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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMay 25, 2010 HRA MinutesHOUSING & REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING OF MAY 25, 2010 Call to order — The meeting was called to order by Chair Diehm at 8:10 pm 2. Roll Call — Chair: Tammera Diehm. Members: Bobby Williams, Bruce Nawrocki, Bruce Kelzenberg, Dennis Ecklund, and Gary Peterson Staff Present: Executive Director -Walt Fehst, Community Development Director -Scott Clark, Assistant Community Development Director - Sheila Cartney, and Secretary - Shelley Hanson Parkview /CommonBond staff: Laura Sheak, Jennifer Eels, and Lisa Wilcox- Erhardt 3. Pledge of Allegiance - Recited CONSENT AGENDA 4. Approve Minutes from January 26, 2010 and March 1, 2010 5. Approve Financial Report and Payment of Bills for January, February, March, and April 2010 on Resolution 2010 -03. Nawrocki questioned a payment for $37,080 to Project One Construction. Lisa stated that was a payment for the remodeling work for 3 rd and 4 th floor remodeling. There was some confusion because the General Ledger showed the payment going to BWBR Architects who is overseeing the project. Lisa stated this was probably an error in the journal entry because the payment did go to the contractor. Nawrocki then asked again about the servicing /administration fee that is charged for City Staff to oversee the operations of Parkview Villa. He again stated he thinks the amount is out of line and requested a breakdown of the fees. He was told he received that information the last time he requested it. Clark reminded him and the board that this figure is an amount set by the EDA and City Council during the budgeting process. Nawrocki then questioned the personnel costs of CommonBond staff and whether the costs were going to go over budget. Lisa stated the salary expenses are on target with the amount budgeted. Motion by Williams, seconded by Kelzenberg, to approve the consent agenda items as listed and to approve Resolution 2010 -03, Resolution of the Columbia Heights Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) approving the Financial Statement and Payment of Bills for the months of January, February, March and April 2010. All Ayes. MOTION PASSED. HRA Minutes Page 2 May 25, 2010 HRA RESOLUTION 2010 -03 RESOLUTION OF THE COLUMBIA HEIGHTS HOUSING & REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (HRA) APPROVING THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR JANUARY, FEBRUARY, MARCH AND APRIL OF 2010 AND PAYMENT OF BILLS FOR THE MONTHS OF JANUARY, FEBRUARY, MARCH AND APRIL 2010. WHEREAS, the Columbia Heights Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) is required by Minnesota Statutes Section 469.096, Subd. 9, to prepare a detailed financial statement which shows all receipts and disbursements, their nature, the money on hand, the purposes to which the money on hand is to be applied, the HRA's credits and assets and its outstanding liabilities; and WHEREAS, said Statute also requires the HRA to examine the statement and treasurer's vouchers or bills and if correct, to approve them by resolution and enter the resolution in its records; and WHEREAS, the financial statement for the months of January, February, March and April of 2010 and the list of bills for the months of January, February, March and April of 2010 are attached hereto and made a part of this resolution; and WHEREAS, the HRA has examined the financial statement and the list of bills and finds them to be acceptable as to both form and accuracy. NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Commissioners of the Columbia Heights Housing & Redevelopment Authority that it has examined the attached financial statements and list of bills, which are attached hereto and made a part hereof, and they are found to be correct, as to form and content; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the financial statements are acknowledged and received and the list of bills as presented in writing are approved for payment out of proper funds; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED this resolution and attachments are to be made a part of the permanent records of the Columbia Heights Housing & Redevelopment Authority. Passed this 25 day of May, 2010. BUSINESS ITEMS 6. Report of the Management Company Laura asked if there were any questions on the newsletter items or on the maintenance reports. Diehm stated she thought the reports were very thorough and helped keep members apprised of the various issues that are dealt with by management staff Nawrocki asked why the Police Reports for the property are not being included in the reports any longer. Laura told members that since the department moved into the new building they have not provided the information to her. The City Manager will check to see why the policy was changed as the members would like to have this information provided. HRA COMMISSION MINUTES PAGE 3 MAY 25, 2010 Laura also informed members that the generator in the south building needs to be replaced. She estimates the cost will be about $6,000. Laura said it is essential to have this done as soon as possible as it provides emergency power and was needed at least three times last year. Laura also reported the 3 rd floor remodeling is almost done. They are in the process of doing some miscellaneous finishing and basic clean up work. She then reported to the members that there have been a few violations of the "no smoking policy ". Laura informed the members that residents are being given 3 written warnings of the violations to their leases. If there are violations after that, they will be evicted and staff will attempt to help the resident find a new place. The Board agreed with the policy being followed. 7. Resident Council Minutes Ecklund reviewed the Resident Council minutes and Treasurer's Report. He passed out a copy of the Treasurer's report showing the expenditures and balances for review. 