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[0:07]
Good afternoon everybody
[0:09]
and my good friends are a blessing With this, we open the
[0:15]
meeting of the Housing Authority Board
[0:17]
and we will start with a pledge
[0:19]
of allegiance. I pledge
[0:24]
Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America
[0:29]
and to the republic for which it stands,
[0:32]
one nation under God, indivisible, liberty,
[0:36]
justice for all.
[0:45]
It is the habit, the habit of this board since Mr.
[0:50]
Mr. Sea, our designated liaison to the deity.
[0:58]
Oh oh. Father God, we just thank you for being here today.
[1:02]
We just thank you, Lord, for covering this county
[1:04]
with all the grace and faith that you have given us.
[1:07]
Lord, we look to you for every decision
[1:09]
and every discussion we have in this room today.
[1:12]
And may your power be overwhelming
[1:15]
and may we be faithful stewards of
[1:19]
what you want us to do.
[1:20]
In your name we pray, amen.
[1:22]
Amen. Thank you sir.
[1:28]
Alright. I think first we're gonna start
[1:30]
with an approval of the minutes.
[1:32]
If I could have a motion in that direction. So moved.
[1:37]
So moved. Any second directions,
[1:40]
changes, alterations.
[1:42]
Alright, second on that. And approve.
[1:47]
All approve. Aye.
[1:49]
Approved all public comment. Ms.
[1:54]
Lisa, do you have something?
[1:57]
Not yet, but I'll,
[2:01]
That's pretty threat.
[2:02]
That's threatening. All right.
[2:08]
We move from that to the executive director's report.
[2:13]
Mr. Clark, please sir.
[2:16]
Thank you. So normally I'll,
[2:20]
I use this this time as you were kind of going back
[2:23]
and forth, Lisa, I use this time to, to kind of go over some
[2:25]
of our key things like property management,
[2:28]
property maintenance, and the housing choice vouchers is
[2:30]
section eight, but since this is the first meeting of the
[2:33]
of the month, we're gonna have the folks that actually do
[2:36]
that down under new business present on each of those areas.
[2:39]
We'll see if Brian's scheduled
[2:41]
to be here to talk about maintenance.
[2:42]
If he's not here, we'll we'll cover that.
[2:44]
But down under new business, we're gonna have
[2:47]
Hassani talk about the housing choice vouchers
[2:49]
and give updates about
[2:50]
what's happened since the last meeting.
[2:51]
Lisa's gonna talk about
[2:53]
what we have going on in the property management side
[2:55]
of things, and then Brian
[2:57]
or I will fill in for him if not
[2:59]
to talk about the property maintenance parts of it.
[3:03]
That said, in your packets, you'll see we have the usual
[3:08]
reports about our occupancy.
[3:11]
You can see right around as of August, we were about 84%
[3:15]
occupied at Fisher Manor, working to turn those over
[3:18]
93% at FoxTown, 89% at Graceville Terrace,
[3:23]
Riverside Estate, 91.
[3:25]
And our scattered sites a hundred percent in Terra
[3:27]
and Grove, 97% August work orders.
[3:32]
We had 203 new work orders in August,
[3:36]
we completed 120 and then 98 shown outstanding.
[3:41]
But we normally get to those pretty quickly.
[3:43]
They're just outstanding from the end of the month
[3:45]
to typically the first of the next month,
[3:49]
you'll, you'll get a hou, you see the housing choice voucher
[3:52]
is in there and we will,
[3:58]
we'll go over that more when Hassani does her report.
[4:02]
Let's see, is there anything else? So also in your packets,
[4:06]
so I have your attention to
[4:08]
that also in your packets is the finance report,
[4:10]
which is prepared by our county finance office.
[4:14]
They have been amazing and part of a big process
[4:16]
of the county taking over management
[4:20]
of the housing authority
[4:21]
and taking it over as we've also had the benefit of lots
[4:24]
of staff that you don't get to see every day.
[4:26]
And part of that's the finance office, the leadership,
[4:29]
the folks in the county commissioner's office,
[4:30]
the county commissioners, et cetera, that,
[4:33]
that are providing a lot to it.
[4:34]
So we've worked over the years to really,
[4:37]
really tighten up the finances within the last year.
[4:40]
We've moved, we've moved over our, our track,
[4:45]
our expense tracking
[4:46]
and revenue tracking to the Tyler technologies
[4:49]
that the county uses.
[4:51]
We still use the sacs property management software to do
[4:56]
our rents, our rent collections and things like that.
[4:59]
And we've worked to integrate the two there.
[5:01]
Mostly, it's mostly a hand integration.
[5:03]
They don't talk to each other,
[5:05]
but it, it seems to be going pretty well in regards
[5:08]
to the financial reports that you have in front of you.
[5:11]
You see that it's still early in fiscal year 27, but they,
[5:15]
and they reflect the first part of the fiscal year.
[5:17]
But overall, the revenues
[5:18]
and expenditures are beginning to start flowing through
[5:21]
our administrative property and voucher accounts.
[5:23]
As expected staff continues to monitor each
[5:27]
of the individual budgets.
[5:29]
There are a few individual expense lines that,
[5:31]
as you look at 'em, appear to be above budget,
[5:33]
but mostly those lines had little
[5:35]
or no original budget assigned to them.
[5:37]
So there are places where, again,
[5:38]
as we we're still learning about certain things
[5:41]
that we might have expenses that we
[5:42]
just didn't put in the budget.
[5:44]
And we're working with Jeff and Justine
[5:46]
and Nicole in the finance office to make sure that those,
[5:50]
those are addressed.
[5:56]
At this point though, there are no overall financial
[5:58]
concerns that I, I need to bring up to the board.
[6:02]
I will say that last Thursday, no,
[6:07]
last Tuesday we met with Clifton Larson, Allen,
[6:12]
the auditor, to start the annual audit.
[6:14]
So we got that going on
[6:16]
and we kicked that off with
[6:18]
our county finance and the auditors.
[6:20]
So we have to do that every year.
[6:21]
And it's, it, it tends to be kind of extensive and deep
[6:24]
because a lot of our funding
[6:26]
for the housing choice vouchers comes from HUD and Federal.
[6:29]
So there's a lot of auditing responsibilities.
[6:32]
But again, another thing that since the county's taken over,
[6:35]
we've gotten a very strong, reputable
[6:38]
and competent firm to help with the audit.
[6:41]
So I'm not gonna say I'm excited about an audit,
[6:44]
but I think it'll, it'll go well
[6:51]
just in regards to Hama.
[6:53]
And that is, Hama is something that HUD is pushing on us
[6:57]
and it's, it's that, that we're working to make sure
[7:01]
that the housing authority is that we're covered
[7:04]
with requirements both through our administrative plan,
[7:06]
which we will be talking about here in a little bit.
[7:08]
And that's being presented today
[7:10]
and through ongoing program operations.
[7:12]
And the idea behind Hoppa, H-O-T-M-A is it modernizes
[7:17]
a number of HUD rules affecting
[7:18]
how we administer assisted housing, mostly regarding
[7:22]
how income, how people's income gets determined
[7:25]
and what's allowed to determine what their income levels are
[7:28]
and regarding calculations, assets, deductions,
[7:32]
and reexamination.
[7:35]
So I do want to, if you turn your attention to
[7:40]
beyond our finance report, if you look in to something,
[7:44]
I am personally very excited about
[7:47]
a document called Senior Support Services.
[7:52]
We're working real hard.
[7:54]
I've been working with Lisa
[7:55]
and I've been working with others in the community.
[7:58]
And, but the Housing Authority is really working hard
[8:01]
to launch a senior support services project.
[8:05]
And the idea is to help adults remain safe, healthy,
[8:09]
and connected, independent for as long as possible.
[8:13]
So we provide a very good,
[8:14]
and you guys talk about this a lot,
[8:16]
we provide a very good home now,
[8:18]
and it's even getting better with our,
[8:20]
in our three developments
[8:21]
that are specifically targeted towards seniors.
[8:23]
But unfortunately, what we're learning as we try
[8:27]
to tackle this, that affordable housing alone
[8:30]
for our seniors just isn't enough for many of them.
[8:34]
So a lot of them are just, they don't have the support
[8:36]
that a lot of families have
[8:38]
with their families for various reasons.
[8:40]
They're, they're aging in place and it's getting more
[8:43]
and more difficult for them to maintain health.
[8:45]
Maybe tracking and,
[8:47]
and different issues are catching up to 'em
[8:49]
or are are catching them, surprising them.
[8:52]
And it's just difficult for them to, to maintain.
[8:58]
So when we took over in 2024,
[9:01]
we did make major improvements in operations
[9:04]
and in our facilities,
[9:05]
but those improvements revealed
[9:07]
that we just have a growing need.
[9:08]
And there, there's approximately 200 seniors that we serve
[9:12]
through those, those different developments with Terrapin,
[9:16]
FoxTown and Grayville Terrace.
[9:19]
So what our vision is, is to create a coordinated system
[9:22]
of supports that allows our older groups
[9:26]
to live independently longer there
[9:28]
and to be able to do it healthier and happier.
[9:30]
And also those residents support each other in, in a way
[9:34]
that's very impressive most of the time.
[9:36]
But when you get someone that hits a certain level
[9:40]
and they need a lot of services, it tends
[9:41]
to overwhelm even the folks around them and frustrates
[9:45]
and makes folks angry.
[9:47]
So what we've been doing, we've been working
[9:50]
and reaching out to a DA lot
[9:52]
of different partners out in the community to see
[9:54]
what we can develop this, this senior support services ad.
[9:57]
So we've reached out to, of course, the Area Agency on Aging
[10:00]
who are always amazing.
[10:02]
We've reached out to the folks at Queen Anns at home,
[10:05]
a group called Chesapeake Caregivers.
[10:07]
We've reached out to the health department,
[10:09]
they've been great in Chop Tank Community Health.
[10:12]
We've worked with Adult Protective Seniors Services,
[10:15]
our senior services staff and volunteers and other groups.
[10:19]
And our idea is to try to use those organizations
[10:21]
and others to create the senior support services.
[10:26]
The first thing we've done is we have, we desire to have
[10:31]
a home care assistance policy
[10:32]
or pilot where folks potentially from Chesapeake Caregivers
[10:37]
will come in and offer one-on-one services
[10:40]
to our seniors out in the departments.
