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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-24-12 HOUSING & REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF APRIL 24, 2012 Call to order – 1.The meeting was called to order by Vice Chair Williams at 7:00 pm Roll Call 2. – Members present: Bruce Nawrocki, Donna Schmitt, and Bobby Williams. Members Absent: Tammera Diehm 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 Frost, Jennifer Ells, Jennifer Vota, and Brian Hon. 3.Pledge of Allegiance - Recited CONSENT AGENDA 4.Approve Minutes from January 24, 2012 and special meeting of March 5, 2012 and the Executive Session of March 5, 2012. 5.Approve Financial Report and Payment of Bills for January, February, and March 2012 on Resolution 2012-03. Questions from members: Schmitt noted that no grant income was received on any of the January-March reports. Schmitt asked if it was usual for it to take this long to receive grant funds. Frost said she has been working with HUD to get them all the necessary paperwork. She believes they now have everything they needed and any outstanding issues should be resolved. Nawrocki questioned several of the payments: March report-check #1344 for $820 was for advertising in Immaculate Conception Church Bulletin marketing vacant units. February report-check #1581 to Laura for $237.53 was a reimbursement of petty cash. #1322 for $332.11 was a security deposit refund. January report-payment to WAI Continuum Check #1561 for $3,729.24 was for architectural services for the Modernization Project. Check # 1562 to All Inc for $1,482.50 was for appliances. And Checks #1295 and #1296 were security deposit refunds. No action could be taken on these items due to a lack of quorum. HRA Minutes Page 2 BUSINESS ITEMS 6.Report of the Management Company Williams noted that CommonBond staff is doing an excellent job and that he was pleased to see that there haven’t been any police calls recently. Jennifer Ells told members she is struggling to fill the south side. Some residents have left or transferred to the north building due to financial hardships and others have moved due to the pending sale. She said that there are currently three empty units and she has received notices from four residents who will be vacating in May and four others are on the list to transfer to the north building. She has placed an ad in the Immaculate Conception Church Bulletin which expended the majority of her advertising budget funds. She also has contacted Anoka County Social Services, Senior Outreach, ACCAP, posted notices at Murzyn Hall, and put a notice on the City’s website regarding the availability of units. Jenny asked the Commission if they would be willing to offer a free month’s rent with a six month lease to qualifying individuals who sign between May and August. Nawrocki asked if the information was being put in the other church bulletins. Jenny responded that there is a fee for this type of advertising and that going into Immaculate’s bulletin expended most of her budget. Schmitt asked what the advertising budget amount is. Jenny said it is between $900-$1,000 per year. She thought Jenny should check with a few of the other churches as she knows some of them are much cheaper. Schmitt also suggested that Jenny put a flyer on their bulletin boards which could be done at no cost. Fehst said that giving a free month’s rent isn’t a bad idea and that it was worth the effort to try it. Williams agreed. Nawrocki suggested that they get an ad in the City Newsletter that is set to go to print later this week. Staff will make sure that information is forwarded to the person working on that. th Clark suggested we have a short meeting on May 7 to vote on the idea of giving a free month’s rent with a six month lease agreement. He explained that since no one at the meeting th had a problem with doing this, we could hold a quick meeting on the 7 since we don’t have a quorum to take action at this meeting. Consensus of the HRA was to offer the incentive and to have a special meeting as noted. HRA Minutes Page 3 7Resident Council Minutes . Lyn Miner reviewed the resident council minutes from the last few meetings with the Board members. Copies of the minutes were enclosed in the agenda packets. Nawrocki asked the residents if they felt they were getting adequate information about the sale of the building. No one raised any concerns at this time. 8. Citizen Forum Ken Bloch said the alley behind the strip mall has holes in it that could be tripping hazards. Fehst said that is a private alley, but he would contact the owner of the Mall and let him know. Lyn Miner-wondered what the status update is on the sale of building. Clark explained that the last meeting they had with residents was to explain the letter given to residents. He said that last meeting went very well and seemed to alleviate any concerns that residents had. He explained that the process is still moving forward. They are currently analyzing capital needs reports to decide how to best use the modernization funds so they are not lost and will have the most positive impact for the sale. Clark told the residents that Aeon will be meeting with the Resident Council Board Members in the next few weeks so they can establish what services residents want and need. In addition, Aeon will meet with all residents this summer to finalize the rehabilitation specifications. Aeon and staff are currently working to finalize the dual appraisal being done on the property (a market basis appraisal and a structure, as-is appraisal). Once this is done, Aeon will be applying for their financing and tax credits. In conjunction with this, Aeon will dissolve the SAC with HUD and create a new subsidy program. Aeon must also make their grant application by June 12, 2012. Clark still thinks that the process could be complete by the first part of 2013. 