East Windsor Housing Authority
Regular Meeting – January 20, 2009
Minutes
CALL TO ORDER AND ATTENDANCE
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Chairman Boutin. Commissioners LaMay, Lamb, Legassie and Percoski were present along with Dale Nelson, our liaison to the Board of Selectman.
ADDED AGENDA ITEMS
The following items were added to the agenda:
Response to January 17, 2009 resident social
Committee to establish candidate questions and job description for the position of Executive Director
Increase in cell phone stipend
MEETING MINUTES OF:
Regular Meeting – December 15, 2008
The minutes of the regular meeting of December 15, 20008 were reviewed by all Commissioners present. A motion was made by Commissioner Percoski, seconded by Commissioner LaMay to accept the minutes of December 15, 2008 as presented.
Percoski/LaMay Unanimous
Special Meeting – December 29, 2008
The minutes of the Special Meeting of December 29, 2008 were reviewed by all commissioners present. A motion was made by Commissioner Percoski, seconded by Commissioner Legassie to accept the minutes of December 29, 2008 as presented.
Percoski/Legassie Unanimous
BILLS AND COMMUNICATIONS
Check Register – December 17, 2008 – January 14, 2009
The check register for December 17, 2008 through January 14, 2009 was reviewed by all commissioners present and all questions answered. A motion was made by Commissioner Legassie, seconded by Commissioner LaMay to accept the check register of December 17, 2008 – January 14, 2009 as presented
Legassie/LaMay Unanimous
Bank Reconciliation December, 2008
The Bank Reconciliation of December, 2008 was reviewed by all commissioners present.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
There were no Public Comments
REPORTS OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
We have taken possession of our new tractor which is a Mahindra with a bucket loader. The boys love the new tractor and it has made snow removal a lot easier.
Cable TV has been added to the community hall with the cost set at $38.14/month and the first four (4) months will be $19.07 a month. It is hoped that with the addition of cable to the community hall TV that more residents will utilize the hall.
A newsletter informing the residents of what has been happening since the death of Steve Knibloe was distributed the week after Christmas.
There is still one apartment available for immediate occupancy, with two more becoming vacant as of January 31st. As soon as these apartments are refurbished they will be rented.
USA Hauling will be removing the two dumpsters and replacing them with 2 8 yd dumpsters to be emptied once a week.
Letters have been sent to various civic organizations in the Town of East Windsor looking for donations of items, particularly a large screen TV for the community hall. The response has been very favorable and when any additional information is forthcoming it will be brought to the attention of the commissioners.
The residents in Apt. 51 have had their son living with them for the past several months. As this is a direct violation of their lease, a letter has been sent to them notifying them of same. A letter has been received back that the son has been working towards getting his workmen’s compensation benefits or social security disability and is having shoulder surgery in February. There was general discussion regarding this matter among the commissioners present, and it was a consensus that a letter would be forwarded to Elizabeth Burns, Human Services Coordinator (cc to Denise Menard, First Selectman) requesting that she assist this young man in finding emergency housing as soon as possible.
REPORTSOF COMMITTEES
Barbara LaMay reported that she is working with the Broad Brook Fire Department with regard to lock boxes and/or some type of key system which will make it easier for the Fire Department and the Police Department to respond to emergencies here at Park Hill. When any additional information is forthcoming it will be brought to the attention of the Commissioners.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
A) Ruth Medeiros, Apt. 32
The apartment was inspected by North Central Health and passed the inspection. She has been instructed to have the carpets thoroughly cleaned to rid the apartment of the cat odor. They will be back the first week of February to re-inspect the apartment.
B) Hearing – Gary Koehler
Due to the passing of Steve, the informal hearing schedule for December 29, 2008 was postponed. The new hearing has been scheduled for February 10, 2009 at 1:45 in Hartford. Chairman Boutin and Atty. Alexander will be attending the meeting as the representatives from the Housing Authority.
NEW BUSINESS
A) Purchase of new filing cabinets
Chairman Boutin explained to the Commissioners present that the filing cabinets in use in the office are extremely old and not big enough to hold all the files necessary. Two four drawer lateral filing cabinets can be purchased for a total of $661.00 for both. A motion was made by Commissioner Percoski, seconded by Commissioner Legassie to purchase the proposed filing cabinets.