[10:43]
The idea is is that, you know, if, if Lisa
[10:47]
or others staff notice that we've got a senior
[10:51]
that just is having a hard time
[10:52]
and they're not making it like they used to
[10:54]
and could use a little bit additional support,
[10:56]
we could just implement this grant, this,
[10:59]
this home care grant to go out
[11:01]
and meet with them individually and provide
[11:03]
and see what kind of services maybe provide the services
[11:06]
directly, maybe help coordinate and bring other services in
[11:09]
and to get, and the idea is that we will have
[11:12]
Chesapeake caregivers providing so many hours at each place
[11:15]
estimated, and then if we need to rotate 'em around,
[11:18]
and they'll be able to either maybe provide
[11:20]
regular services up to a certain amount of hours overall,
[11:24]
or maybe they just need to stop in one
[11:26]
or two times to check on one of our tenants.
[11:29]
So that's, we've got a grant. Yes. Mike,
[11:31]
Question.
[11:32]
Yes. How, how do you do the outreach?
[11:36]
I'm having a hard time understanding
[11:38]
how a senior living in a community, which I am one of those.
[11:42]
Yep. And I never hear from any kinda outreach.
[11:46]
So I, I guess there's a lot of different answers to that.
[11:50]
And I'll let you ask Lisa when she presents too.
[11:52]
But my answer to that is I'm not having a real hard time
[11:55]
with that because a couple,
[11:56]
there's a couple things you notice.
[11:58]
One, if somebody regularly pays their rent
[12:00]
and that stopped being paid, all of a sudden
[12:02]
that's a, a hacker.
[12:04]
But also is, like I said earlier, the seniors
[12:07]
and the, the tenants, they really support each other.
[12:09]
So if somebody's having a, so they'll let you know, you're
[12:12]
Really focused on people who are in the system already.
[12:16]
Yes. In our developments, this is specifically
[12:19]
for the folks in our developments.
[12:20]
Now, if it goes well and we can find a way to expand it
[12:22]
or if we need to, or if we wanted
[12:24]
to support like our housing choice voucher folks out in the
[12:26]
community that are older, I, I see that.
[12:28]
But this is a step-by-step process
[12:31]
where we're really just trying to find funds to do it
[12:34]
and then make it happen and build it up if it
[12:36]
becomes successful.
[12:37]
But it's mostly within our developments.
[12:40]
I I think generally now you'd have to,
[12:43]
Lisa could answer this better.
[12:45]
We'd have to have some evidence of distress
[12:48]
before we got involved
[12:51]
because we're not gonna go out sort
[12:52]
of into the general community. And
[12:55]
So the general community in, in essence is unaware of the
[13:00]
Potential Availability of services.
[13:03]
General community has the area agency
[13:04]
on aging, which is very good.
[13:06]
Yeah. Okay. I mean they're, they're really, really good.
[13:09]
But some folks don't know about it.
[13:10]
I had a neighbor that called me
[13:12]
because my background referred them to, to the
[13:16]
area office and it worked out great.
[13:18]
But a lot of folks don't know,
[13:19]
even though they make every effort to advertise
[13:22]
and put out on the street what they're doing.
[13:24]
Yeah. My concern would be the ones
[13:26]
that slip through the cracks.
[13:27]
Right. And I don't know if you've got a handle on what kind
[13:30]
of percentage of people that could
[13:34]
benefit from senior services that just don't,
[13:37]
aren't even aware they're available.
[13:39]
Right, right.
[13:40]
Lisa, would it be your sense that the,
[13:42]
there's enough awareness of it in the public?
[13:45]
Or
[13:48]
Are you talking about in the public versus our tenants?
[13:51]
Or just within our tenants?
[13:53]
Within the senior community of Queen Ames County?
[13:59]
I believe that a lot of 'em do know.
[14:01]
I mean, I don't think they, I mean I've learned a lot,
[14:03]
of course, I'm not to that point yet,
[14:05]
but working with seniors, I, I think that they know of some,
[14:10]
but there are so many different resources out there that I,
[14:13]
I feel that they don't know about
[14:15]
because it, it ranges from like in-home care,
[14:21]
like where they need a lot of care
[14:23]
and usually the people that need
[14:24]
that family members are looking for it.
[14:28]
And then, I mean, it, it could be as easy
[14:30]
as they need companionship and they want somebody,
[14:33]
and there's some programs that we found that Mike
[14:35]
and I have met with that offer just that,
[14:39]
or some groups other than the senior centers,
[14:42]
what the things that they offer.
[14:45]
So, thank you. Go ahead.
[14:47]
How would this impact now the, the residents who
[14:51]
Have in-house care coming in on a paid basis?
[14:56]
I mean, do we have many residents who have AIDS coming in
[14:59]
that they're paying for on their own? We,
[15:02]
We have some.
[15:03]
And sometimes it happens
[15:04]
after they've lived there for a while
[15:05]
and their health declines and then they need it.
[15:08]
But a lot of tenants can't.
[15:11]
What we're finding is a lot of tenants can't afford that.
[15:15]
So then they are kind of stuck.
[15:18]
And some of them don't have family members.
[15:19]
They don't have any kind of assistance or help.
[15:22]
And so we're recognizing it.
[15:24]
I'm recognizing it and seeing it every
[15:26]
day when I'm working with them.
[15:27]
'cause I'm working hand in hand with tenants
[15:30]
and seeing the decline even within months of tenants.
[15:34]
You know,
[15:36]
So do we see this as a needs-based thing
[15:38]
or an age-based service that we're gonna offer
[15:43]
that we would, would we offer every,
[15:45]
every resident the opportunity to participate in this?
[15:49]
This could be the idea behind it is, I mean the,
[15:52]
what we're thinking about, right.
[15:53]
Well, there's a couple things.
[15:54]
First of all, let me explain in regards
[15:57]
to the senior support, the actual going out
[15:59]
and the home care assistance, we see that as, you know,
[16:03]
we would, if, if Lisa
[16:05]
or somebody in the property management team recognizes
[16:08]
that somebody's having a certain issue, that maybe one
[16:11]
of our, one of our, our arrows in our quiver would be to,
[16:15]
you know, say, Hey, let's get, see,
[16:17]
let's get the home care out there
[16:18]
and just talk to 'em, see what's going on,
[16:19]
see if they can support us and help us with that.
[16:22]
So it would kind of come up and bubble up that way.
[16:25]
But in regards to, if you think of, that's just one piece
[16:29]
of this whole senior support services concept
[16:32]
that we've been developing
[16:33]
and working on and trying to build.
[16:35]
It's, it's, we're trying to build it using all kinds
[16:38]
of different funding sources and things like that.
[16:40]
But this home care systems, we're currently looking
[16:42]
for grants to cover that.
[16:44]
But there's also other core components.
[16:48]
And I'll circle back to that point in just a second.
[16:50]
But the other core components of
[16:51]
what we're thinking about are the home care assistance,
[16:54]
resident navigation and care coordination,
[16:56]
which we would like, use our different places in this,
[16:59]
in the, the community to work on that.
[17:02]
Onsite health and support services,
[17:04]
which I wanna talk about in a little bit.
[17:05]
Healthy aging and community engagement.
[17:08]
Like one of my goals is I'd like to set up
[17:10]
and try to get a higher percentage
[17:12]
of our residents attending the senior centers and,
[17:16]
and going there and, and offering incentives
[17:18]
for our folks at actually go
[17:19]
and participate in the senior centers instead of kind
[17:22]
of sitting around in their apartments all day
[17:24]
and not doing anything and maybe getting depressed.
[17:25]
So that'd be a big, and then also transition planning just
[17:29]
to see if they're, if they need any
[17:30]
more services, what needs to happen.
[17:32]
So those are the key parts.
[17:33]
So right now of that plan, what we're working on is one,
[17:37]
we've got the grant into the community foundation
[17:40]
to see if we can get some of
[17:42]
the home care assistance covered.
[17:44]
The other part is, which I'm extremely excited about,
[17:47]
is a partnership with Chesapeake or,
[17:50]
or Chop Tank Community Health Services.
[17:52]
And you'll see in your packet, hopefully you'll see
[17:56]
this news article that just came out.
[17:58]
But they have got a van that is basically,
[18:01]
this is primary care that they offer.
[18:04]
They offer it and they're able to reimburse,
[18:08]
reimburse insurance to pay for it and provide supports.
[18:10]
Now they are going to be two, two days out of every month.
[18:14]
They're gonna be in our FoxTown parking lot.
[18:16]
And they're gonna be able to provide services not only
[18:19]
to our FoxTown folks, but folks in that community that need
[18:21]
to help, that can stop by there, by appointment only.
[18:24]
Also, and this is, it's a, it's full, I mean,
[18:29]
in chop tank health services, they've been great
[18:31]
and we're gonna kick it off
[18:33]
and kind of introduce it
[18:34]
to the FoxTown community on September 29th from one
[18:37]
to four right there in our,
[18:38]
in our waiting room there at FoxTown. They're looking
[18:42]
Forward to that is what chance is there, if
[18:44]
that works out, can we spread that up to a terrapin?
[18:47]
You're singing my song. That's the goal.
[18:49]
Terrapin and Graceville Terrace right now they've,
[18:51]
they they're, they actually apparently, according to them,
[18:54]
have a grant and they'll see that if they get another van
[18:58]
that I think that if this works out, the,
[19:00]
they're willing to have that discussion. What do
[19:02]
They have a PA on that thing?
[19:04]
PA or possibly md.
[19:06]
Yeah, I mean it's, it's,
[19:08]
it's gonna be like a full primary care there.
[19:10]
So that, that is such a key part that, that I,
[19:12]
that's, I'm very excited abouts. That's, that's huge.
[19:15]
That's really good. So I, I it's just,
[19:18]
and hopefully we can pull this together.
[19:20]
It's a lot of moving parts
[19:22]
and trying to do it in a way that we're using the resources
[19:24]
that already there to combine it all together.
[19:26]
And I appreciate property management,
[19:28]
I appreciate all our community partners.
[19:30]
Yes.
[19:31]
My last question didn't Ask, not last, but
[19:35]
Another question.
[19:36]
Is there an income threshold to qualify for any of these?
[19:41]
If can, I mean, can you make too much money in income
[19:44]
and you are excluded?
[19:46]
You talking about the authority or the,
[19:48]
For any of these services?
