SHA February 26, 2024 Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes

MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING OF THE
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF THE
SANFORD HOUSING AUTHORITY
MONDAY, February 26, 2024, AT 6:00 P.M.
317 CHATHAM STREET SANFORD, NC 27330

1. Roll Call:

ATTENDANCE:

Commissioner Hope White, Chairperson
Commissioner William Newby, Vice Chairperson
Commissioner Karen Wicker
Commissioner Holly Aeschliman
Commissioner Erin Britton
Commissioner Carolyn Gilchrist

ABSENT:

None

2. Financial Report
No Financial Report was given for January 2024.

3. Department Head Reports

Public Housing
Ms. White asked for someone to make a motion for the approval of the board minutes from January 25, 2024. Mr. Newby made a motion to approve the board minutes from the January 25, 2024, board meeting. Ms. Britton seconded the motion. All were in favor; the motion passed unanimously.

Ms. White stated that Mr. Goodson emailed her to let her know that the financials were not included because we are no longer with BDO, but Mr. Goodson will give an update.

Public Housing

Maintenance Report

Linden Heights: twenty-one work orders twenty-two completed, five outstanding work orders, the average days to complete the work orders was fourteen. Eleven emergency work orders were issued, and all were taken care of within 24 hours.
Utley Plaza: fifteen work orders were issued, twelve were completed, and there were thirty-eight outstanding work orders at the end of the month, the average number of days to complete the work orders was seventeen. Also, there were six emergency work orders issued and they were all completed within 24 hours.
Foushee Heights: four work orders were issued; five work orders were completed. The average days to complete the work orders was 15 days. There were three emergency work orders issued and three were completed within 24 hours.
Harris Court: Eleven work orders were issued, eleven were completed, and twelve were outstanding at the end of the month. The average days to complete the work orders was 6 days. Three emergency work orders were issued and all three were completed within 24 hours.
226 Linden A venue had no work orders.

Ms. White asked if the outstanding work orders were due to us going into each unit. Patrick said yes and we are compiling a list of what needs to be done as well as involving vendors, when necessary, but we are getting the units prepared before the contractors come. He said that the first month that he was here, they issued forty-seven work orders in one development based on the unit inspections. Ms. White asked if found anything else that we could use from old properties and Sherri said, no, we already took out everything that could be used. She said that we redid our maintenance shop at N. First St. Sherri said that we only have two men at each property, so it is typical to have a carryover of work orders.

Patrick gave the current occupancy rates for Public Housing:

Linden Heights: 97% occupied, with a 90% year-to-date occupancy rate
Utley Plaza: 98% occupancy rate, with a 96% year-to-date occupancy rate
Foushee Heights: 83% occupancy rate, with an 83% year-to-date occupancy rate
Harris Court: 96% occupancy rate, with a 94% year-to-date occupancy rate
226 Linden: 100% occupancy rate with a 100% year-to-date occupancy rate

*The overall occupancy rate is at 95% with a 93% year-to-date occupancy rate

MGG
Ms. White asked who was kicking everyone out. Sherri said that we gave everyone multiple notices as we are now collecting rent and Danielle had to take twenty-nine to court; Patrick had seven but only had to take two to court. Danielle said that a lot of them have not paid for two years, and a lot of people are saying COVID. She said that out of twenty-nine, she had to evict ten because the other ones paid; and four appealed. Sherri said that we give them a non-payment of rent notice and HUD gives them 30 days to pay their rent and they did not do so and once they do not pay, she goes to court. She said that during this time between getting the notice and going to court, they still have a chance to come in and pay. She said, once we file eviction, they must pay $125 additional dollars for court costs. Patrick said that he has four people to get moved in at the beginning of the month. Mr. Goodson said that now there are consequences for not paying their rent. He said that we are here to house people, not to put people out but they must pay their bills so that we can pay our bills and that is why we were in the situation we were in financially. Danielle also said that we are taking them to court when they do not complete their paperwork and terminate them if they are a nuisance. One person who will be evicted will also be terminated if they are nuisances because they are not following their lease agreement. Ms. White asked if we are offering to help them fill out paperwork and Danielle replied, yes. She said that she has even started referring people to Resident Services for help and homeownership. Mr. Goodson asked if we provided a receipt; Danielle said no but we are making a copy of the money order. She said that when you process a payment, the receipt will now be printed out. Ms. White said that a tenant at her church said that he made a payment, but he did not get a receipt. Ms. White said that we do not want people to go online. Danielle said that it would be helpful because some people would prefer to go online and pay and have documentation. Ms. White said, yes, but probably not for the elderly disabled community. Patrick said that at his last job, they could do it automatically online once they got paid.

