TOWN OF EAST HARTFORD
740 MAIN STREET
TOWN COUNCIL CHAMBERS
JUNE 28, 2012
SPECIAL JOINT MEETING – EAST HARTFORD HOUSING AUTHORITY
PRESENT Chair Richard F. Kehoe, Majority Leader Barbara-Ann Rossi, Councillors Marc I. Weinberg, Linda A. Russo,
Ram Aberasturia, and Patricia Harmon
ABSENT Vice Chair William P. Horan, Jr. Minority Leader Eric A. Thompson
ALSO
PRESENT East Hartford Housing Authority Commissioners: Robert Keating, Chair;
James Kate, James Patterson, Hazelann Cook, and Prescille Yamamoto
Ralph Alexander, Attorney, East Hartford Housing Authority
Debra Bouchard, Executive Director, East Hartford Housing Authority
Joseph Regan, Finance Director, East Hartford Housing Authority
CALL TO ORDER
Rich Kehoe, Town Council Chair, called the meeting to order at 6:40 p.m. He announced the exit locations from the Chamber in accordance
with Connecticut General Statutes §29-381, after which the Council joined him in the pledge of allegiance.
The Chair indicated that public comment would be the first order of business and then the Housing Authority would summarize their progress over the last few months.
The following citizens came forward:
Susan Kniep, 50 Olde Roberts Street, (1) read from the April 1, 2011 letter from the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to the East Hartford Housing Authority (EHHA) wherein it stated that funds were improperly used and must be reinstated to HUD; (2) inquired on the process implemented to hire legal counsel for the EHHA; (3) strongly urges the EHHA to post minutes and agendas to the town’s website, if the EHHA cannot construct their own website; (4) believes that access to EHHA meetings does not follow FOI procedures; (5) asked that the EHHA hold Commissioner meetings in the late afternoon or early evenings to accommodate EHHA tenants; (6) stated that all Council liaisons should report the progress of the agency they are assigned to on a regular basis to the Council; and (7) drew an analogy between the
federal government’s investigation of the Community Renewal Team’s (CRT) misappropriation of funds and the EHHA’s Recovery Agreement with HUD.
Mary Hill, 53 King Court, president of the King Court Tenants’ Association, stressed the spirit of community among King Court residents. Additionally, Ms. Hill said that information to the tenants, including minutes and agendas, is not readily available to them.
Todd Andrews, Vice President, College Relations and Advancement for Goodwin College, spoke to the issue of obtaining the vacant units at King Court which would satisfy the need for additional housing for students attending Goodwin College. He stressed that the college wants to work cooperatively with the existing King Court tenants.
Public comment being over, the Chair called upon the East Hartford Housing Authority for their update on King Court.
Debra Bouchard, Executive Director, stated that one of the suggestions from HUD was for EHHA to partner with a larger Housing Authority to work with a development team to provide options for King Court including the sale of the entire facility, partial sale or renovation. The EHHA has reached out to the Bridgeport Housing Authority to accomplish this. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed by the EHHA, and it is expected that the Bridgeport Housing Authority will sign the MOU in the next couple of days. Additionally, Ms. Bouchard stated that HUD wants a proposal for restoring funds to the EHHA’s section 8 and Columbus Circle accounts by August 16, 2012.
Ralph Alexander, Attorney for the East Hartford Housing Authority, summarized the King Court process to date for the Council; public input was heard and considered at the joint meeting between the EHHA and the Town Council held on January 31, 2012; an RFQ was created for discussion purposes only; King Court residents were provided information on what their rights were under the new resident participation agreement. As time progressed, the EHHA believed that the redevelopment of King Court was such a major project as to require expertise from outside the EHHA. Meetings with HUD, Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, Department of Economic and Community Development, resulted in the partnering of the Bridgeport Housing Authority (BHA) – an authority that has the technical resources and the experience for larger redevelopment
projects. Partnering with BHA is far more cost effective than the EHHA hiring contractors, architects, planners, etc. The BHA will be technical advisors to the EHHA and will be compensated for their time under the provisions of the MOU – which will clearly state all the services being provided to the EHHA. Attorney Alexander stated that the BHA will provide the EHHA the impetus to move forward with a plan for King Court, which should be in place in the next 60 to 90 days with three options: first, sell King Court outright; second, sell part of King Court and retain part; third, keep King Court and redevelop it.
At this point, the Chair allowed the Councillors to ask questions of the EHHA on the disposition of King Court:
Majority Leader Barbara Rossi stated that she agrees with the partnership with Bridgeport, since they are one of the more successful Housing Authorities regarding redevelopment. Councillor Rossi (1) inquired on how the BHA employees will be reimbursed for their services; (2) asked if the EHHA will apply for state monies that Governor Malloy announced today are available to area housing authorities; and (3) inquired on the timeline for how long any one of the three options would take to accomplish.
Councillor Ram Aberasturia asked (1) if the redevelopment plan set forth by the BHA for the disposition of King Court is financially feasible for the EHHA to implement; (2) what steps will the EHHA take to assure Housing Authority residents that the agency is financially stable; (3) once the EHHA partners with BHA, what is the timeline for reporting to the residents, and the Council, as to how the plan is working; (4) how many hours per week does the EHHA budget for legal counsel; (5) what can the EHHA do to facilitate information to the residents; (6) if thought has been given to changing the EHHA meetings from noontime to late afternoon or early evening to accommodate residents; and (7) believes that once the EHHA reports their payback plan to HUD on August 16, 2012, they should present that plan to the Town Council.