[19:49]
Pretty much every service that we have.
[19:52]
I mean, they've gotta meet an income threshold to be able
[19:54]
to qualify to get into our apartments.
[19:57]
They gotta be under a certain, I think is it 50%
[20:00]
of area media income.
[20:02]
So they gotta be lower than 50%
[20:04]
to even get into one of our places. Yeah.
[20:06]
It's, it's really monitored. And there's the monitor,
[20:09]
Right?
[20:10]
And then every program Just have somebody living in the
[20:12]
community that's a senior that has sufficient income
[20:17]
to live and buy their groceries and pay their rent
[20:20]
or their mortgage or whatever.
[20:23]
Does, does that mean that person doesn't qualify for any
[20:26]
Services?
[20:27]
They could still come to the senior
[20:27]
centers as my understanding.
[20:29]
And then at the senior centers, they've got the wealth
[20:31]
of all the expertise of the staff at the senior centers
[20:34]
that can then, that are then know about all the different
[20:37]
benefits that they could be eligible for
[20:40]
Person, like in that situation, not precluded from getting
[20:43]
Service.
[20:44]
No, I think that, I mean, it, it depends
[20:46]
what service they're looking to get.
[20:47]
But that would have to go to one of the kind
[20:49]
of the benefits people could,
[20:50]
could advise them in every situation.
[20:52]
Just like in our housing office,
[20:54]
every situation's a little different.
[20:55]
So it'd probably be good for them to come in,
[20:57]
explain their situation
[20:58]
and then the benefits person would, would be able to say,
[21:01]
here's what I think you got a shot at moving on.
[21:05]
So, so that's that. That's very exciting.
[21:08]
We had a visit just from a hud HUD on September 2nd.
[21:13]
We had a visit from Laces Summers
[21:15]
who is the field office director for HUD in Baltimore.
[21:20]
We also are in the process of rebranding
[21:22]
and just trying to make our look a little tighter.
[21:25]
So you'll see that we have a new brochure that this is not,
[21:27]
it's not just a brochure.
[21:28]
We're gonna go out, we've got the new logo,
[21:30]
we've got the new look, everything, all our documents,
[21:33]
all our forms.
[21:35]
Our website is just going to continue to try
[21:38]
to make it tighter and cleaner
[21:41]
and easier for folks to understand
[21:43]
and more professional as we move forward.
[21:46]
So that we're looking at DocuSign potentially some
[21:50]
of our forms we might be able to sign electronically.
[21:52]
Like if anybody's ever sold a house in the future
[21:55]
where you just kind of, or bought a house in the future,
[21:57]
you can just do DocuSign.
[21:58]
So we're in the process of starting that up right now.
[22:03]
We are working on commissioner transition.
[22:06]
We know that we're going to at least have
[22:07]
one new commissioner.
[22:10]
So we've got a transition guide that we've been working on.
[22:14]
We've also been working on reports
[22:16]
for what's called the Cooper reports,
[22:18]
which is the continuity of operations plan and report.
[22:23]
So that is in case we ever have some sort of emergency,
[22:28]
how do we make sure we continue operations.
[22:30]
So that's something we're working on.
[22:32]
We're doing that both for the county
[22:34]
and then Brian Junior, Brian Barnshaw Jr.
[22:37]
Is digging deeper on specifically if we have an emergency at
[22:41]
one of our sites, what's our strategy, what's our plan
[22:44]
that we can whip out depending on the various scenarios.
[22:47]
And there's, it's a scary thing
[22:50]
as you think about all the
[22:51]
possible scenarios that could happen.
[22:55]
Just as you know that one of the agreements that this,
[22:58]
when the county took over that we had is
[23:01]
that when the Slippery Hill developed the second part
[23:03]
of their development, slippery Hill two, that they,
[23:07]
they partnered with the housing authority.
[23:09]
And the Housing authority has 11% ownership in this,
[23:13]
in the Slippery Hill two part.
[23:16]
Which is, is not a lot.
[23:19]
But now I just wanna let you know that one
[23:21]
of the things they did when they set up
[23:23]
that partnership was they created a nonprofit organization
[23:26]
because they thought that's what was necessary for that.
[23:29]
Turns out the nonprofit organization wasn't necessary.
[23:32]
They could have used the housing authority
[23:33]
entity on its own.
[23:35]
So they're in the process
[23:36]
of redoing the legal paperwork just to reflect that.
[23:40]
There's also the housing,
[23:44]
our housing choice vouchers that we have,
[23:47]
that we offer the project-based vouchers at Slippery Hill.
[23:50]
It took a year later to get started.
[23:52]
So they're currently working on some paperwork
[23:55]
to reflect that.
[23:56]
It took us a year. Those that's going thanks to Asani
[23:58]
and others, that's going very well right now.
[24:00]
It's expensive but it's what HUD wants.
[24:04]
And, but at that same point, we've got
[24:06]
that flowing well at the moment
[24:10]
and I think it's probably enough.
[24:12]
You guys are probably thinking.
[24:14]
But I think that's pretty much everything I have to add.
[24:16]
A lot of the other stuff, you'll get more updates on
[24:18]
how everything's going when we get reports from our property
[24:22]
manager and our housing choice voucher expert.
[24:25]
And so that's my executive report. Mike,
[24:28]
You, you may have already commented on this
[24:30]
and I might have missed it, but what, what kind of length
[24:33]
of is the waiting list for
[24:36]
For housing choice voucher?
[24:37]
I mean for what?
[24:39]
For any, What are we pulling?
[24:41]
We were just talking about that this morning.
[24:42]
What, how many years? How
[24:44]
how many years deep are is our waitings?
[24:46]
So we're right now it's at least a two year waiting list
[24:50]
For in county.
[24:51]
For in county. OUTTA county. It's,
[24:54]
So that's pretty much been around
[24:57]
that same number. Yeah, for a long
[24:59]
Time.
[25:00]
It's about, yeah those waiting lists are still open.
[25:03]
People can go wait on our website
[25:04]
and get on that waiting list for our, our properties.
[25:08]
But it's gonna be at least two years if you live in Queen
[25:11]
and it, you really need to live in Queenan County
[25:13]
to have a chance At most of our places
[25:15]
You have to be a current resident.
[25:17]
Yeah. You can get on the waiting list
[25:19]
and become a resident and not lose your spot. So,
[25:23]
Okay.
[25:25]
I believe if we had the facilities
[25:27]
to take those people in the list would reestablish itself.
[25:32]
What keeps it from being longer is that it's two years long.
[25:36]
Yeah. I mean there's almost no, it's a long time
[25:40]
no end to the housing that the public could use
[25:45]
and there's a measure that a county can afford
[25:48]
and we're pretty close to it.
[25:49]
It's a, it's, I think it's,
[25:55]
Yes sir.
[25:56]
Alright, we ready to move on to old business?
[25:59]
Yes sir. Alright, Thanks sir.
[26:01]
So first thing on Under Old Business is our new decks at
[26:05]
Fisher Manor, we, again we're, it's, we're working to make
[26:08]
that community nicer and cleaner.
[26:10]
And one of the things as we, we've redeveloped a lot
[26:14]
of those apartments, we've worked on the outside,
[26:16]
we've done things like that.
[26:17]
We've cleaned it up, it's got a new playground,
[26:19]
we've painted the back storage units
[26:23]
and we've worked to keep it cleaner.
[26:24]
We're also working intensely on crime
[26:27]
and bringing that down to make it a nice neighborhood
[26:30]
where people can enjoy to live.
[26:32]
And what we really believe is one of,
[26:35]
there's two things in my mind,
[26:36]
maybe three that'll make it really look like a nice
[26:39]
community where, you know, make it look,
[26:42]
look like the nice community is.
[26:44]
And that's the fisherman.
[26:45]
The decks on those things are just really rough looking.
[26:49]
So after a year and lots of architecture
[26:51]
and lots of engineering, we have completed the bid process
[26:55]
and we're working through the responsiveness
[26:56]
and qualification issues with bids received.
[27:00]
It looks like our apparent
[27:02]
low bidder was determined to be non-responsive.
[27:05]
So we're moving with the next bidder
[27:07]
and hope to have that in front
[27:09]
of the commissioners here soon.
[27:13]
So that's very exciting to get.
[27:15]
We think that we might have those. The plan is we'll have
[27:17]
those decks done hopefully by the end
[27:19]
of November now at this point.
[27:22]
So the next thing is we've got paving.
[27:26]
The next new thing would be paving at both our fisherman
[27:29]
and our Graceville Terrace parking lots.
[27:31]
And we got a grant to pay for those.
[27:34]
In the process of applying, the price of paving went up.
[27:38]
So we went back to the state
[27:39]
and asked, Hey look, can we have a little bit more money?
[27:42]
'cause if the money we have now,
[27:43]
we could only do one of those parking lots.
[27:44]
And they are both in rough shape.
[27:46]
And the state came back
[27:48]
'cause they've been wonderful through the Community
[27:49]
Development Block grant and
[27:51]
they gave us the additional money.
[27:52]
So we have additional money
[27:53]
to do paving both in the Fisher Manor
[27:56]
and Graceville Terrace.
[27:57]
Now we might be pushing that out
[28:00]
'cause you wanna do both those projects at the same time
[28:02]
to save money according to our engineers out at DPW
[28:05]
who have been a huge help for that.
[28:09]
And so we're looking to push that out a little bit.
[28:13]
But I believe once we get that going,
[28:16]
that'll be another thing that makes it look nice.
[28:19]
We are also in the midst of talking with some
[28:22]
nonprofit organizations that do landscaping work
[28:25]
to maybe get some nice landscaping out at fisherman or two.
[28:31]
So that's, that's the Community Development Block grant.
[28:33]
And then just to follow up from last year's board
[28:38]
strategic planning, you may recall that
[28:41]
I believe it was last January,
[28:42]
but maybe it was last November, that the housing authority
[28:45]
in Comple in collaboration
[28:47]
with our housing county housing office
[28:49]
and the local management board has recently released a
[28:51]
request for proposals for community needs assessment.
[28:55]
And this RFP builds on the inter-agency needs assessment
[28:58]
concept discussed during our, our strategic planning.
[29:02]
And the assessment is intended
[29:03]
to look at community needs across systems
[29:05]
rather than in isolation.
[29:07]
So it's gonna look across all three including
[29:09]
how community conditions, policies,
[29:12]
and systems affect housing affordability
[29:14]
and quality of life in our county.
