|
| | | | Call to Order
Minutes note: Meeting called to order at 3:00 p.m. | | | |
|
Not available
|
|
T376
| 0 | 1. | Motion | Approval of the minutes from the regular meeting held on March 6, 2025 | APPROVED | Pass | 5:0 |
Action details
|
Not available
|
|
T377
| 0 | 2. | Motion | Approval of the minutes of the regular meeting held on March 27, 2025
Minutes note: Director Crosby asked for a correction to be made to the meeting minutes of March 27, 2025, stating he was excused from the March meeting but is listed as present. The Board approved the minutes with the correction. | APPROVED | Pass | 5:0 |
Action details
|
Not available
|
|
T378
| 0 | 3. | Communication | Report from the President
Minutes note: Alison Woznicki, Vice President of Construction for Travaux, Inc., reported that Highland Gardens is currently the only project for which Travaux serves as the General Contractor. However, Travaux is also managing other projects, including elevator upgrades at College Court, Lincoln Court, and Mitchell Court, which are scheduled to begin in September. Additionally, Travaux is overseeing the Physical Needs Assessments for all of the public housing and market rate properties as part of HACM’s Sustainability Plan, as well as completing repairs in preparation for NSPIRE (National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate) inspections at Scattered Sites.
Ms. Woznicki referred the Board to the Highland Gardens G703 attachment included with the agenda. She explained that the scheduled value of $8,838,590.00 listed in the G703 represents an internal budget estimate jointly developed by HACM and Travaux. Ms. Woznicki explained that the project had originally seen some buyout savings added to the contingency during the initial bidding process, which lead the investor to request some additional items, such as ceiling tiles. As the work continued, costs increased, in part due to structural differences, which were the cause of most of the change orders, and also due to some required additions to the original scope of work. Ms. Woznicki delineated these larger changes, such as new walls and power related to fair housing requirements, changes in the size of refrigerator insulation, misrecorded masonry, and the addition of extensive landscaping. The contingency currently sits at $32,000, but there are outstanding change orders and items still to be bidded, and some of the outstanding items will be scaled back. For the moment, it is expected that the work still to be funded out of the contingency will total around $300,000. The Board requested additional details regarding these out-of-scope costs, previously approved by the former Chief Financial Officer. They also requested that a monthly progress report be provided to the Board on all active projects under Travaux’s management.
Dena Hunt, HACM’s Chief Operation Officer – Real Estate Operations, noted that, in response to previous Board discussions, the former Rent Assistance Program Update has been revised to focus specifically on Project-Based Vouchers (PBV). The updated format displays overall PBV voucher utilization and includes a breakdown by individual development. She explained that the PBV application or recertification follows a dual-track, simultaneous process involving both the LLC Property Management Office and the PBV Office, each responsible for separately verifying information submitted by the resident. In some cases, the Property Management Office may complete its certification and lease before the PBV side has activated payment. As a result, HACM‘s LLC property doesn’t initially receive the subsidy.
In response to a question from Director McCarthy regarding CVR’s performance, Ms. Hunt stated that staffing remains a primary challenge. Although CVR intended to initially onboard 30 experienced staff members, only 15 of those interviewed were hired. Currently, CVR has 40 employees, and five positions remain open, including the Director position. CVR’s goal to catch up with existing backlogs by the end of May remains on track. The Directors requested the following documents:
•A flowchart illustrating how funds flow from HUD through the PBV office to the LLC developments
•A document outlining the rent collection process, including how and when rent reminders are issued to residents and the timeline for initiating evictions
•An Accounts Receivable report
Ms. Hunt presented a draft of the new format for the Summary of DNS Violations Status Report, developed with the Board’s insight about what would be most helpful to them. She noted that Westlawn remains a particular challenge due to its size and high volume of work orders. To address this, she has been collaborating with Maintenance Director Mike Wellman, who has assembled both a DNS team and an NSPIRE team. Together with Westlawn’s maintenance staff, they are strategically tackling the work orders to ensure the units are prepared for inspections. The Directors requested that the DNS report be presented to the Board every quarter instead of monthly. They indicated that the graph is not necessary but asked that an additional column be added to include any violation fines issued to HACM. If fines are listed, the report should also include a narrative explaining the nature of each fine and whether it has been resolved.
Ms. Hunt presented a draft of the Public Housing Days Vacant & Move-ins / Move-outs Report, noting that this data had not been consistently or accurately tracked in the past. She explained that she and her team have been working on implementing Standard Operating Procedures to establish a clearer timeline and ensure more consistent data tracking from the point of move-out to when a unit is lease-ready. Director Gotzler recommended moving forward with a clean slate under the new processes, emphasizing that the current Average Days Vacant figure is unacceptably high.
Ms. Hunt presented the 12-Month Occupancy Reports for Public, Affordable, and Market Rate Housing. She noted that while the Work Order Reports were included with the agenda, she would like to hold off on reporting on that data at this time, explaining that she needs to conduct a thorough review of the data sources before providing an update. Regarding occupancy, Ms. Hunt reported that some sites have seen an increase while others have remained consistent, and she expressed confidence that HACM will continue to make progress in this area.
Ms. Hunt also informed the Board that, starting Monday, April 28th, HACM will launch a Maintenance Staff Survey, which will be left in units after repairs are completed. The survey will allow residents to provide feedback on the service and staff, supporting HACM’s Sustainability Plan. Additionally, she shared that maintenance staff are now using hang-tags on the outside of unit doors to notify residents and others when service work is being performed.
Mr. Barbeau also pointed out that the final item in the packet is a Comparative Funding Chart for 2025, which includes the funding levels approved in Congress’s continuing resolution passed in March. Mr. Barbeau emphasized that the future congressional budget funding remains uncertain.
| | | |
Action details
|
Not available
|
|
| | | | Adjournment
Minutes note: There being no further business, Director Crosby made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 4:30 p.m. Director McCarthy seconded the motion. There being no objections, the motion carried.
Meeting minutes prepared by: Patricia Dee and Maria Martinez-Planas | | | |
|
Not available
|
|
| | | | Upon reasonable notice, efforts will be made to accommodate the needs of persons with disabilities through sign language interpreters or auxiliary aids. For additional information or to request this service, contact the Housing Authority ADA Coordinator, at 286-5824, (FAX) 286-3456, (TDD) 286-3504 or by writing to the Coordinator at PO Box 324, Milwaukee, WI 53201-0324. | | | |
|
Not available
|
|
| | | | Persons engaged in lobbying as defined in s. 305-43-4 of the Milwaukee Code of Ordinances are required to register with the City Clerk's Office License Division. Registered lobbyists appearing before a Common Council committee are required to identify themselves as such. More information is available at http://city.milwaukee.gov/Lobbying. | | | |
|
Not available
|