is closed.
  - Family Self Sufficiency Programs:
    Amy reported that the Family Self Sufficiency program is currently serving 58 participants, of which 36 participants are currently employed, 8 participants are attending college, 5 participants are disabled or unable to work, 21 participants are currently earning escrow, $7,810 earned in escrow funds in August, and $170,123.12 total current escrow balance.
  - Public Housing:
    Alicia reported that Rosedale's Occupancy rate for the month of August is 95%, Washington Gardens' Occupancy rate for the month of August is 97%, Waterfall Occupancy rate for the month of August is 97%, Scattered-Sites Occupancy rate for the month of August is 99% and Riverside's Occupancy rate for the month of August is 99%. Alicia went on to say that Public Housing's overall Occupancy rate for the month of August is 98%. She also stated that public housing received zero applications, mailed 0 orientation letters, processed zero applications, approved 0 applications, denied 0 applications, and no applications were withdrawn. The waitlist is closed. We received no homeless applications, and no application(s) were approved and waiting for an available unit. Alicia reported that there were 5 new admissions and 6 move-outs in August.
  - Maintenance:
    Todd reported that 6 move-outs were received and 6 were completed, 4 emergency requests were received and completed, 478 tenant requests were received, and 470 were completed; and there were 32 annual inspections received and completed, totaling 512 completed work orders.
Old Business:
New Business:
- Org Chart
  Teri stated that she just wanted to highlight the changes on the org chart. She said that they wanted to streamline things so that every person at the agency would not report to the executive director. She said that the finance department would report directly to Jessica Brittain, Erik, Morgan, Jessica, and Teri will still report to the executive director, and public housing, maintenance, and HCV will report to the deputy director, Erik. Teri stated the departments reporting to her as operations director are the front desk, IT, and the HR Specialist. She said that she thinks this will streamline things more and take a load off of the E.D. directly, and it allows the people who were hired to do the work that they were hired to do.
- Board Chair Kristen Smole's Comments
  Commissioner Smole requested that the board meet for an Executive Session to discuss redevelopment. She presented the other commissioners with a pamphlet and made arrangements with Helenia, who dialed in to give her a copy as well. Commissioner Smole said that her second topic concerns Marsha's contract. They discussed availability and decided on the following Monday, September 22. Attorney Snow expressed his concerns about posting the notice for the meeting so late. Morgan agreed to post the notice right away to limit the probability of being called out for a late notice posting. Marsha asked Attorney Snow to add the Executive Session to his and Attorney Harris' calendars, and she would let them know tonight if they needed to attend. Commissioner Shreiber asked what the difference was between public housing and Section 8. Marsha stated that public housing includes a multifamily building, and it is subsidized through capital funds, and we charge those tenants rent because we are the landlord. She said that with Section 8, which we call the housing choice voucher program, is vouchers where the family can participate in the open market and they can find where ever they choose to live as long as they are accepted by that landlord and the subsidy is in the forma of a voucher where we receive housing assistance payments from HUD that we use to pay a portion of the HCV participant's rent that they cannot afford to pay. Commissioner Shreiber asked if there were 5-year plans/annual plans that she would be able to look at. Marsha said yes, those plans should be on our website.
  
  Commissioner Robinson expressed concern about posting a late notice for the meeting. Morgan informed her that the notice was just sent to the printer, and she would be posting it momentarily. Commissioner Robinson asked Attorney Snow what the consequences were for posting a late notice. Attorney Snow stated that it would become a complaint to the public access counselor; he said that they might find it to be an illegal meeting, and one of the consequences would be that the meeting would be invalid. He said if Monday works best for everyone, then something serious coming from posting the notice late would be really low.
Handouts:
None
Adjournment
Commissioner Kristen Smole, without any objections, declared September 18, 2025, Board of Commissioners' meeting adjourned at 5:18 P.M.

Signed October 27, 2025
Kristen Smoke, Commissioner
Marsha Parham-Green, Transition Consultant