Danielle said that there are eight vacancies, not including the ten, but she is working on some other applications. She said that she had two move-ins and hopefully three more, she is waiting on the compliance company, EJW Compliance, to approve the applications. Ms. White asked if there were any more questions for MGG and there were no questions.

HCV
Karen asked if there were any questions for HCV. Ms. White asked when the waitlist would open and Sherri said that we were just waiting for the software conversion to be completed so that we did not have too many projects going on at one time, but we are hoping to open it up in March but by April. Sherri said that it would be open online. Ms. White had a concern about it being done online. Sherri said that everything that we do online is in English and Spanish, and we offer reasonable accommodations to help those who cannot complete the application online. She said that we do not have the staff to take the applications and process them, so we must do it online. Sherri said before we open the waitlist, we will put it online and let social service agencies know within a 50-mile radius that our waitlist is now open. She said that two weeks before we opened it. She said that online through SACS is easy and is not a full application with simple questions. Once their name is on the waitlist, then we will bring them in to do interviews to get their applications. Ms. Gilchrist asked if they were not able to do it but had someone else do it. Sherri said that the elderly/disabled come in and we help them; the application is date and time-stamped so that they do not lose their place. Mr. Goodson said that some people cannot do it online but some of the elderly cannot, but we hope to help those people. Sherri said that online tells them that if they need accommodations, staff will help them complete the paperwork. Ms. White asked if the previous list was depleted, Keren said yes, and the last two hundred-plus applicants were recently notified. Ms. White asked if there were any other questions, but there were no other questions.

Resident Services
The report was included in the packet and there were no questions.

4. New Business

Development
Mr. Goodson explained that one of the big projects that we are working on is Stewart Manor and we are moving forward to redevelop the property. The first step is to select a co-developer partner. He said that you look for experience, financial backing to fund the project, relationships with contractors, and relationships with the HUD field office in Greensboro, because we went out on an RFQ and received three proposals. All three were extremely qualified; Mr. Goodson and TAG, our financial advisors, interviewed all three via Zoom and we were impressed but we decided that the best co-developer for this housing authority is Galvan. He said that one of the senior reps for Galvan, two regional administrators over a region from HUD on their development team, for approval and HUD funding. He said that he had not informed them, so they knew nothing. He said that with the board's approval, we will begin negotiations with them as the next step. The MDA lays out all the terms of the agreement like developer split; the Banks Law firm will be involved in those conversations. Then we will get started on trying to find the money for the project. He said that during conversations with Galvan, they also talked about that it may be a complete demolition and new construction done for Stewart Manor. Ms. White said that we talked about this previously, but when that information was taken to HUD, there was nothing wrong with the building so it would not be tom down. Mr. Goodson said it did not pass the obsolescence test, but I absolutely will now. Ms. White said that she suggested that it be tom down because the senior elderly do not need five floors and the mold abatement alone is a million dollars. She said that when HUD came down to do a physical assessment HUD did not approve that it did not pass the obsolescence test, even with the plumbing issues on the first floor and the mold problem. Mr. Goodson said that he has seen other properties pass the obsolescence test and they were not as bad as Stewart Manor.