Councillor Pat Harmon (1) asked for a clearer understanding of what the financial impact will be to the EHHA once the partnership with BHA is in force; and (2) inquired if Ms. Bouchard’s salary is an increase over the previous Executive Director’s salary. Additionally, Councillor Harmon asked if Ms. Bouchard has recently received a salary increase; (3) asked what line items in the EHHA’s current budget have been reduced so as to incur savings.
Councillor Linda Russo (1) asked for a clarification on the HUD directive as it deals with King Court – which is changing the focus of that disposition from the sale of King Court to the redevelopment of King Court; (2) stated that EHHA is working collaboratively with the HUD regional office to keep them apprised of the progress of the EHHA’s recovery agreement; and (3) inquired on when the bulletin board requested by Ms. Hill will be constructed and installed.
Councillor Marc Weinberg (1) inquired on the number of units that are occupied at King Court; and (2) asked why the styles of buildings vary and what is the qualifying criterion, if any, for leasing the different styles.
Chair Kehoe (1) asked if the technical assistance that the BHA will bring to the EHHA will be listed in the MOU; (2) inquired on how much money is currently budgeted for the services that would be made pursuant to the MOU with the BHA – not including pre-development funds which may be provided through CHFA; (3) strongly suggested that the EHHA develop their own website; and (4) wanted to clarify that with regard to the August 16th deadline for the payback plan to HUD, if that means that the BHA services and options will be in place; (5) asked what progress the EHHA anticipates with the BHA partnership, i.e., analyses of each housing project, recommendations, etc.; and (6) once the MOU is signed, any steps that are taken towards recovery should be in writing so that all parties involved are cognizant of what progress
is being made, along with a list of options for the resolution of any problems.
The Chair moved the discussion from King Court to a broader review of the EHHA’s operations:
Deb Bouchard gave an overview of the progress made on the Recovery Agreement. Some of the EHHA accomplishments are: (1) developed a balanced budget for the last fiscal year; (2) selected an Executive Director; (3) selected a Finance Director; (4) selected an Attorney; (5) provided much needed training for some EHHA staff workers; (6) provided procurement training in-house as well as National Association of the Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) training; (7) updated bylaws and office policies; (8) provided software training with an emphasis on the financial area; (8) project based accounting for all the EHHA staff; (9) fraud and income verification training; (10) current with all accounts payable – there are no delinquencies; (11) rent collection rates are over 95%; (12) occupancy rates, excluding King Court, for
federal programs are approximately 99%; and (13) is current with PILOT payments to the town.
Ms. Bouchard stated that the main focus of the EHHA within the context of the Recovery Agreement is the disposition of King Court, the plan for the payback of the inter-program funds, and working towards developing an asset management approach to provide better management of Housing Authority resources. She also commented that HUD marked the EHHA as a standard performer with their Section 8 housing, a grade up from the “troubled” status that the EHHA formerly held.
At this point, the Chair allowed the Councillors to ask questions of the EHHA on their operations:
Councillor Linda Russo (1) asked for the EHHA’s May 30, 2012 operating statement and inquired if the agency is consistently balancing their monthly budget; (2) asked if there was a cost analysis prepared which indicates what the financial impact would be for the EHHA to create their own website; (3) inquired on how long it would take for the EHHA to get their own website operating; and (4) strongly supports the inclusion of some evening meetings to accommodate the residents of EHHA properties, so that they are better informed of the agency’s operations; (5) inquired where the issues of Veteran’s Terrace are addressed in the Recovery Agreement and what is the plan to correct any deficiencies at Veteran’s Terrace; and (6) asked for the current staffing level at the EHHA.
Councillor Barbara Rossi (1) asked if the EHHA has met the target dates listed in the Recovery Agreement; (2) inquired on the occupancy rate and management at Veteran’s Terrace.
Councillor Ram Aberasturia asked what the timeline is for economic viability with the EHHA.
Councillor Marc Weinberg asked if the EHHA tried their best to meet target dates in the Recovery Agreement.
Chair Kehoe summarized the progress of the EHHA as follows: (1) steps have been taken to enhance the training of staff to change the process by which purchases are made and money is expended; (2) revamped the operating budget; (3) the lay-off of employees which resulted in operating a balanced budget each month; (4) going forward, EHHA will concentrate on section 8 housing, Veteran’s Terrace, King Court – getting more efficiencies out of the use of their assets; and (5) inquired what the new process will be for appointing a tenant commissioner.
The Chair requested that the EHHA (1) supply a copy of the MOU with BHA to the Town Council, once finalized; (2) supply the timeline of what the consultant services will be doing; (3) hold evening meetings to accommodate residents; (4) post minutes, agendas, etc. to the town’s website until the EHHA creates their own website; and (5) meet with the Town Council to discuss the payback plan prior to submitting the plan to HUD on August 16, 2012.
ADJOURNMENT
MOTION By Marc Weinberg
seconded by Pat Harmon
to adjourn (8:50 p.m.)
Motion carried 6/0.
Attest____________________________
Angela M. Attenello
Town Council Clerk
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