The Regular meeting of the LHA was held on Tuesday Apr.9, 2013 at 4:30 PM at the Curtis.
- The meeting was called to order by Chairman T. Sorrentino at 4:30 PM.
- Roll Call: Present – Tess Sorrentino/ Chairman
Catherine May, Vice Chairman/State Appointee
Diana Kirby, Marge Pero/Members
Martha Joyner/ Exec. Dir.
Absent - Jan Ward/Treasurer Others - None
No requests for agenda.
b. Minutes-March Regular meeting.
C. May made the motion to accept the minutes, M. Pero seconded. All in attendance voted in favor. Minutes will be forwarded to the town web site.
c. Accounts Payable/March
Accounts payable for March were approved. As of today the 4001 balance is approximately $37,000.00, transfer $ 4768.67 from 689 MMA to 4001, porch fund as of 3/31/13 was $ 2735.10, Feb. balance sheets were distributed, $1400.00 gas rebate was received, as of 4/1/13 the DLI rate for maintenance laborer increased .76/hr. C. May made the motion to approve the subsidy agreement for July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014, D. Kirby seconded and all in attendance voted in favor.M. Pero made the motion to approve the Contract for Accounting Services between Fenton, Ewald, & Assoc. and the LHA in the amount of $698/month, D. Kirby seconded, and all in attendance voted in favor. The vacant Unit Turnover Initiative request was submitted in the amount of $18,573.19. One outside paint item will be completed asap (weather) and may be
submitted at a later date.
It is noted that LHA was under the budget amount of $24,950.
d. Budget Certifications-draft letter, Mass NAHRO legal fund request
The board reviewed the letter drafted by Atty. LaFore stating board’s displeasure with budget certification requirements. After much discussion it was concluded that the letter was too harsh, had too much detail, needed to be time sensitive, should be softened and reduced to one page. Chairman Sorrentino and Exec. Dir. will go over it again before submittal to appropriate parties. LHA needs to have budgets approved. The request from Mass NAHRO regarding legal fund was denied – already pay dues, it seems they hired someone ahead of full funding to cover the expense.
- FY’14 Formula Funding project list
The LHA has received a project list for FY’14 formula funding. Exec. Dir. needs to review/discuss this list with DHCD project manager to make some adjustments. Some items that have been completed are still listed and other items are listed multiple times.
C. May made the motion to approve T. Sorrentino as signatore for the CFA amendment for FY’15 Formula Funding award. M. Pero seconded and all members in attendance voted in favor. C. May made the motion to approve the FY’15 Capital Improvement Work Plan 5001 amendment in the amount of $136,971.00 for a total of $415,415.20 which included FY’15 award of $128,271 and Health and Safety Initiative award of $8,700.00. M. Pero seconded and all in attendance voted in favor.
As of 4/1/13 Curtis 0, TT 0, families 1 (3 bed), due to transfer. Board members suggested asking town to advertise information regarding unit availability- could D. Roche announce at the next meeting?
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g. Public Housing Reform
Chairman T. Sorrentino met with Rep. Smitty Pignatelli on 4/1 to discuss status
Of the Governor’s proposed reform. Smitty reported that it will be taken up in the
Fall, assured that it will not get swept away or hurried along, going to take time, Mass
NAHRO proposal is popular and not a lot of interest in the Governor’s proposal. Could be
accomplished through attrition and voluntary collaboration.
Swing Set liability – DHCD Public Notice 2003-4 addresses tenant owned swing sets not LHA owned. The liability falls onto the authority with proper maintenance and records of proper maintenance. Our swing set seems very solid, should have safety fiber installed, and could use some new swings. Exec. Dir. will address asap. In the meantime the children have two close options for town owned/maintained playgrounds.
i. New Business
Amend current Non-Smoking Property Policy – following a short explanation M. Pero made the motion to adopt the amended version of the Non-Smoking Property Policy as read which includes “Purpose”, “Definition”, and “disclaimer” effective immediately. D. Kirby seconded and all members in attendance voted in favor. This will be made available to all current tenants.
Non- Smoking Property Policy/Lease Addendum - A discussion was held in the interest to mitigate the irritation and known health effects of smoking and secondhand smoke, the increased maintenance, cleaning, and redecorating costs from smoking, the increased risk of fire from smoking, and the higher costs of fire insurance for a non-smoke free building.
It was deemed appropriate to give present smokers enough time to decide whether to remain and not smoke, find other living arrangements, or stay as a tenant and smoke off the property. M. Pero made the motion to adopt the Non-Smoking Property Policy/Lease Addendum with an effective date of 10/1/13 and the policy/lease addendum as presented
and read (copy available). D. Kirby seconded and all members in attendance voted in favor. All current tenants will be notified of new policy and made aware of necessity to sign the addendum. Exec. Dir. will investigate free patches, grants for signage, and will make available to any interested parties cessation contact information.
Board member email addresses – DHCD already has C. May’s, Exec. Dir. will add
T. Sorrentino’s to cover request of two members.
Exec. Dir. evaluation- all members reviewed compiled information, no further comments at this time, no need for executive session.
T. Sorrentino adjourned the meeting at 6:40 PM.
Respectfully Submitted
Martha Joyner, Secretary/Executive Director
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