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HomeMy Public PortalAboutHousing Authority -- 2016-03-17 Minutes Minutes of the Meeting BREWSTER HOUSING AUTHORITY Board of Commissioners March 17, 2016 Date: March 17, 2016 Time: 5:30 PM Location: Brewster Housing Authority, Community Room, 11 Frederick Court, Brewster, MA Members Present: Barbara Burgo, Robert Hooper, and Brian Harrison, Members Absent: Leonard Avery and Mary Haynes Others Present: Leila Botsford,Executive Director/Managing Agent, and Zachary Volpicelli List of documents and other exhibits used at the meeting and retained at the Authority's office: • Meeting Notice/Agenda • Minutes of the meeting held February 18, 2016 • 4001 Warrant for February 2016 • MRVP Warrant for February 2016 • Executive Director's report February 2016 • Financial Reports dated February 8, 2016 • DHCD Public Housing Notice 2016-03 • Email from DHCD re: training April 29 • Resignation letter from Mary Haynes dated March 1, 2016 DECISIONS MADE/ACTION TAKEN ARE IN BOLD - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - l. CALL TO ORDER AND ATTENDANCE Robert Hooper convened the regular meeting of the Brewster Housing Authority's Board of Commissioners at 5:35 PM in the Community Room of 11 Frederick Court, Brewster, MA. MEMBERS PRESENT: Robert Hooper,Barbara Burgo, and Brian Harrison MEMBERS ABSENT: Mary Haynes and Len Avery Jr. 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA A motion to approve the agenda was made by Brian Harrison seconded by Barbara Burgo and voted unanimously. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Page 1 of 4 A. The minutes for the regular meeting of February 18, 2016 were reviewed and a motion to approve was made by Barbara Burgo, seconded by Brian Harrison and voted unanimously. 4. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION The chair asked Mr. Volpicelli if he had any comments. Mr. Volpicelli stated that the presentation last month was reassuring. 5. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT A. DHCD issued a Public Housing Notice earlier this month. A copy is provided to all members. In this notice,they indicate that board member contact information(addresses and emails)must now be provided in the LHA Board Meetings Attendance Page on the DHCD website. Leila will input this information. B. A communication from DHCD was just received today via email. Under the new law,they are starting to implement Board Member Training. They are looking for one member of each board to attend a training in Franklin on Friday, April 29 from 8 AM—about 1:30 PM. Lunch will be provided. Barbara Burgo volunteered to attend and everyone thanked her for doing so. 6. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT Mrs. Botsford mentioned that she previously sent out her report for the month of February, and added the following: • All regular rents are paid in full at Frederick Court and at Huckleberry • We are 100%occupied at Frederick Court. We currently have 3 vacancies at Huckleberry; Mrs. Botsford reviewed the financial reports with the board. Mrs. Botsford then brought to the board's attention that we are still having problems with the dumpster and trash situation at Huckleberry Lane/Sunny Pines. Some residents are overflowing the dumpster or leaving things by the dumpsters that cannot go in. We end up having to take things to the dump at our cost. Additionally, if trash is not put in dumpster correctly,trash ends up blowing all over the property and we have to spend time picking it up. Residents have been asked to take care and dispose of garbage properly,but the problem persists. Mrs. Botsford stated that the dumpster company has been contacted and we can change our pick up to twice a week(one dumpster instead of two) and the cost will go up, which the tenants have to pay for. The other option would be to remove the dumpsters completely and then the residents would be responsible for taking their own garbage to the transfer station. Ms. Burgo suggested that maybe we could give one final notice to the residents and give it a few months to improve before we decide to change things. Mrs. Botsford stated that she can do that and report back in July as to how things were going. Mrs. Botsford then stated that she had received the annual communication from the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development indicating the minimum pay rate for the Maintenance Laborer. It indicates a very small increase of just over I%. Mrs. Botsford Page 2 of 4 requested that the board consider issuing Mr. Doyle an increase of 4% over that, as he is a very valuable employee who works very hard, gets along terrifically with residents, and has become a wonderful member of our team. Brian Harrison made a motion to approve the requested increase in the Maintenance Laborer's pay. Barbara Burgo seconded the motion which passed unanimously. Mrs. Botsford thanked the board and stated that she knows Mr. Doyle will be pleased. She will put the increase into effect April 1. 7. CORRESPONDENCE none not already mentioned. 8. OLD BUSNIESS A. CPC update(Barbara Burgo): Ms. Burgo stated that she attended the last meeting. She was asked how the Brewster Woods process was going and assured them that things were moving along. Mrs. Botsford mentioned that she also issued a written report to Mr. Ruchinskas. B. Brewster Woods Proposal Review: The Chair mentioned that the presentation last month was very good. He felt that all of our questions had been answered; however, with Mr. Avery and Ms. Haynes not present, he personally did not want to move ahead with making a decision yet,because it should be a decision made by the whole board. Ms. Burgo mentioned that she thought the development had many benefits and that there could be an adjustment period for people not used to living in that type of development. Mr. Harrison mentioned that he still didn't personally prefer the design as it didn't seem typical of Brewster. A consensus was reached that the design would not necessarily appeal to everyone, and that since this was such a big decision, the full board should be present to vote. It was agreed that we table this item until Mr. Avery has had a chance to review it and come to a meeting and discuss. 9. NEW BUSINESS none 10. TOPICS THE CHAIR DID NOT REASONABLY ANTICIPATE The Chairman reported that he had received a letter of resignation from Mary Haynes effective immediately. With her position open, and Mr. Harrison's term expiring in May, the board will be down to only three members unless the vacancies are filled. Mr. Harrison stated that, although he is ready to retire from the board after 22 years, he would be willing to fill the remaining year on Mary's term until someone else can run. Mrs. Botsford will get in touch with Town Hall to see what the next steps are. Mrs. Botsford will also send a letter on behalf of the housing authority thanking Ms. Haynes for her years of service on the Board of Commissioners. 11. BILLS The Warrants were presented for approval for the period of February 2016. Brian Harrison made a motion to approve the bills and sign the checks presented. Barbara Burgo seconded the motion which passed unanimously. The next meeting will be Thursday, April 21, 2016 unless changed beforehand. 12. ADJOURNMENT Page 3 of 4 Brian Harrison made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Barbara Burgo seconded the motion which was voted unanimously. The meeting was adjourned by roll call vote at 6:30 p.m. Respe s ?,m,,' ted, ila Bots � rd' IX , MP , PHM, C9P '.,,Executive irector' aging Agent Secretary Ex-Officio Page 4 of 4