[29:17]
The goal is to produce a practical
[29:19]
actionable recommendations that can help us, the Department
[29:24]
of Housing community organizations, local leaders, respond
[29:27]
to current needs while planning for future growth.
[29:30]
So that's where we are.
[29:31]
And that's actually that RFP is out on the streets now
[29:35]
and I think responses are due.
[29:40]
September 16th is the deadline for that.
[29:43]
So those are all the things we've kind
[29:45]
of updates on old business
[29:53]
And I Is it good Okay.
[29:55]
To move into the new business. All right.
[29:59]
So the first thing I wanna note is, you may have remembered,
[30:04]
is that is an update
[30:06]
to our housing choice voucher administrative plan.
[30:09]
It's that pick three inch book right there.
[30:12]
I emailed it out to the group about two weeks
[30:15]
ago, two to three weeks ago.
[30:16]
So you gotta have a look at it.
[30:18]
But basically this plan is the plan that or it's not.
[30:23]
It's a policy book. It's not a planning book.
[30:25]
It's a policy book that establishes the policies
[30:28]
that we operate when we administer
[30:30]
the housing choice vouchers.
[30:32]
It's section eight housing assistance.
[30:34]
There's, because it's federal money, it requires a book
[30:38]
that thick and we, we do use it to, to put
[30:41]
that book together, we use a group called Nan McKay.
[30:45]
They monitor HUD requirements, their consultants,
[30:48]
they're countrywide, they monitor HUD requirements
[30:50]
and provide updates to help keep the plan current
[30:54]
because our plan had fallen several updates behind
[30:59]
this version that I asked you guys to approve today.
[31:02]
What brings us from the 2023 version edition
[31:07]
through July and August of the current year 2026.
[31:10]
These are not changes being made
[31:12]
because of a specific Queen Annes
[31:14]
County issue at this point.
[31:16]
The purpose is just to bring the plan into alignment
[31:18]
with current HUD requirements
[31:20]
and recommended policy changes that have come from hud.
[31:24]
The updated plan also retains local policy language
[31:28]
that some of you may remember that this board approved
[31:31]
back in chapter eight
[31:32]
and nine, including section nine one dash 1.1.
[31:36]
Where we changed, had some changes regarding how leases
[31:40]
and rent, as you note,
[31:43]
the plan is more than a thousand pages.
[31:45]
So you guys received it electronically to look it over
[31:49]
and that you probably noted
[31:50]
that the changes are shown in blue
[31:52]
and deleted language is shown with Strikethroughs.
[31:56]
We gave you kind of a, an information sheet
[31:59]
which Roger made some good feedback about
[32:01]
it that looks like this.
[32:02]
That said kind of the, the highlights of the notes
[32:05]
that we put in the, what we changed in the plan.
[32:10]
Roger noted, and it's a good point, which I hate
[32:13]
to acknowledge, but we should have put page numbers on it.
[32:15]
I apologize. Sections are kinda on it,
[32:17]
but there weren't page numbers to take you directly to it.
[32:20]
But hopefully you all feel comfortable
[32:23]
through the information we provided to
[32:28]
approve those amendments.
[32:30]
Does that require that we vote to
[32:32]
Approve?
[32:33]
It does. It's the, in the, in the amendment sheet.
[32:35]
It would be the second amendment on your amendment sheet if
[32:37]
you're, if you're so inclined to make a motion
[32:40]
For it.
[32:44]
I think it's the Blue Amendment sheet.
[32:46]
It's a blue sheet you got there.
[32:48]
Yeah, sorry. You can make that motion
[32:51]
If you want Mr.
[32:54]
Chair. I'll make a motion. Okay. I'll move the board.
[32:58]
Approve the updated housing choice voucher administrative
[33:00]
plan incorporated in July and August, 2026.
[33:04]
Sub states as presented.
[33:06]
Second. Second. All in favor? Aye.
[33:12]
Aye. Opposed? There you go Michael.
[33:15]
Thank you sir. Thank you group, I appreciate it.
[33:17]
That was a lot of work. I would like
[33:18]
to thank Brian Barnshaw Jr for a lot of his work.
[33:22]
I'd like to thank there she is Hasani for her input on this.
[33:25]
There's a lot of work that went into that. So thank you all.
[33:30]
So the next thing is is just before we go,
[33:33]
before we have the presentations from our folks,
[33:36]
I just wanna mention that we're also making some
[33:38]
changes overall.
[33:41]
So we're gonna go into specific parts
[33:43]
of the housing authorities, specific three key areas,
[33:46]
our housing choice vouchers,
[33:48]
the property management and the property maintenance.
[33:50]
But Housing Authority is one
[33:53]
of three also within the Department of Housing
[33:55]
and Family Services.
[33:57]
So we have been kind of working
[34:02]
to bring that department since we,
[34:04]
we've moved from the Department of Community Services
[34:07]
and it divided up into the Department of Aging
[34:09]
and Transportation and also our department
[34:12]
that we fall under the Department
[34:14]
of Housing and Family Services.
[34:15]
So within the packet you'll see
[34:17]
that I have a little org chart that shows the Department
[34:20]
of Housing and Family Services
[34:21]
and how, how it falls out within that chart.
[34:26]
The biggest piece of the department is the housing
[34:28]
authority that's in green.
[34:30]
And you can see how that falls out there.
[34:33]
That's what I consider one of the divisions.
[34:35]
Now it's important to note
[34:38]
that the Housing authority is its own kind of organization.
[34:41]
So it's, it's treated by the county as a component unit.
[34:45]
It's got its own budget separate from the county budget.
[34:48]
But as far as how we do it for the org chart
[34:51]
and handle it within the department, you can kind
[34:52]
of see there and I've chalk checked with Jeff
[34:54]
to make sure it's okay to display it that way.
[34:57]
Jeff rank for finances
[34:59]
and he said it was, the other division you can see is in a,
[35:02]
in kind of a pink color.
[35:03]
And that's the Housing and Family Services.
[35:05]
Those are the ones that provide like our rental oversight.
[35:09]
They provide our affordable housing,
[35:11]
they provide our homeless prevention work
[35:14]
and our homeless support work and,
[35:17]
and do some of the events around affordable housing
[35:19]
that make a difference day
[35:21]
and a lot of other big things there.
[35:23]
And then lastly, the blue is the local management board,
[35:27]
which is our Children and Family services trying
[35:29]
to make the community stronger,
[35:30]
I believe Roger's on their board.
[35:33]
So, so we have that
[35:36]
and then we have some staff like myself
[35:38]
that cover throughout divisions
[35:40]
and have the different colors located in different places.
[35:42]
But I just want to draw your attention
[35:44]
before we talk specifically about the Housing authority.
[35:46]
That, that the housing authority is a component unit
[35:49]
that it falls under the guise within the county
[35:51]
of the New Department of Housing and Family Services.
[35:56]
But, and then the other key points on that,
[35:58]
that I will note is that Department of Housing
[36:01]
and Family Services, they're starting, they,
[36:03]
the group is really working together.
[36:05]
So if we have somebody that might be having trouble
[36:07]
with rent or making their rent, we can talk
[36:11]
to the housing office to see if there's any way they can
[36:12]
help 'em out, support 'em, something like that.
[36:16]
If, if we have a family member that their house
[36:19]
is not got plumbing or they got a friend
[36:21]
or one of our housing choice voucher clients
[36:23]
or maybe one
[36:24]
of our homeowners we know about out in the community,
[36:27]
they're, they're just barely making it.
[36:28]
They're paying their taxes but they can't afford much else.
[36:31]
You know, and they've got a leaky roof,
[36:33]
maybe we can help 'em with
[36:34]
that from our county housing office.
[36:37]
So those are just some of the ways
[36:40]
that the department's working together now
[36:42]
and being able to provide that service in addition
[36:44]
to working within the entire county, which has been,
[36:48]
it really is a joy to work with folks across the county
[36:52]
'cause everybody is very willing to help.
[36:54]
So with that, I'll stop talking
[36:57]
and allow some of our folks to come up
[36:59]
and present if that's okay with you.
[37:02]
Proceed. I think the first person we, we asked
[37:04]
to come up was Housing Choice was in regards
[37:07]
to housing choice vouchers,
[37:08]
which some folks know is Section eight and that's hasani.
[37:11]
So Hasani, do you mind coming up and
[37:14]
Where You can sit right here
[37:16]
behind one of the microphones
[37:18]
Here.
[37:19]
I'll move that. Thank you.
[37:50]
Go. Thank you.
[37:58]
All right. Whenever you're ready, go for it.
[38:00]
Thanks for coming. You are welcome.
[38:02]
Hi, my name is Hasani Poku.
[38:03]
I'm the Housing Trends voucher administrator
[38:06]
and I administer the housing choice voucher program,
[38:10]
formerly known as a Section eight program.
[38:13]
It's a federal government program program
[38:15]
that helps low income family, elderly families and veterans
[38:18]
and disabled individuals afford safe,
[38:21]
decent sanitary housing.
[38:25]
With the housing choice voucher.
[38:26]
They can rent from a private landlord in a private market.
[38:30]
So that's the option that they do have.
[38:31]
They can rent a single family home town homes
[38:34]
or apartments in Queen Anne County.
[38:37]
They do have the option
[38:38]
after a year to transfer to any county,
[38:41]
any state they would like to.
[38:42]
After a year of being on the program,
[38:46]
we receive federal funding from the United Department
[38:49]
of Housing and Urban Development, which is hud,
[38:52]
which means the landlord and tenant both have obligations
[38:54]
and responsibilities on the housing choice voucher program.
[38:58]
Right now we are making sure a lot of our clients
[39:01]
and landlords are staying in compliance with the program
[39:03]
so we can obtain our funding
[39:05]
and continue to get the funding.
[39:07]
Right now we're currently administering 168
[39:10]
housing choice vouchers.
[39:11]
We have three special purpose vouchers.
[39:15]
We have 14 project based vouchers with Slippery Hill.
[39:18]
Right now, those project based vouchers are tied
[39:21]
to the unit, which means when our clients move,
[39:24]
they cannot take the voucher with them.
[39:25]
It will stay with that unit.
[39:29]
Most clients pay 30 to 40% of their adjusted gross income.
[39:32]
40% is the maximum amount they would pay.