9. Approval of Window Analysis Contract with Encompass Clark introduced Brian Hon, Construction Project Manager for CommonBond and Mark Blasevic from Encompass. Clark reminded members that at the January 24, 2012 HRA meeting staff informed the HRA that a request for proposal was being prepared by CommonBond for analysis of the windows at Parkview Villa South. Over time it has become clear that a number of window envelopes have failed and that water intrusion is becoming an issue. As such, a request for proposal was originally sent out for analysis of the problem and contract preparation for bidding (similar to how the modernization plans and bid process works). Only two bids were received- Encompass at $22,820 and Inspec at $36,675 (tabulation was in included in packet). Staff realizes that the issue of actually correcting problems, coupled with the installation of windows, becomes complicated due to the potential sale to Aeon. In other words, does the HRA do window work in 2012 and negotiate that as part of the sales price? Is the issue at hand something that can wait until 2013 so the efficiencies of a total rehabilitation work, that Aeon is proposing, can be implemented? HRA Minutes Page 4 Based on these questions staff is recommending the following: 1)Staff asked Encompass to break their bid into two parts. Phase I ($9,660) is the analysis and Phase II ($13,160) is the plan preparation, bidding, etc. 2)Staff recommends the issuing of the Phase I portion of the bid at this time. The information derived from the analysis will serve as the foundation for discussions with all concerned parties as to what the next steps should be. Clark stated you can’t discuss a solution until you know what the problem is, and in this case, how big and extensive the issues possibly are. If approved, it is assumed that the Phase I work will be done in three months. Lastly, the Phase I will be funded thorough line item 5120, Capital Improvements, in the approved 2012 Parkview Villa South budget. The amount for this analysis work is within the parameters of the Executive Director’s spending limit. Therefore, the Executive Director can authorize this to proceed based on the severity of the problem affecting so many units. Questions from members: Nawrocki wanted a better idea of how big the problem really is. Brian told him that at least 10 windows in 10 units show signs of air and moisture coming through the framing around the bay windows, especially over the garage entry area. Water is evident on the sills and side jams of the window units. This moisture is causing rotting/mold in the walls and floors around the windows. Nawrocki asked if caulking would take care of the problem. Brian said it is much more serious than that. Water is migrating from the roof down and the path or source of the problem needs to be identified so it won’t continue to happen and rot out any replacement materials. He said it could be issues with the roof flashing, siding, soffits, window flashing, or pipes running throughout the building. Mark stated that they will use a high lift to observe the bay windows, look under siding, look at the scuppers, flashing, AC openings, piping, and do tests to determine the path water is taking. Nawrocki wanted to know if the building inspector had looked at it to determine the source of the problem. Clark said that is not his area of expertise to ascertain the source of the problem. He is not an engineer or knowledgeable in all areas of construction to make those determinations. The Building Official reviews plans and work to determine if it meets code. In the plan review process, he may ask for signed plans from structural engineers, soils engineers, mechanical engineers, etc. to ensure the work is designed properly. Schmitt asked if the repairs made to the roof could have contributed to this. Brian told her the roof repairs were done to the north building, not this one. Nawrocki again stated he thought caulking should take care of the problem and that he wants the building inspector to look at it and save the expense of having someone else determine the problem. Fehst stated that Gary Peterson who has construction background, had looked at the problem and noted the severity of the issue. Mark from Encompass also told members that caulking is a secondary precaution and that the framing, installation, and flashing are the most important factors. Clark stated HRA Minutes Page 5 we need to determine the source of the water problem so it doesn’t structurally ruin the building any further. To just replace the windows and have the leaking continue doesn’t make any sense. Nawrocki asked the building inspector meet him on site to review the situation. Staff will arrange to have the inspector meet with Nawrocki and the Project Manager to observe the unit that is in process of repair. Again, no action is required by the commission at this time. 10. Other Business Aeon update-This was given earlier in the meeting. The next regular HRA meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 24, 2012 at Parkview Villa. The meeting was adjourned at 8:05 pm. Respectfully Submitted, Shelley Hanson Recording Secretary