===PAGE 1=== LUNENBURG HOUSING AUTHORITY MINUTES OF THE REMOTE REGULAR MEETING 131 White Street, Lunenburg, MA October 21, 2021 Members Present: Members Absent: Jon Hogue, Chair Catherine Clark, Assistant Treasurer Deborah A.H. Christen, Vice Chair Linda McDonald, Treasurer Also Present: Benjamin Gold, Executive Director Adam Gautie, Assistant Executive Director Denise Ivaldi, Recording Secretary 1. Meeting called to order a. Chair Jon Hogue asked for a roll call of members present: Deborah Christen -present, Linda McDonald-present, Jon Hogue-present, Catherine Clark-absent. Also present were Benjamin Gold, Executive Director ; Adam Gautie, Assistant Executive Directo r and Denise Ivaldi, Administrative Assistant. The Chair declared a quorum present and opened the meeting at 2:02 p.m. b. Deborah Christen made a motion to accept and approve t he minutes of the September 23, 2021 meeting. Linda McDonald seconded and upon roll call vote with Jon Hogue-aye, Linda McDonald- aye, Deborah Christen-aye and the minutes were accepted and approved by a 3 to 0 vote. c. Opportunity for Public Comment – For the record there were no callers. 2. The Executive Director Report a. Town Appointed Tenant Member Seat is available, encourage everyone to apply. We have all heard the terrible news about Stan Randall’s passing the weekend after our last meeting. Stan was our most recent member and a fervent advocate for his fellow tenants. He would have been a helpful addition to our Board. The E.D. then asked for a few seconds of silence for Stan. b. Chair Jon Hogue is moving and resigning from the Board; this is his last meeting. The E.D. thanked Jon for serving and said he was sorry to see him leave. He has been a great addition to the Board and we enjoyed having him. Chair Hogue said he enjoyed his t ime here; everyone does a great job. He shares that when he goes around town. Linda McDonald said they wish him the very best; the Board thanked him. c. All Housing Authorities are looking to gain ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds. Advocacy actions included sending letters to local legislators to discuss our need for funding. We invited representatives out to visit and tour the site; Representative Danillo Sena and Senator John Cronin met with the Executive Director, Assistant E.D. and Director of Facilities. They took a 45 -minute walk around the complex and looked at a vacant unit; it was a nice experience. Pearl Brook is a nice complex but there are always items to address especially inside the units. Representative Michael Kushmerek is scheduled to come out November 1st for a tour. Chair Hogue stated that Mike Kushmerek is a really nice guy; he has been in City Council meetings on CDBG; he’s been a big supporter of the shelter and he cares. ===PAGE 2=== 3. Financial Report – September 2021 • Reserves are at 101.5% which is too high . We have a lot of expenses that will come out of reserves including power washing at the family units, sidewalk repairs, a tractor purchase and a smoking gazebo which will be discussed later in the meeting. Reserves should come down by the end of the year. • Shelter rents are behind due to an eviction and vacancies. Administrative Other is a little behind. • When we look at the bottom line, we are $17,316 favorable which is good news; we are in good shape. No concerns at this time. Motion to approve and accept the September 2021 financial report made by Linda McDonald; Deborah Christen seconded. Linda McDonald-aye, Deborah Christen-aye, Jon Hogue-aye, and financials were accepted and approved with a vote of 3 to 0. 4. Administration a. Modernization/Work Order Report – Adam Gautie 667-1 Community Room Decking and Handrail Replacement (Fish #162036) – Adam Gautie, Gerson Cintron and RCAT project manager Jim Turner held a pre-construction meeting with the contractor. We discussed the material and accepted the contractor’s sample of Trex decking. The contractor is ordering and decking should be in the first week of November. Once the project is started, it should be complete in two weeks. Update on the Generator – This will be a modernization project once the Annual Plan is finalized and submitted to DHCD; the Board approved the Plan at last month’s meeting. DHCD will then activate the project and we will receive funding . We are working with the designer who has two potential generator, Kohler and Generac; we will move forward with the Kohler. We hope to have the concrete pad installed before the ground freezes and the generator in as soon as possible after, hopefully before the winter. 45 routine work orders received, 33 completed; 10 emergency work orders, all completed. If you recall, last month the Board has requested a breakdown of the various work orders; we have added this to the bottom of the report. The Board said it was nice to see and interesting to keep an eye on everything; it gives them an idea of what a non-emergency work order is. b. State-Aided Housing Report – Ben Gold We received 15 standard applications in September; 7 elderly/young disabled and 8 family. We have 1,259 elderly/young disabled and 3, 276 families on the waiting list. There were no lease -ups or vacancies in September. We are at 100% occupancy. We do have one vacancy in October which will be reflected in next month’s report. We are ready to fill but waiting on unit to be finished; should be leased in November. 5. Unfinished Business – None Lunenburg Housing Authority Regular Meeting Minutes Page 2 October 21, 2021 ===PAGE 3=== 6. New Business Resolution 202 1-18 Approval of Revised No -Smoking Policy . We conducted a survey with all elderly residents and asked if they preferred no smoking or a having designated smoking area. The results were provided in the Board’s packet with an overwhelming response for a smoking shed. The new policy will reflect no smoking in the unit or on the porches. The previous policy stated smoking was allowed on the porches as long as it didn’t interfere with neighbors.; this was confusing for tenants. We will place a gazebo at the back of the complex as the designated smokin g area away from the buildings. At this time a tenant called in; the Board allowed the tenant to speak. Tenant asked about the BTUs allowed for air conditioners; hers is 5,000 BTU. Adam Gautie stated that Pearl Brook does not currently have an AC policy but one will be coming out shortly. The maximum will be 10,000 BTU so she should be all set. The tenant asked about the coin machine for laundry. Adam Gautie stated this was discussed with the current vendor; they do not have a coin machine but use an “add value” card where you can add money to the card. The “add value” card is being used at the Leominster complexes. Since Pearl Brook is a small complex, the cost of laundry may go up with the “add value” card. We will discuss further with the vendor. The tenant said that would be great; the Board thanked her for her time. The Board returned to the No-Smoking Policy with a brief discussion on enforcement always being a challenge especially in the winter. Marijuana and vaping being included in the policy so all bases were covered. Motion made by Deborah Christen to approve the no -smoking policy ; Linda McDonald seconded. Deborah Christen-aye, Linda McDonald-aye, Jon Hogue-aye, and motion passed with a 3 to 0 vote in favor. 7. Other Correspondence – The Executive Director reviewed • PHN 2021-20 FY2022 Local Housing Authority Budget Guidelines. This PHN discusses the budget guidelines and the 4% increase in ANUEL for 2022. 8. Resident Participation – None Requested 9. Board Commissioners’ Comments Jon Hogue said he would miss working with everyone. The Board thanked Jon and appreciated all his knowledge. 10. Motion to Adjourn: Linda McDonald made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 2:27 p.m.; Deborah Christen seconded. With all in favor the meeting adjourned. The next meeting will be held Thursday, November 18, 2021. Lunenburg Housing Authority Regular Meeting Minutes Page 3 October 21, 2021