[39:37]
We have one home ownership voucher in Queen
[39:39]
Anne County and Centerville.
[39:41]
So we only have one person
[39:42]
that has a home ownership voucher.
[39:43]
Currently we have two open
[39:46]
for city youth initiative vouchers.
[39:48]
Those vouchers are for youth age 18
[39:51]
through 24 transitioning out of foster care.
[39:55]
The referral comes from the Department of Social Services
[39:59]
and it's for youth that build sufficient lives
[40:02]
and the voucher can last up
[40:03]
to three years if they do get it.
[40:05]
We currently have someone we're screening,
[40:07]
but right now they haven't came to get the voucher.
[40:09]
Once they do, then hopefully we can get them leased up
[40:12]
and find a unit in Ance County.
[40:14]
So that's the goal. We have three state voucher program.
[40:18]
The state voucher program is a program
[40:21]
that provides a rental subsidy for low income families
[40:24]
that meet the criteria such as homelessness, disabled 62
[40:28]
or older or foster child with the state voucher program.
[40:32]
It's a five year program.
[40:34]
It's different from that housing choice voucher program.
[40:36]
Because these funds are administered
[40:39]
by the Maryland Department of Housing
[40:40]
and Community Development, we received a grant of $75,000,
[40:45]
which we were able
[40:46]
to house three families in Queen Es county with that grant,
[40:50]
we don't know how many more we will get.
[40:52]
We did have a meeting a day
[40:54]
and they did say 2027 funding will be coming soon.
[40:57]
So we hoping that at least we can house one more family
[41:00]
depending on what the funding will be.
[41:03]
Right now there's 300 people total
[41:05]
on our wait list combined.
[41:06]
How long is that the wait list?
[41:09]
Oh, our wait list is not open time wise. You don't?
[41:11]
No, we're in a shortfall currently,
[41:13]
so we're not pulling anyone off the wait list.
[41:15]
So Right. Even if we have somebody leave,
[41:17]
we're not filling it.
[41:18]
We're not allowed. We, it's part of our plan.
[41:20]
We, it is just a voucher that goes away. Yeah,
[41:23]
There's no funding, there's no hope
[41:24]
for the person. Not this year,
[41:26]
Not currently, No.
[41:27]
Hopefully within some years to come to become eligible
[41:32]
for the housing choice voucher program,
[41:34]
you apply to a wait list.
[41:36]
Again, the wait list is currently closed.
[41:38]
When they're open, we advertise in the local newspapers
[41:41]
as well as the Queen Anne County website.
[41:44]
We set up a date and time application
[41:46]
and we close the wait list based on the date
[41:48]
and we sometimes we may put a maximum number
[41:50]
of people that can apply.
[41:53]
Once the wait list is closed, then we send a letter
[41:56]
to the applicant to see, let them know
[41:58]
what their number will be on the wait list.
[42:01]
And that's based again on the date
[42:02]
and time that they applied.
[42:05]
Depending on the funding,
[42:06]
if we do have the funding then we will
[42:07]
select them from the wait list.
[42:09]
We have to make sure the eligible will send out a packet
[42:13]
with paperwork to determine eligibility, we have
[42:17]
to make sure that they're not a criminal
[42:19]
and they're not a sex offender as well
[42:21]
as they don't owe any money to public housing.
[42:23]
So if they owe any money to public housing
[42:25]
and the landlord, that's the way
[42:27]
to not be eligible for the program.
[42:31]
If they do owe money, we give them the option to pay
[42:33]
that money back to that house and authority
[42:35]
or whoever they will owe it to.
[42:36]
Even if it's Queen Anne County,
[42:38]
sometimes they may live in our conventional
[42:39]
units and owe money as well.
[42:42]
But we do send a denial letter if they are not approved.
[42:49]
If they are approved, we will send 'em a
[42:50]
letter for a briefing.
[42:52]
A briefing is when we, they come in
[42:53]
and we explain all the program rules for the program.
[43:01]
We also explain HUD expectations as a participant
[43:05]
during the briefing they'll get a voucher.
[43:07]
That voucher is normally for 90 days.
[43:09]
In that new administrative plan, we ask for the voucher
[43:13]
to be extended to 120 days instead of 90.
[43:19]
Once the voucher's issued,
[43:21]
we give them a new landlord packet that's the packet.
[43:23]
So the landlord that they potentially will be rented
[43:26]
to will fill out
[43:28]
and if the unit passes inspection,
[43:30]
then they can move into that unit.
[43:32]
We will send a letter letting them know
[43:34]
that they can move in, what their amount of rent will be
[43:37]
and the amount that we would pay the landlord
[43:39]
during the initial move in.
[43:40]
They can pay more than 40% of their adjusted gross income.
[43:44]
Do they need to meet all these requirements in order
[43:47]
to get on the wait list or no, they can get on it
[43:51]
and then work on,
[43:52]
Yes, they will get on the wait list first
[43:54]
and then we'll do eligibility.
[43:55]
The next step, and based on
[43:57]
that eligibility is when we would determine
[43:58]
that they're eligible for the
[44:00]
program based on those factors.
[44:01]
So is boom boom, you, they get on the wait list,
[44:04]
then you determine the eligibility
[44:06]
before there's availability after,
[44:08]
After you'll sit on the wait list.
[44:11]
If you apply, you apply.
[44:13]
We can't, we don't do anything
[44:14]
until we know that we may have funding.
[44:16]
And then if we do have funding,
[44:18]
we'll send an eligibility letter with a packet
[44:21]
with all your information.
[44:22]
All have the income you have,
[44:24]
who's gonna be in your household citizenship form.
[44:28]
That's done when the housing is becomes available.
[44:31]
If the funding becomes available, it becomes to pull,
[44:32]
if it becomes available, if thank you
[44:38]
landlords will sign a housing assistant payment contract
[44:41]
and we, they will have to be a yearly lease.
[44:43]
Their first year will have to be a yearly lease.
[44:47]
Right now we're currently in the shortfall is based on a
[44:50]
previous contract where we no longer where we had
[44:52]
to honor higher rent for the 14 project based vouchers at
[44:55]
Slippery Hill Phase two,
[44:58]
which resulted in the housing choice voucher program,
[45:00]
not being able to cover the housing choice voucher program
[45:03]
as well as those 14 vouchers
[45:05]
for the project based at Slippery Hill phase two,
[45:09]
Mike Clark had applied
[45:11]
for shortfall assistance from the US Department of Housing
[45:14]
and Urban Development.
[45:15]
So he did apply for shortfall assistance
[45:17]
and we're currently, we received it last year
[45:19]
and we're currently applying now to receive assistance
[45:24]
and result of that, we are currently taking the following
[45:27]
measures to make sure
[45:30]
that program integrity is important.
[45:32]
We're holding clients responsible
[45:34]
for under-reporting income, setting up repayment agreements
[45:37]
to pay back under-reported monies
[45:39]
owed to the housing authority.
[45:41]
We are terminating housing choice voucher pro clients
[45:44]
because we have to follow that administrative plan.
[45:47]
And if they're not willing to pay the money back,
[45:49]
then we have to terminate.
[45:51]
Unfortunately, Mike have also implemented a
[45:56]
5% cap on landlord rent increases,
[45:58]
which is done once per year.
[46:01]
So there's a cap.
[46:02]
And that's gonna help us strengthen the fund.
[46:04]
The amount that we're currently we're under as of right now.
[46:12]
We also are utilizing our HUD reports.
[46:15]
We have a earned income verification report,
[46:17]
a income verification two
[46:19]
and the new hire report
[46:20]
that tells us the date the person got hired.
[46:23]
We also have their earned income verification report
[46:26]
that tells us any wages, any social security
[46:29]
that's received any unemployment.
[46:31]
So if we have a new hire report
[46:33]
and it stated, you're not working,
[46:34]
we're gonna send you a letter.
[46:36]
We send out a letter and we let them know, Hey,
[46:37]
congratulations on your job.
[46:39]
Please report this income.
[46:40]
Because what happens with the income verification too,
[46:45]
it's monitored by hud.
[46:47]
So if you report $10,000 worth of income
[46:49]
and the system says you report, you actually make 30,000,
[46:53]
that's a discrepancy
[46:54]
and you may have to pay that money back.
[46:56]
So those are the measures that were taken
[46:58]
to make sure we strengthen income reporting.
[47:04]
Excellent. Sonny's been working really hard to,
[47:08]
I mean it's every day it's a new, there's something new
[47:11]
that she's having to respond to.
[47:13]
Every day there's something new with one of the tenants.
[47:16]
And then on top of it with the, the shortfall
[47:19]
and having to, to make sure we, we do everything we can
[47:23]
to respond to what HUD requires us
[47:24]
to do in response to the shortfall.
[47:27]
And then also making sure she's, she's pushing real hard
[47:30]
to make sure that the, the tenants
[47:31]
that are receiving rent are reporting their income correctly
[47:36]
and asking 'em to report their stuff.
[47:38]
And it's not hard questions really.
[47:40]
It's really not that hard.
[47:41]
But she, she stays on 'em to make sure she's doing it.
[47:44]
It's been very impressive.
[47:47]
Well, well done. Thank you.
[47:50]
Thank you. So the next one is
[47:54]
to talk about property management.
[47:55]
That's Lisa Gray, our property manager. Yes.
[47:59]
Well the first big news I have is
[48:03]
after two years of me begging and begging
[48:06]
and begging, I finally have my new
[48:08]
assistant property manager.
[48:10]
So I'd like her to come up
[48:12]
and join us while we go over some
[48:16]
of this information.
[48:20]
This is Kathy Colligan. Hello. Hi there.
[48:23]
Very excited to have her on our team.
[48:25]
She was the office coordinator with the housing
[48:28]
division previously.
[48:30]
And then she applied along with many others
[48:33]
and then we, she was promoted and came over.
[48:36]
So very excited. Very new.
[48:40]
She just started full-time with us.
[48:42]
Probably like what, a week ago, right? I think so.
[48:45]
It was a transition over the past month or so. Right.
[48:49]
So happy to finally have help all the time.
[48:53]
She's been getting familiar with our systems files,
[48:55]
the properties, meeting all the tenants at each
[48:58]
of the properties, how we operate out in the field
[49:02]
and at the properties.
[49:04]
So welcome and very excited for her.