Mr. Goodson said that his first reaction was to renovate because of his attachment to the building but he has also been a part of demolition and construction and it is better to have a brand-new building. He said that we can renovate Stewart Manor for twenty-five million dollars but still not get what you want; with new construction, you can go from 99 or 100 units to about 115 units; so, we are going to explore all options to move it forward as prudently and quickly as possible. He said that we do not pay a dime until we get to closing and then at closing, we also can get our developer fee. He said that if we do it right, the community will like it. He said that it still may be a rehab project. Ms. White said that she was totally against the last vote that we had with the financial person, and she is still not sold but she does have a sense of urgency about the building now; she said that she does not want anything to happen over there. Mr. Goodson clarified that Ms. White's opposition was not against the company, but the financial component was the issue. He said that we have one of the top financial consultants in the industry and we are working through some financial challenges here.

Mr. Goodson said on Friday night someone broke in on the third floor; the first floor is boarded up. He said that we may have to board all windows up. He said that they were smoking, and the fire alarm went off. He said we still have the fire alarm, water, and electricity on. Ms. Gilchrist asked if the building was lit up and he said yes. Sherri said that we just got the building inspected. Sherri said that the elevator company just went out of business, so she must find another elevator company. Sherri said that we just had the building inspected by the fire department and they made us remove the boards from the windows and install all new locks. The fire department stated that if they come into the building and one of their people cannot get out, is an issue. She asked if we had new cameras put up at Stewart Manor and we spent over $10,000 to get the cameras installed. She said that there must be a way to log into those cameras. Mr. Newby said that there were a lot of problems with crime at Stewart Manor. Ms. White said they had problems with prostitution and drugs there. Sherri said that she would check on it.

Ms. White said that they also had to put lights in the stairwell and there was a lot of money spent on that building. She said the elevator had water underneath, but it was fixed. Sherri said that there is still water underneath the elevator which is why we are having some issues. Ms. White said that when the company installed the two new elevators, they had to keep coming back because there was water under the elevator, and we knew it was because of the first-floor plumbing issues. Sherri said that we think that it is a plumbing issue on the first floor. Ms. White said she hit the roof, a tenant was living there, and he had a hole in his floor and Mr. Newby agreed. She said that she called the former CEO on her cell phone that night and had her put him in a hotel. Mr. Newby said that there was a lot of pushback about moving him and others. Sherri said that if they like where they are, they want to stay where they are. Mr. Newby said they could not determine where the leak was coming from and were not looking for it in the right place. Mr. Newby said that is why we are in the position we are in with the building. Mr. Goodson said that we must be thoughtful about our next move, whether it is a renovation or a demolition because the building is an old building. Ms. White asked where Galvan was based, and Mr. Goodson said the Midwest. Mr. Goodson said that if we cannot enter an MDA with Galvan, we would go to the second and if not with them, to the third based on the rank.

Ms. White asked for a motion to enter an MDA to start negotiations. Dr. Wicker motioned to allow Mr. Goodson to enter an MDA with Galvan. Ms. Britton seconded the motion; all were in favor and the motion passed unanimously.

Ms. White and Dr. Wicker recused themselves from the vote. Ms. Gilchrist made the motion for Ms. White and Dr. Wicker to be recused. Ms. Britton seconded the motion. All were in favor; the motion passed unanimously.

Mr. Goodson explained that the property on Garden Street, who was on the board of commissioners but was not on the board to purchase five units 2.8 parcel. Attorney Bill Wilson handled the sale to the church, and they had all types of restrictive covenants for the property, and they are still in place until 2029. Mr. Goodson said that Pastor Mellette offered to buy the property at $82,000 to get rid of the restrictive covenants, which is $2000 more than what was offered, which would allow them to do whatever they want to do with the property. He said that he asked for $100,000, but he is happy to get what we got for it.