8. Citizen Forum All of the following comments were regarding the Resident Council By -Laws: Laverne Harper expressed her dissatisfaction that votes are not counted right away and that the residents don't know the outcome of the vote until after the meetings. She doesn't feel that is right. Jan Honeyford #205 -She also complained that now that paper ballots are being used, and are counted later, the results of votes aren't known. She felt they should be counted immediately during the public meeting. She didn't like the secrecy of how it is being handled. Barb Camp #608- Didn't agree with the draft of the new bylaws regarding how to handle vacancies. She thinks the Resident Council should vote on a replacement no matter when in the term a vacancy occurs. Terry White #509- Questioned why Denny can't serve on the Resident Council Board if he is a member of the HRA Board. She stated he wasn't told this and felt it is unfair. Diehm explained the reason that restriction was put into the new By -laws draft. She said it works much the same way as a Council Representative who sits on a commission as a liaison, but is not a voting member. It eliminates anyone having too much influence over decisions, but is there instead, to gather information and bring back any issues to the Board that may need to be addressed. Diehm then told the residents that the new by -laws draft is meant to be a guide for them to work from. The By -laws are for the residents and will be voted in by them, not the HRA Commission. They can be changed to accommodate the changes that were mentioned by some of the tenants tonight. Since this seems to be the topic citizens want to address tonight, she moved that item on the agenda forward to be discussed at this time. HRA Minutes Page 4 May 25, 2010 9. Resident Council By -Laws Review Cartney explained that the Resident Council is made up of all residents of Parkview Villa apartments, north and south. The Resident Council is run by elected officers and directed by a set of bylaws. Over the years the bylaws have been amended and policies have been made, resulting in several versions of the by -laws. Therefore, newly elected officials had questions as to what is actually in the bylaws and what is a policy or practice of the Resident Council. To ease confusion staff suggested the Resident Council adopt new bylaws. The HRA Chair, Tami Diehm, City Staff, CommonBond Management, the HRA Executive Director and the Resident Council President and Vice President then met to discuss and create the proposed bylaws. It was meant to provide the Resident Council a tool to work from. Walt Fehst recognized the work that Tami and the others including Denny Ecklund and Lyn Miner put into creating these new by -laws for the residents. Diehm stated at this point, the HRA's only function is to review and comment on the bylaws, as the HRA does not approve said bylaws. City staff has offered to be the record keeper of the by- laws once adopted by the Resident Council. They would keep track of any amendments to make sure they are kept current, and to disburse to residents as needed so everyone has the same information to work from. The Management Company could also hand out current, up -to -date copies to new residents when they move in. Hanson #325 -asked if the Resident Council would be voting on the by -laws. Diehm explained they would be presented to the residents at their next meeting for discussion and changes would be considered for a month, then the by -laws, as amended by the residents would be adopted at their next meeting. One of the residents who counted ballots said anyone could witness the counting. They weren't trying to be secret. But other residents said they were unaware of that. Barb Camp said she believes in having secret ballots, but thinks they should be counted at the meeting in public view. Nawrocki was disappointed on how the by -laws matter was handled. He said there was nothing in the Resident Council minutes that referenced problems with the by -laws. He didn't think staff or Board members should have been involved in creating new by -laws, unless they were asked. He said he was disappointed that the last meeting was cancelled, as that would have been the time for the residents to speak out about this. He thinks the process should have been initiated by the residents, not staff Diehm stated there was an attempt to change the by -laws, and that is when it was discovered there was more than one version. Since the current Resident Board wanted everything to be legal and clear, they did ask for help. HRA Minutes Page 5 May 25, 2010 Nawrocki again said he didn't see it referenced in their minutes. Barb Camp told members that the need for new by -laws was brought up at the last several meetings. Since the minutes are not done by a professional, sometimes things are missed. She was grateful that all the parties worked together to create the draft that the residents can now consider with minor modifications. She also went on record to acknowledge that staff from CommonBond are doing a good job. Peterson thought the draft was a good guideline to follow. He encouraged the residents to make whatever changes they deemed necessary, vote on it, and give a copy to management and staff so everyone is working with the same documents. Lyn Miner #202- thanked everyone who helped make sense out of the three different versions and come up with a draft to work with. 10. Antenna Lease On July 29, 2009 the HRA reviewed a lease amendment from T- Mobile relevant to space on Parkview Villa North's roof. At that time, the HRA rejected the proposal. T- Mobile has now made another offer signifying "Conversion Terms ". In addition to this, they have inferred that if they do not get a rate adjustment, they will terminate the lease. They sent information illustrating other leasing options which was enclosed in the agenda packets. Clark is unclear how serious they are to terminate the lease. Staff wants direction whether to continue with the existing lease or agree to the concessions they are requesting. Questions from members: Nawrocki asked how long the current lease is for? Diehm said it goes through 2016. Nawrocki then asked what kind of rentals we are receiving at the other sites. Walt said it varies. The antenna on the Public Works building is a little less, but they had the expense of constructing a building and of maintaining that on the site. He stated the antenna on the water tower is for a similar amount. Walt said the proposal being considered locks us into the lease for a long period of time. Clark said the main issue is there isn't much penalty for them if they terminate the lease under the new proposal. Diehm felt we should continue with the existing lease and if they wish to terminate it in six years, they can do so. There was a general consensus not to agree to a lease amendment at this time. HRA Minutes Page 6 May 25, 2010 The next regular HRA meeting is July 27, 2010 at Parkview Villa The meeting was adjourned at 9:10 pm Respectfully Submitted, Shelley Hanson Recording Secretary