[49:08]
So our main focus has been improving our day-to-day
[49:11]
operations, as you guys know,
[49:13]
and creating more consistency in
[49:15]
how we manage the properties.
[49:17]
Some of the things we've been working on include reducing
[49:20]
and monitoring vacancies, improving unit turnaround time,
[49:24]
which is a big one.
[49:26]
Improving our applicant tracking
[49:29]
and wait list process, keeping tenant files
[49:31]
and documentation up to date and getting them up to date.
[49:36]
Making inspections more consistent
[49:39]
and improving the follow up from those inspections.
[49:43]
Addressing tenant and lease compliance issues consistently.
[49:47]
That, that's another big one that we're always having
[49:50]
to work on.
[49:53]
Updating the leases, the policy, the forms
[49:55]
and notices and procedures.
[49:57]
We put a lot of work into that.
[50:00]
Creating clear and more consistent information
[50:02]
for our tenants and overall working on having better systems
[50:06]
in place so staff know what is expected
[50:09]
and the tenants receive consistent clear
[50:11]
information from us.
[50:14]
So vacancies, I know that's the big thing
[50:18]
that everybody always ask about,
[50:19]
especially at the meetings at tenant council meetings is,
[50:22]
you know, why so many vacants?
[50:24]
Why aren't they getting filled? Well,
[50:25]
they are getting filled
[50:26]
but it's a, you know, constant cycle of getting them
[50:30]
and then, you know, filling them up.
[50:32]
But so our biggest ongoing priority is reducing vacancies
[50:37]
and getting available units leased
[50:39]
up as quickly as possible.
[50:41]
What's the number right now?
[50:45]
18 vacants right now.
[50:46]
I'm, I'm getting, I'm gonna go into all of that.
[50:48]
So we've actually created a new tracking system process.
[50:53]
We've been working with Kenya, Mike, myself,
[50:56]
and now Kathy, to where we are tracking all the tenants.
[51:00]
We're pulling for each unit.
[51:01]
So sometimes we're having to pull like 10 different
[51:04]
applicants for these vacancies.
[51:07]
It, this will allow, this has allowed us to see
[51:11]
how many we contact for each unit 'cause we're tracking them
[51:15]
and, and keeping them, you know,
[51:16]
consistent with all the notes.
[51:19]
How many actually respond
[51:20]
because you know, Kenya might reach out
[51:23]
and they don't answer their contact information changed,
[51:28]
they're, they decline.
[51:29]
So we kind of put those notes in of why they are doing so
[51:33]
because everyone's like, well that unit's been vacant for
[51:36]
so long, well now we, and we put the dates on it.
[51:38]
So now you can see, alright well we've pulled 10 people from
[51:42]
the wait list for that particular unit.
[51:44]
These are the notes, these are how many times she contacted.
[51:47]
And when the process ends, sometimes, well a lot
[51:50]
of times I think she's found
[51:53]
where she pulls 'em starts the approval,
[51:55]
they accept the unit, something changes within their,
[51:58]
you know, situation and they're unable to move
[52:01]
or you know, I mean so many different reasons.
[52:04]
So then they withdraw, you know,
[52:06]
and then we have to start all over a
[52:07]
Situation over situation where, where
[52:08]
someone can't accept.
[52:10]
Yes. And do
[52:11]
They go all the way back to the end of the line
[52:14]
to if they say, well I can't do it now, but I still want to
[52:17]
Do it.
[52:18]
So it does depend on the situation.
[52:20]
So if they're wanting to stay on the, a lot
[52:22]
of times they just decline.
[52:23]
They're taken off the wait list, you know,
[52:25]
they don't wanna move anymore.
[52:27]
Sometimes they say okay, due
[52:30]
to this situation they can't move, they're not gonna go
[52:32]
to the bottom of the wait list on certain, you know, it has
[52:36]
to be approved depending on what the reasoning
[52:39]
and they have to be able to, you know,
[52:41]
show the documentation or show the reason why,
[52:43]
But then it just automatically end up going to the back
[52:45]
of the line in case they just can't do it.
[52:49]
Then they could do next month
[52:50]
but they can't do it now kind of thing. Yeah,
[52:53]
They won't go back to the back of the line.
[52:54]
Okay. So, but again, it depends on the situation.
[52:57]
So once they let us know
[52:58]
Each situation individually.
[53:03]
So this whole process has given us a better picture
[53:06]
of why leasing a unit can sometimes take longer.
[53:09]
And we're able to answer that in a more detailed way
[53:12]
to when we are asked then what everyone's expecting.
[53:18]
Sometimes we have to contact many applicants, like I said.
[53:23]
Then a lot of times, you know, our wait lists are so long,
[53:26]
so it's, you know, it takes years
[53:27]
before we contact them, their contact,
[53:30]
even though they're told in the beginning, you need
[53:33]
to make sure you update your contact information.
[53:35]
That's a requirement. It may not all be updated.
[53:39]
So we may have a good address but not a good phone number.
[53:41]
That's changed. So when we call, we can't call,
[53:44]
you know, get ahold of them.
[53:46]
So then we have to mail the packet
[53:48]
and when we mail the packet, we give
[53:49]
them a deadline to respond.
[53:50]
But we still have to wait for that process
[53:52]
before we can move on, you know,
[53:53]
because that is our process and our policy.
[53:58]
So these things can add up, you know, to add the time
[54:01]
to the leasing process even when
[54:03]
we're actively working to fill.
[54:04]
Because I feel like that's in can you can I'm sure
[54:08]
say the same is I feel like that's all we're working on
[54:12]
is just constantly trying to get these filled.
[54:14]
We don't want vacants and then
[54:16]
whenever we, you know, get down a little bit,
[54:19]
then it's like I feel like we get a whole range of them
[54:23]
back up like we just did.
[54:24]
So to give you an idea, since last September,
[54:27]
which is a year, we've complete completed 22 move outs,
[54:32]
27 move-ins, five transfers.
[54:34]
And we currently have 18 vacants.
[54:37]
So when I started
[54:41]
even two years ago, I mean those numbers
[54:43]
have like fluctuated.
[54:44]
So it's like, you know, there was a huge amount.
[54:47]
So getting, we we're not really having the maintenance
[54:49]
issues as much with getting the turnovers done.
[54:54]
They're still having, you know, depending on the timeframe,
[54:56]
still having some time, you know, we're, we're having
[54:59]
to hire out vendors and get those completed and stuff,
[55:02]
but now it's like falling on getting the, you know,
[55:04]
the applicants to be approved in order to move in.
[55:08]
Oh. So we're just gonna continue to work on that.
[55:13]
I wanna get 'em down to zero then get one and work on that
[55:17]
and then fill it back up.
[55:19]
So with the vacancies comes new move-ins,
[55:23]
which are always one of my favorite things.
[55:27]
I have been working on improving the move-in
[55:29]
experience for our new tenants.
[55:30]
That's one very important thing to me.
[55:33]
I want them to feel welcomed
[55:34]
and comfortable from the very beginning of the process.
[55:38]
I don't want them coming in
[55:39]
and you know, feeling like they're an
[55:40]
inconvenience or anything like that.
[55:42]
I want them to come in 'cause it's their,
[55:44]
we're providing them their home.
[55:47]
So I have, I make folders with all the lease paperwork,
[55:50]
additional information.
[55:52]
I go over the, you know,
[55:53]
it takes usually a move-in takes at least at least two hours
[55:56]
minimum depending.
[55:58]
And you know, some
[55:59]
of the seniors they could take a little longer
[56:00]
'cause they bring, you know, family members and everything.
[56:04]
But I go through the paperwork in detail, make sure
[56:07]
that they know they get a copy of absolutely everything.
[56:10]
I personalize the folder, you know,
[56:13]
I get everything ready ahead of time.
[56:15]
I then I make sure that they understand what they're signing
[56:18]
and what's expected of them, what we're, you know, able
[56:21]
to provide detailed information on things
[56:24]
about the property about.
[56:26]
And then I also do additional information.
[56:28]
So I've been pulling like resources like crazy like Mike has
[56:31]
talked about with us working with a lot
[56:33]
of different agencies and trying
[56:35]
to get additional resources.
[56:37]
They may not need 'em now, but they may, you know,
[56:39]
need 'em in the near future at the senior properties.
[56:43]
I then I, I encourage them to, you know,
[56:46]
join the senior center.
[56:47]
I walk them to the senior center at whichever property I,
[56:51]
if the manager's available, I introduce 'em.
[56:54]
I put the senior center calendar
[56:56]
for every single senior center in the move-in packet.
[56:59]
I also give them the application.
[57:01]
If they're not signed up, I, you know, encourage them
[57:04]
to sign up and go over the activities
[57:06]
that are available there.
[57:09]
I also walk 'em around the property,
[57:11]
show them the important areas that they need to know about.
[57:14]
Go over all the different amenities that we have at
[57:16]
where whatever is at that property.
[57:19]
And then even introduce 'em to tenants along the way.
[57:21]
If they're outside, if it's appropriate.
[57:23]
Like if, if the tenant's walking down the hall
[57:25]
and we, you know, I make sure to try
[57:27]
to introduce them to a lot of them.
[57:29]
'cause a lot of 'em, you know, at the senior properties,
[57:31]
they're sitting around in the, you know, community areas.
[57:34]
I also talk to them about the tenant council meetings.
[57:37]
I encourage them to come, I go over that information.
[57:40]
All the activities and opportunities to get involved.
[57:43]
I highly encourage them to participate.
[57:45]
That's like one of the biggest, my biggest goals is to get.
[57:48]
And I've been hearing a lot of feedback
[57:50]
that, oh, all the new tenants.
[57:51]
'cause we've been having a lot of new tenants, you know,
[57:53]
they're coming to the meetings, they're getting involved,
[57:55]
they're doing X, y, Z.
[57:57]
So it's, it has, you know, I hope it's helped, you know,
[58:00]
I think it has because I've gotten good feedback from that.
[58:04]
So my goal is
[58:05]
to make the move in process more than just
[58:07]
completing the paperwork.
[58:09]
I want it to be a welcoming experience
[58:11]
that helps new tenants feel at home
[58:14]
and welcome from the very beginning
[58:16]
rather than just moving into an apartment
[58:19]
because it, they do take care
[58:21]
of one another at these senior properties.
[58:22]
They are, they're like a big family,
[58:25]
you know, you have it all there.
[58:27]
They fight, they, they help each other, they do everything.