He said that we could wait until 2029 and not get any more money but his recommendation to the board is to accept the $82,000 to remove the restrictive covenants. He said that he spoke with Megan, our field representative with HUD and she sent it up the chain, but they have not responded, but as far as our research with the law firm is concerned, they have no authority. He said that since we granted the restrictive covenant, we should be able to release the restrictive covenant. Mr. Goodson said that before, HUD had a big interest in it but not now. He said that Banks Law firm has no issue with us releasing the restrictive covenants.

Mr. Newby asked if we could get the property back in the future. Mr. Goodson said that he would not recommend it because we have our plate full and so we would have five more units that need to be renovated, which would be about $300,000. Mr. Newby said that he asked based on the tax value.

Mr. Newby made the motion to approve the removal of the restrictive covenants under Section I to the church. Ms. Gilchrist seconded. All were in favor; the motion passed unanimously.

5. New Business
Mr. Goodson said that we have a new fee accountant because BDO does not support SACS. He said that Jim Kincaide will come to visit us the week of the seventh and hopefully, we will engage them, and we will have our financial reports. He said that he has had the CFO advertisement out and he has had no responses. He said that he could not just settle for anyone. He said that if we cannot get a CFO, he feels better with Barfield and Kincaide. He said that he spoke with SACS, and they are familiar with them. He said that certain software packages will not deal with certain software.

Mr. Goodson spoke about the office building at I 000 Carthage and said that he would meet with Buckels to talk about putting the building out on the market to get some interest in the building. Once we get some interest, he will get a construction loan to renovate and convert it to permanent debt through Trust, which is not a problem because the building is paid for. He said we could set it up the right way and get back into the building with an anchor tenant downstairs before we renovate the building. He said that we must start with a new roof which is about $100,000, and then abate the mold so it is at least a million-dollar project there.

The week of March 11, we have a Fair Housing review and HUD will be here for a second time. He said that online opportunities for people to apply are an item that they will be looking for. Sherri said that we must provide them with all the board's names and phone numbers. She said that they will be interviewing some staff and some tenants, and she does not know who else is from the board. She said that it is between the 11th through the 15th. Mr. Goodson said that he would be here for the Fair Housing visit from HUD.

Sherri spoke about REAC; she said that we have a REAC Inspire inspection for the 18th and the 19th inspection. The national standard for our units is for Linden, Utley, and Foushee. Sherri said that before we knew about this inspection, we had started going into the units to inspect quarterly and were sometimes in the unit 3 or 4 times because when the units do not pass our inspection, we allow the tenants to correct what we found wrong and then we reinspect and reinspect. Mr. Goodson said that is why we have so many work orders. Sherri said, this Thursday and Friday, we will go in to do an Inspire inspection before the group comes to inspect from HUD. She said that on the morning of the 18th, all staff will be onsite at 7 :00 am to make sure that there is no bulk trash, etc. She said our roofs are being done at 504 N. First St., Foushee, Matthews Ct., and Gilmore. We were able to get an insurance claim for roof repairs; not all are being repaired or replaced but they finished Foushee today and one interior unit, and we are getting it done the best way possible. She said inside Foushee Heights, she has been transferring tenants because tenants are hanging, and the paint has been neglected. She said that she could not fix everything for the inspection, but it would be better than it was. Mr. Goodson said that we are prioritizing Stewart Manor and with public housing, we must do major work because the units are old and have about a 20-year expectancy and the patchwork with the paint, etc., will not do it. Mr. Goodson said that we are moving in a good direction. He said that we buy goodwill with the city and the county when they see us making improvements.

Ms. White asked for a motion to go into a closed session to talk about personnel matters. Mr. Newby motioned to go into a closed session to talk about personnel matters. Ms. Gilchrist seconded; all were in favor. The motion passed unanimously.

6. Commissioners' Comments
No additional comments

7. Public Comments
There were no public comments.

8. Closed Session
The closed session started at 6:59 pm, Ms. White asked that the recording stop and asked that Mr. Goodson stay.

9. Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at approximately 7:30 pm

Marcus D. Goodson, Secretary Date