Hillsdale Housing Commission
45 N. West Street � Hillsdale, MI  49242
Phone: (517) 439-1210 � Fax: (517) 439-9577 � E-mail: mail@hillsdalehousing.org

Minutes - Regular Meeting May 01, 2003

Call to Order

The regular monthly meeting of the Hillsdale Housing Commission was held in the Community Room of Hilltop Apartments on Thursday, May 01, 2003 , and was called to order at 12:07 p.m. by President Doty.

Roll Call

Additions to Agenda

There were no additions to the agenda.

Minutes - Regular Meeting April 03, 2003

Vice president Vear, supported by Commissioner Skiver, moved to accept the minutes of the regularly scheduled meeting held on April 03, 2003 as presented.  The motion carried unanimously.

Residents and Visitors with Commission Business

Tenant Parking Lot

Robb Zack (214) presented a discussion concerning visitor parking in the Hilltop Apartments parking lot.  The Board acknowledged Mr. Zack’s concerns and the parking rules were reiterated to Mr. Zack.  Mr. Cousino stated that, first and foremost, residents who see a violation should report the violation to the Hilltop Apartments Management Office.

Accounts Payable Report/Bills

Director Cousino reported that no accounts payable report was available due to a computer malfunction.  Mr. Cousino stated that an accounts payable report would be presented at the next regularly scheduled meeting.

Maintenance Supervisor’s Report

Apartment Turnover

Maintenance Supervisor Paul Piper reported one unit turnover for the month of April.

Payphone Revenue

Mr. Piper reported that the payphone at Hilltop Apartments had generated $3.65 in revenue since the last regular meeting.

Pond

Mr. Piper reported that the pond at Hilltop Apartments was operational.

Antenna

Mr. Piper reported that the installation of the new parts for the in-house antenna system had been unsuccessful.  Mr. Piper reported that he would work with the contractor in an attempt to revert to the original plan, including the installation of modulators at an estimated cost of $860.00 for 3 additional channels.

Fire Alarm System

Mr. Piper reported the receipt of quotes for the repair and upgrade of the fire alarm system.  Mr. Cousino recommended that the quote of $599.28 from Siemen’s for repairs to the system be approved.  Commissioner Field, supported by Vice president Vear, moved to approve the quote to repair and upgrade the fire alarm system.  The motion carried unanimously.  

Mr. Piper also reported the receipt of a quotation from Siemen’s to upgrade the current system, for the cost of $1,100.  Director Cousino also recommended that this quote be approved.  Vice president Vear moved to approve the quote.  Commissioner Field supported the motion and the motion carried unanimously.

Irrigation System

Mr. Piper reported that the irrigation system at Hilltop Apartments had been activated and was functioning normally.

Window Repair

Mr. Piper reported that extensive repair work had been completed to the windows in apartment # 307 due to a history of water leaks.  Mr. Piper reported that Hodge Construction removed and reinstalled the entire window system in order to reseal the windows. 

Exercise Equipment

Mr. Piper reported that exercise equipment for the fourth floor of Hilltop Apartments had been purchase and installed, as had been approved by Commission action during a previous meeting.  Mr. Piper further reported that the Hilltop Apartments Resident Association (HARA) had also purchased an additional recumbent bike and Mr. Piper had installed it as well.  Mr. Piper reported that he and Maintenance Person Luann Lehman were scheduled to hold a training class on May 2^nd to demonstrate the use of the new equipment.

Executive Director’s Report  

Monthly Accounting Reports

Executive Director Alton Cousino distributed photocopies of new accounting reports, prepared by the Commission’s fee accountants.  Mr. Cousino stated that the reports were similar to those used by other organizations and should provide a clearer picture of the Commission’s financial standings.  Mr. Cousino suggested distribution of the monthly reports on a quarterly basis, and Commissioners expressed approval.

HUD Operating Subsidy Funding Crisis

Mr. Cousino reported that although the House and Senate had not formally agreed to President Bush’s 2003 budget, it appeared as though the 90% operating subsidy estimate previously estimated would be accurate for the Commission’s FY 2004 budget year.  Mr. Cousino stated that no action needed to be taken at this time, but advised that it might be necessary to liquidate some assets at the end of the FYE 06/30/2004.  However, Mr. Cousino stated, as had been discussed previously, 100% funding was anticipated in Capital Fund grants, which should cover any shortfall.

OIG – Separation of Duties

Director Cousino reported that the Commission’s FY 2002 auditor strongly suggested more “separation of duties” among office staff with respect to financial operations.  Mr. Cousino reported that at a meeting hosted by the Upper Peninsula Housing Organization (UPHO) with officials from HUD’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG), he learned that PHAs were routinely being cited for failure to separate duties.  In order to comply with the auditor’s recommendations and the OIG’s mandates Mr. Cousino recommended that the Commission modify the Secretary’s job description to encompass new job duties; including processing payroll, paying invoices, and reconciling statements. 