[58:32]
But I love it. So, property improvements.
[58:37]
We have been working on
[58:38]
so many improvements across the properties.
[58:40]
Most of these projects are included in Brian
[58:44]
Barn Shaw's report.
[58:46]
But I wanted to give you a few, so
[58:49]
signs across the properties, you know, if you've,
[58:52]
I don't know if you guys have gone to all the properties
[58:56]
or have seen prior the signs at the different properties.
[58:59]
They're like half of 'em were, you know,
[59:01]
didn't even have half the words on 'em.
[59:03]
They're falling down.
[59:05]
Mike and I and Brian
[59:06]
and everybody has been, you know, walking around making sure
[59:09]
and, and going through detail
[59:11]
of which signs we're gonna have.
[59:12]
We're all gonna have 'em consistent
[59:13]
throughout all the properties.
[59:15]
We are actually getting new signs
[59:18]
for the main entrances
[59:20]
and they're all gonna be the same except
[59:22]
with the property name on it.
[59:24]
So everything's gonna be, it's gonna look more professional
[59:28]
and uniform, you know, appearance across the properties.
[59:32]
So the, and I don't know if the signs have been ordered.
[59:35]
I know we just did the final vote on it.
[59:39]
I don't know if they've been ordered yet or not,
[59:40]
but it will have the seals, it'll have our logo on it,
[59:43]
the county seal on the other side.
[59:45]
So that's really exciting.
[59:48]
We are also working with Zoo Security
[59:50]
to upgrade the key card access system.
[59:52]
So if you've guys been at FoxTown
[59:54]
or Terrapin, Terrapin especially, it drives me crazy.
[59:58]
So you go in there and say, tenant has a guest,
[1:00:00]
these are completely outdated.
[1:00:03]
They go to the front door
[1:00:04]
and you try to look at that little box
[1:00:06]
where all the names are.
[1:00:07]
It doesn't matter if they find the name or not,
[1:00:09]
because they're not gonna be able to contact
[1:00:10]
them to through that system.
[1:00:12]
So we're trying to get that upgraded to where, you know,
[1:00:16]
we have tenants that can't leave their apartment at times to
[1:00:20]
where they can buzz 'em in so they can't gain access.
[1:00:23]
And you have somebody, if they have a delivery, a lot
[1:00:25]
of them get their medications delivered to their apartment.
[1:00:28]
The, you know, a lot of times the delivery guys have a way
[1:00:32]
to get in, but not always.
[1:00:33]
So when their children come
[1:00:35]
or grandchildren come, they can, you know, Hey, buzz me in.
[1:00:39]
And you know, they don't have to come all the way down
[1:00:41]
to open the doors for them.
[1:00:43]
So we are working with them to get that all upgraded.
[1:00:45]
So hopefully really soon.
[1:00:47]
And plus half the time the cards at Terrapin,
[1:00:49]
they go the access, like loses access for some reason.
[1:00:52]
Not sure why, but they come, they were working, all
[1:00:55]
of a sudden it loses access
[1:00:57]
and I have to reprogram them all.
[1:00:58]
So it's a pain. And I have to walk from one side
[1:01:00]
of the property to the other to
[1:01:01]
program 'em over and over again.
[1:01:05]
So also at Terrapin we have scheduled a painting
[1:01:10]
for all the hallways, which I'm so excited about.
[1:01:12]
I've been begging for the painting. I want it to look fresh.
[1:01:16]
It's very, you know, dark and dim.
[1:01:19]
That starts September 21st.
[1:01:21]
So we're working on choosing the colors
[1:01:25]
and getting everything situated.
[1:01:26]
So we're gonna do that in, you know, a process,
[1:01:29]
break it up the property
[1:01:31]
so it doesn't inconvenience attendance.
[1:01:32]
They're gonna all be made aware.
[1:01:35]
And then after that, my next big thing
[1:01:38]
that I've been wanting to do there,
[1:01:39]
all the flooring on the second
[1:01:40]
and third floors will be replaced.
[1:01:43]
So if you've been up there, there are stains
[1:01:46]
down the hallways.
[1:01:47]
Tenants drag their trash
[1:01:49]
down the hallways, they spill things.
[1:01:51]
So many different reasons,
[1:01:52]
but they're stains it like it, it's really, I can't wait
[1:01:57]
for it to get changed.
[1:01:59]
We're gonna put vinyl flooring,
[1:02:01]
so it's gonna match the first floor
[1:02:02]
throughout the whole property.
[1:02:04]
So they're getting a whole facelift
[1:02:06]
and it's gonna be a fresh look.
[1:02:08]
So I'm really excited about that.
[1:02:10]
Which I know Mike will go into the rest with Brian's list.
[1:02:16]
All right. And then Kathy's first project on board
[1:02:21]
that she's been tasked to do is working with me
[1:02:25]
and to start a tenant council at Grayville Terrace.
[1:02:28]
Grayville Terrace is the only senior property
[1:02:31]
that does not have one.
[1:02:33]
I'm, I know that they did, I've been trying to do research.
[1:02:36]
I'm not sure when it stopped how it ended or what,
[1:02:39]
but we're working on getting that done.
[1:02:43]
So we are holding an informal event at Grayville Terrace on
[1:02:47]
October 1st, which you guys are all invited
[1:02:50]
and I hope you guys can attend.
[1:02:52]
But I am gonna actually let Kathy tell you a little bit
[1:02:55]
of the event that she's planning.
[1:02:57]
So like Lisa said, we're just planning a fun informal
[1:03:01]
resident gathering where we wanna, you know, sit
[1:03:04]
and talk to the residents
[1:03:05]
and we're gonna provide some food, some good food,
[1:03:08]
and you know, hopefully a little entertainment
[1:03:11]
and a, a short presentation on the community.
[1:03:15]
And then we will also provide the information
[1:03:18]
that they would need to start a resident tenant council
[1:03:22]
and how to create it and how to run it
[1:03:23]
and fill out for, you know, people
[1:03:25]
that might be interested to get on board.
[1:03:28]
'cause we can, you know, guide them and help them.
[1:03:30]
But it's really up to the tenants to do it.
[1:03:32]
And the first thing that they need to do is devote
[1:03:35]
to actually have the tenant council.
[1:03:38]
So hopefully we can get a vote done
[1:03:39]
that night or shortly after. That's
[1:03:41]
October 1st.
[1:03:42]
That's October 1st. And I have flyers here.
[1:03:44]
For which community is that? I'm sorry, which
[1:03:46]
Community is that? It's
[1:03:47]
Grasonville Terrace.
[1:03:48]
So, so look, what's the occupancy in
[1:03:53]
that 38?
[1:03:56]
How many people, how many units is that? There's
[1:03:58]
Like 35.
[1:04:00]
That is Graceville Terrace. That is 38
[1:04:04]
Because, Well, there's 38 units.
[1:04:06]
It's gonna be a higher occupancy
[1:04:07]
with some doubles. But yeah,
[1:04:09]
As you know, I go to every 10.
[1:04:12]
Yes, you do. So it'll be another one for you to come to.
[1:04:16]
Well that's what I'm wondering about
[1:04:17]
because we've got a number of different facilities.
[1:04:20]
Is there any way we can combine them, these extra ones so
[1:04:24]
that we don't wind up having to go to They do.
[1:04:27]
Well, we've been talking about the different options
[1:04:29]
and right now, I mean think, I mean we, this is
[1:04:32]
just the beginning of the works right now,
[1:04:35]
but the, one
[1:04:36]
of the issues at Grayson V is they don't have a community
[1:04:40]
room like FoxTown or Terrapin.
[1:04:43]
So we've been working trying
[1:04:45]
to figure out if the senior center maybe doing it
[1:04:47]
during the day in af in an afternoon once a month would,
[1:04:51]
but the thing is, is if we combine 'em,
[1:04:53]
the problem we're gonna have is that, I mean, yes,
[1:04:57]
the county ride could potentially take them,
[1:05:00]
but depending on the time
[1:05:01]
and then on, you know, expecting isn't really fair
[1:05:05]
to make Grayville Well you have to drive to FoxTown to,
[1:05:09]
to have your guys' meeting
[1:05:10]
and be point part of their meeting to hear about that.
[1:05:13]
Right. You know, their information. Yeah,
[1:05:14]
I wasn't trying to shove the other ones into tariff
[1:05:17]
and what I was wondering about
[1:05:19]
is there any way we could amalgamate the non tarpin non Fox
[1:05:23]
town into some kind of bulk
[1:05:26]
because it, it, it, it gets unwieldy.
[1:05:29]
All I can tell you, we
[1:05:30]
Are considering the idea of Fisher and,
[1:05:33]
and Riverside doing something to
[1:05:35]
Provide anyway, it's, yeah, we don't need
[1:05:37]
to spend time on it now.
[1:05:38]
Yeah. But it's just something to think about as you go
[1:05:40]
About it.
[1:05:41]
We have really been thinking about it
[1:05:41]
and trying to come up with the best solution
[1:05:43]
on what we could do.
[1:05:45]
And I mean, so far this is, and I think FoxTown
[1:05:49]
and Terrapin, they do have their set in place so much
[1:05:52]
and I don't know, I
[1:05:56]
we're gonna, we're I guess we'll see.
[1:05:57]
We'll we'll see if Grayville even wants to have anything,
[1:06:00]
they may not vote to not have one, you know, so
[1:06:06]
I'll tell you, I I, I really believe that doing going
[1:06:10]
to those meetings is useful for two different reasons.
[1:06:13]
First, we, you hear things that you wouldn't hear otherwise,
[1:06:18]
but it also shows the tenants that you're on the case.
[1:06:22]
They love having you there too. Oh yeah. They love it.
[1:06:26]
They appreciate it.
[1:06:27]
And when I don't show up, they call me up at home
[1:06:29]
and where the hell are you?
[1:06:34]
Anyway, that's good.
[1:06:36]
Yeah, so, so hopefully you guys can come and make it
[1:06:39]
and then we'll keep you posted on, you know, the future
[1:06:43]
Graceville Terrace tenant council And
[1:06:45]
Can we make sure that we're on the notification
[1:06:48]
email list or
[1:06:49]
Oh sure. Absolutely.
[1:06:50]
I don't think I've ever received one for a
[1:06:53]
tenant meeting at any of the properties.