Percoski/Legassie Unanimous
B) Request for Relocation – Apt. 11
The request for this relocation was discussed among the commissioners present. A motion was made by Commissioner LaMay, seconded by Commissioner Legassie to honor this relocation request. The tenant will be informed by letter of this decision, but that this will be the last move allowed for her at Park Hill.
C) Audit
The audit for the fiscal years ending June, 2007 and June, 2008 were reviewed by all commissioners present and all questions answered. Chairman Boutin took this opportunity to inform the commissioners present that due to the death of Steve, an additional audit has been called for by the attorney and the accountant has been informed. Darlene will be gathering all necessary information and working closely with Mr. Lagana to complete this audit in a timely manner.
D) January 17, 2009 Resident Social
A social/coffee hour was held for all the residents at Park Hill. The purpose of the social/coffee hour was for an open forum for the residents to have the opportunity to express their concerns and/or suggestions and for them to meet and greet all the commissioners.
The turn-out was very good and listed below are some of the suggestions/complaints that were voiced during the meeting:
The washers and dryers are filthy and need a good cleaning. MacGray has been contacted to come and clean the washers/dryers and lint vents in all three laundry rooms.
Mold on windows. This will be looked into by the Maintenance crew.
Roofs and gutters plugged up. This is being looked into by the Management sub-committee and the Maintenance Department.
Apt. 34 – bird feeders on either side of apartment and also feeding of animals. This will be looked into.
Receipts for rent payments. A new system for receipts for those that need them will be instituted as of February 1, 2009.
Feeding of animals – this will be looked into and steps taken to correct the situation.
Sidewalks repaired on certain levels. This will be looked into and hopefully repairs can be made in the Spring/Summer.
Alarms have not been checked in a couple of years – need to be rechecked. The testing of the alarms will be done by the maintenance department as time allows.
Some apartments have refrigerators that are not working properly. These will be looked into and corrective measures taken as necessary.
Some of the apartments have drafts from the windows and/or doors. This will be looked into and corrective measures taken as necessary.
Thermostats are getting old and may need to be replaced. This will be looked into and corrective measures taken as necessary.
Internet access for the rec room with computers. This issue was discussed among the commissioners present and it was a consensus of opinion that it is cost prohibitive to provide the residents access to computers and the internet in the community hall, and as such this suggestion will not be entertained at this time.
Gas being stolen from the 3rd level.
Draperies or valances for the Community Hall. This suggestion will be looked into – any additional information regarding this will be brought before the commission at a later date.
Rec hall not unlocked on weekend. The community hall will be open every day from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. including weekends. If the community hall has been rented for a particular day, a notice will be posted on the front door alerting residents to the fact that the community hall has been reserved for a private party.
List of rules and regulations for the residents of Park Hill. A booklet has been compiled and every resident will receive one when their re-certification is done.
Key holders. This issue will be looked into with a viable solution forthcoming in the near future.
E) Committee to establish candidate questions and job description for the position of Executive Director.
Chairman Boutin asked for two volunteers to compile a list of questions to be asked of every candidate and to come up with an appropriate Job description for the position of Executive Director. This committee will consist of Commissioner LaMay and Commissioner Percoski and they will report back to the Board of Commissioners at the next meeting which is scheduled for February 17, 2009.
F) Increase in Cell Phone Stipend
As Darrell Barkley conducts almost 75% of Park Hill business using his personal cell phone, it was a suggestion of Chairman Boutin that his stipend be increased to $20.00 a month beginning this month. After a general discussion regarding this matter among the commissioners present, a motion was made by Commissioner Legassie, seconded by Commissioner Lamb to increase the cell phone stipend to $20.00 starting this month.
Legasssie/Lamb Unanimous
POLICY AND PROCEDURES
There were no Policy and Procedures
EXECUTIVE SESSION
A) Personnel matters/tenant issues
A motion was made by Commissioner Percoski, seconded by Commissioner Legassie to go into Executive Session at 8:04 p.m. for the purpose of discussing personnel matters and tenant issues to include the Board of Commissioners only.
Percoski/Legasssie Unanimous
A motion was made by Commissioner Percoski, seconded by Commissioner LaMay to come out of Executive Session at 8:35 p.m.
Percoski/LaMay Unanimous
No action taken.
ADJOURNMENT
A motion was made by Commissioner Percoski, seconded by Commissioner LaMay to adjourn the regular meeting of the East Windsor Housing Authority at 8:45 p.m.
Percoski/LaMay Unanimous
Respectfully submitted,
Darlene H. Kelly
Recording Secretary
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