FY 2004 Annual Plan

Director Cousino distributed copies of a letter from the Detroit office of HUD issuing approval of the FY 2004 Annual Plan, approved by the Housing Commission for submission at the last regular meeting.

Grant Reports

CFP 2002

Mr. Cousino reported that no action needed to be taken on this item at this time.

Reports of Committees and Subcommittees

There were no reports of committees or subcommittees.

Unfinished Business

Employee Medical Coverage

Director Cousino reported that he and President Doty were in the process of evaluating a quote to potentially change medical coverage for employees.  Research has not been completed therefore no action needed to be taken at this meeting.

Resolution #HHC 2003-15 – Accept FY Audit Report

No action was taken on this item.

Hilltop Apartments Exercise Equipment

Director Cousino reported that the approved exercise equipment for the 4^th floor Game Room of Hilltop Apartments had been installed.  As recommended by the Commission’s insurance agent, disclaimer notices were posted in the Game Room and waivers were delivered to each resident stating that they not use the equipment until they had signed the waiver and returned it to the office.  Mr. Cousino reported that the response has been very positive.

Executive Director’s Annual Evaluation

Mr. Cousino requested that the Commissioners return their completed Executive Director annual evaluation forms.  Mr. Cousino stated that the scores would be averaged and presented at a meeting in the near future.

New Business

Commissioner NAHRO Monitor Subscription

Director Cousino reported receipt of literature describing that the NAHRO Monitor was now available to Commissioners, and inquired as to whether any Commissioners were interested in a subscription.  Commissioners responded that, because Mr. Cousino receives the publication, the Commissioners felt they did not need separate subscriptions.  Commissioners requested that Mr. Cousino make pertinent articles from the Monitor available for review at Commission meetings.

Reasonable Accommodations Request – Strobe Smoke Alarm

Director Cousino reported the receipt of a Reasonable Accommodations Request (RAR) from a resident of Hilltop Apartments requesting strobe smoke detectors be installed in the apartment.  Mr. Cousino reported that the resident was extremely hard-of-hearing and recently had an incident which nearly resulted in a fire because the resident did not hear the smoke detector in his apartment.

Mr. Cousino reported that there were two smoke detector systems currently in the unit, and that they could be replaced with a strobe unit at little or no cost.  However, if the resident also wanted a strobe alarm that would activate if the building fire alarm was activated, the approximate cost of this item would be $1,000.  

Mr. Cousino recommended approval for the installation of both strobe smoke detectors, and recommended that the cost of installing (and removing) the building fire alarm strobe would be the responsibility of the resident.  

Vice president Vear, supported by Commissioner Field, moved to approve Mr. Cousino’s recommendation.  The motion carried unanimously.

ACOP Modification – Optional Exclusions/Zero Income Certification

Director Cousino reported that at a recent UPHO conference the subject of optional deductions was discussed at great length.  Mr. Cousino explained that under the Housing Reform act of 1998, HUD had allowed PHAs to adopt “optional income exclusions” including a withholding tax deduction for working families.  The Commission adopted these deductions as they appeared beneficial to the families and affected the Commission’s operating subsidy only slightly.  However, due to the current operating subsidy crisis and because HUD had now implemented mandatory rules to help working residents (and don’t affect the amount of operating subsidy), Mr. Cousino recommended that the optional exclusions be discontinued.

Director Cousino also reported that HUD had recently released a checklist for residents who claim less than $100 in monthly income, is intended to examine more closely a resident’s circumstances.   Under this new checklist, the resident is required to complete a special certification with this checklist as often as every 30 days.   

Director Cousino presented a draft ACOP to the Commissioners with the above changes as well as corrections to certain grammatical errors.  Mr. Cousino asked that the Board approve the draft ACOP for public posting and potential adoption at a later meeting.  Vice president Vear moved to post the draft ACOP.  Commissioner Field supported the motion, which carried unanimously.

Draft Data Security Policies

Director Cousino reported that PHAs recently received a directive from HUD requesting copies of their data security policies, intended to protect PHAs in case of identity theft, misappropriation, etc.  Mr. Cousino stated that he did not know of any PHA who had such a policy, and stated that to his knowledge, the closest any PHA had would was the Acceptable Computer Use Policy, developed by the Hillsdale Housing Commission, but stated that the policy only vaguely discussed data security.  

Mr. Cousino reported that he had been working with the Detroit office of HUD to develop draft data security policies for PHAs to implement, and distributed a draft Data Security Policy was to the Commissioners for review.  Mr. Cousino requested an additional 30 days for review of the draft before potentially adopting.  Mr. Cousino stated his opinion that this would give time to consider any potential changes.  A motion to table this item for review was made by Vice president Vear and was supported by Commissioner Field.  The motion carried unanimously.

Adjournment

Vice president Vear, supported by Commissioner Field, moved to adjourn.  The motion carried unanimously and the meeting adjourned at 12:55 p.m.  

Respectfully submitted,    

Michelle Loren, Secretary
Hillsdale Housing Commission