[1:06:57]
That might be, because I think they do it the,
[1:06:59]
but we can ask the presidents
[1:07:00]
of the associations to add you.
[1:07:01]
They'd be, I'm sure they don't wanna
[1:07:03]
Speak from,
[1:07:04]
Don't think they'd be happy. Don't send Okay.
[1:07:05]
But for the, the tenant council meetings.
[1:07:08]
So there's no, there's not a notification.
[1:07:10]
It's like the same day every month.
[1:07:12]
I'd go to 'em if, if I knew about it
[1:07:14]
but I never get notification.
[1:07:17]
Pens Is Wednesday. Yeah, right. Yeah. What is that?
[1:07:21]
The third Wednesday of every month
[1:07:22]
and Fox Town's the second.
[1:07:24]
Wednesday. Wednesday every, yeah, it's the same every month.
[1:07:29]
Yep. But we'll make sure
[1:07:30]
that we get you that information. Thank you.
[1:07:32]
Thank You. Absolutely. So I'm sorry that's all.
[1:07:38]
Anything else you wanna add to that Mike? With the other
[1:07:40]
Than No, We're good. Thank you. Alright,
[1:07:42]
Well moving forward
[1:07:44]
or priorities are just pretty straightforward.
[1:07:47]
Continue to work on reducing the vacancies,
[1:07:49]
keeping our properties
[1:07:50]
and tenant files in order,
[1:07:53]
improve consistency in our procedures
[1:07:55]
and communication, continue providing good service
[1:07:58]
and making properties feel like home for our tenants.
[1:08:01]
I think having Kathy on board will really help us continue
[1:08:06]
moving in that direction
[1:08:08]
and I'm look forward, I look forward to
[1:08:11]
the improvements we can make together.
[1:08:14]
And last but not least as we were walking over here just
[1:08:18]
to show hopefully something great
[1:08:22]
is we just got notified that we won again
[1:08:25]
for the shore update Terrapin Grove did
[1:08:30]
for the best in 2 20 26 Golden Anchor Award.
[1:08:34]
The best independent living.
[1:08:36]
I just turned out the email that said we won.
[1:08:38]
So there will be, I know the Judi celebration that we went
[1:08:42]
to to get the award,
[1:08:44]
but you know, I do think that's great
[1:08:46]
that they are recognizing, you know,
[1:08:48]
what we're doing there in our tenants and
[1:08:51]
Well done.
[1:08:53]
Alright. Thank you. Thank you, thank you.
[1:08:56]
And then just, Brian had family engagement
[1:08:59]
so he wasn't able to make it for this.
[1:09:01]
So I told him I would just go quickly over his updates for
[1:09:05]
property maintenance, our facilities managers,
[1:09:07]
Brian Barnshaw, I'm gonna start with welcoming Parker Blast.
[1:09:12]
He is our newest facilities tech.
[1:09:15]
So he just, how long ago did you start Parker?
[1:09:18]
Three weeks Ago. Three weeks ago.
[1:09:19]
And he's been hitting the ground running.
[1:09:21]
So it's great having you.
[1:09:22]
Thanks for all your hard work there. For a while.
[1:09:24]
Parker was our only facilities tech
[1:09:26]
'cause we had a, one was out and one's been out.
[1:09:29]
Sheard just came back from a long-term
[1:09:31]
medical, he's back today.
[1:09:33]
And then with, with Sheard and Parker
[1:09:36]
and Melissa, Broadcom, we now have our full slate
[1:09:38]
of facilities tech folks.
[1:09:40]
So how long's
[1:09:42]
The waiting list to get something fixed?
[1:09:44]
How we're we get it quick.
[1:09:46]
We normally get it within the same day within
[1:09:48]
24 hours typically.
[1:09:49]
Right? Yeah. That's our goal is to try to do it in 24 hours.
[1:09:53]
Good. And, and like leaks and stuff like that even faster.
[1:09:58]
'cause you know, things like that.
[1:10:00]
But there's some stuff
[1:10:01]
that if it's smaller we have to move it.
[1:10:03]
But we try to do it in 24.
[1:10:06]
I I would say it's very clear to us that
[1:10:10]
how the tenants feel about these facilities is exactly
[1:10:13]
measured by how quickly respond.
[1:10:16]
So that the work order list is
[1:10:19]
absolutely critical to running this thing.
[1:10:21]
Right. And we do,
[1:10:24]
I've made the joke and it's, I think it's kind of true, is
[1:10:27]
that when Brian walks across the parking lot, it's similar
[1:10:30]
to when a person walks across a beach in Ocean City
[1:10:33]
with Thrasher french fries
[1:10:34]
and the seagulls start attacking 'cause they want the french fries.
[1:10:37]
That's kinda what happens to Brian
[1:10:39]
with the tenants when he's walking across the parking lot.
[1:10:41]
And so,
[1:10:43]
but, so just a couple quick updates and then we're done.
[1:10:47]
But like I mentioned the deck replacement at Fisher Manor,
[1:10:49]
we're finally getting ready to get it started.
[1:10:52]
We're gonna have six trees planted down the driveway at
[1:10:55]
Fisher Manor sometime this fall
[1:10:56]
to make it look more like an estate.
[1:11:00]
The grant has been approved
[1:11:01]
for a Fisher Manor in Riverside
[1:11:03]
Estates for our parking lots.
[1:11:05]
And like I said, we were short on funds
[1:11:06]
and we asked for money from State DHCD and they
[1:11:11]
provided us more money to totally cover
[1:11:12]
the cost of repaving.
[1:11:14]
Those two lots fencing surrounding the HVAC systems.
[1:11:18]
And the dumpsters at Graceville Terrace is looking chipped
[1:11:21]
and ragged and it's currently being replaced as we speak.
[1:11:26]
We're currently doing remodels at FoxTown Fisher, Mannar,
[1:11:30]
Graceville Terrace, Riverside States and Terra up and Grove.
[1:11:33]
And then our one scattered site at its bat's neck is
[1:11:36]
completely being remodeled.
[1:11:38]
The house is currently being leveled out
[1:11:40]
and placed on a block foundation
[1:11:42]
with an encapsulated crawl space.
[1:11:45]
Other renovations for that space include replacement
[1:11:48]
of the windows, the flooring, the appliances,
[1:11:50]
the kitchen cabinets, and other similar improvements.
[1:11:56]
There's a lot more than that day to day going on.
[1:12:00]
But those are some of the big ones that we have.
[1:12:02]
And Brian and his team are doing an amazing job.
[1:12:05]
So that's the update.
[1:12:08]
Super. So I have a new, new business guys.
[1:12:14]
A recurrent problem that we have had
[1:12:17]
and a complaint that we have lived with for three years
[1:12:22]
is the really second rate service
[1:12:25]
that we get out of Breeze Line.
[1:12:27]
That the tenants in all the facilities
[1:12:31]
are repeatedly saying breakdowns, failure of
[1:12:36]
repair to get in quickly.
[1:12:39]
And if there is a common complaint
[1:12:41]
and my general tactic has been to let it blow over my head
[1:12:45]
and tell him, Mr. Clark is gonna fix it.
[1:12:49]
But that has not happened because he couldn't do it
[1:12:53]
and he couldn't do it because we're on
[1:12:55]
some kind of contract.
[1:12:57]
But I want to back up
[1:12:58]
and say that in a way, this thing has gotten to be, to me,
[1:13:02]
an issue we really want to deal with
[1:13:04]
for the following reasons.
[1:13:07]
For a lot of, I would say a third of the people
[1:13:09]
that are living in these apartments,
[1:13:12]
they literally don't leave them.
[1:13:14]
And that that is their access to the world. To them.
[1:13:17]
It isn't just tv, it's life.
[1:13:21]
So when you have a bad service, it's breaking up
[1:13:24]
and it can't get repaired and it goes on
[1:13:27]
and on like that, we're gonna fix it.
[1:13:31]
So is there an alternative in
[1:13:34]
that we're gonna make an alternative?
[1:13:36]
It of course there's an alternative. I don't know.
[1:13:39]
I mean there are a number of different issues.
[1:13:41]
The first issue is there's a lot of the service,
[1:13:45]
you've heard the same thing.
[1:13:46]
It's very intermittent, it breaks down.
[1:13:48]
But secondly, there's a lot of, a lot
[1:13:51]
of the tenant don't understand the packages.
[1:13:54]
The packages are complicated
[1:13:56]
and one of them will say, well I'm paying 140 a month,
[1:14:00]
another one's paying 50.
[1:14:03]
If one complains about a specific rate package,
[1:14:07]
the the company will come in, cut their rate down
[1:14:10]
and turn off half the channels.
[1:14:12]
So I think what we need to do is arrive at some kind
[1:14:16]
of a uniform good package at a price that's understandable.
[1:14:20]
And if we need to subsidize it a bit, I'm gonna push that.
[1:14:24]
We try to get that done
[1:14:25]
because it's really important to these people who have
[1:14:28]
so little input that we, we do a good job.
[1:14:34]
So I want to ask for somebody to come up with a motion
[1:14:38]
that that'd be a, a project we get on with.
[1:14:42]
Let me just clarify a little.
[1:14:43]
So you were looking to find a vendor
[1:14:48]
And could be any one of the table design
[1:14:50]
and the comprehensible package that
[1:14:53]
That would be Affordable and
[1:14:55]
Affordable and, and would service all of our properties.
[1:14:58]
Exactly. I so move. Okay, so move. Yep.
[1:15:03]
Second everybody All in favor? Aye. There we go.
[1:15:08]
Michael, judge, get or done? Who
[1:15:10]
Seconded that?
[1:15:12]
Mr. Morano. Oh, okay. Find out some way to do it.
[1:15:17]
I actually spoke to Todd Mon about it this week.
[1:15:20]
He's, he's utterly cooperative and favorable with this.
[1:15:24]
I've talked to Michael, but it really is something at this
[1:15:27]
point we need to get done at.
[1:15:29]
Studying something for two years is, is not,
[1:15:34]
not the way this board works.
[1:15:36]
So thank you. End of speech.
[1:15:41]
Where do we go from here, Michael,
[1:15:44]
Other than let's That's it.
[1:15:46]
Announcements adjourn. Next board meeting is November 16th.
[1:15:49]
So if there's not any further business then if you want
[1:15:52]
to entertain a motion for adjournment.
[1:15:55]
Motion to adjourn. So a second. Thank you.