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Meeting date/time:
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9/12/2019
1:30 PM
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Minutes status:
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Final
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Meeting location:
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City Hall, Room 301-A, 200 East Wells Street
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| | | | The mission of the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM) is to foster strong, resilient and inclusive communities by providing a continuum of high-quality housing options that support self-sufficiency, good quality of life, and the opportunity to thrive. | | | |
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| | | | Call to Order
Minutes note: Meeting called to order at 1:43 p.m. | | | |
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| | | | Roll Call | | | |
Roll call
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| | A. | | APPROVAL OF THE CONSENT AGENDA | | | |
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| | | | CONSENT AGENDA – ITEMS RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL
(All items listed under the Consent Agenda will be enacted by one motion unless a Commissioner requires otherwise, in which event, the item will be removed from the Consent Agenda and considered separately.) | | | |
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R13083
| 0 | 1. | Motion | Approval of the minutes of the regular meeting held on August 14th, 2019 | APPROVED | Pass | 7:0 |
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| | B. | | REPORTS AND DISCUSSION ITEMS | | | |
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R13084
| 0 | 1. | Housing Authority Resolution | Resolution approving an award of contract to Continuum Architects (Milwaukee, WI) to be the architect for Merrill Park in an amount not to exceed $340,700.00
Minutes note: Warren Jones, Travaux's Vice President of Construction, stated that Continuum has performed satisfactorily in the past and that the costs are in line with expectations. Gabe DeVougas, HACM's Section 3 Coordinator, added that Continuum is working with several subcontractors who are, or are in the process of being named, Section 3 businesses and will greatly exceed the Section 3 goal for this work. | ADOPTED | Pass | 7:0 |
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R13085
| 0 | 2. | Housing Authority Resolution | Resolution approving an award of contract to Travaux, Incorporated (Milwaukee, WI) to be the Construction Manager at Risk for Merrill Park in an amount not to exceed $9.2 million
Minutes note: Warren Jones, Travaux's Vice President of Construction, explained that the work entails converting 24 units to fully accessible units, facade maintenance work and some remodeling of the rest of the units. The accessibility work includes removal of partition, but not structural, walls, remodeling the bathrooms and kitchens and updating the doors. The building is structurally in good shape. There will be some work on the HVAC systems and roof. The funding for this is due to the Rental Assistance Demonstration program (RAD).
Staff answered Commissioners’ questions about the order for filling vacancies, the meetings staff has had with residents to explain the work, and the timeline for the work to proceed.
| ADOPTED | Pass | 7:0 |
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R13086
| 0 | 3. | Communication | Report from the Secretary-Executive Director
Minutes note: Mr. Pérez discussed the following items and made note of particular areas of interest for the Board:
• A Position Paper from PHADA re: FY20 Appropriations: “Budget Deal Does Not Guarantee Adequate Funding”
• A Bipartisan Congressional Letter in Support of Increasing Funding for Public Housing
• A Letter from HUD re: Remote Review of Long-Term Vacant Public Housing Units
• The introduction from the HUD Notice re: the Rental Assistance Demonstration Final Implementation Revision 4
• A Letter from HUD re: Section 8 FY2018 Single-Room-Occupancy VA Surgeon’s Home Recapture
• An article from the PNC Insights web newsletter entitled 'It Takes the Village to Raise the Village'
• An Invitation to the September, 20, 2019 Groundbreaking at the VA Soldiers Home
Commissioners spoke about the letter received from HUD regarding the most recent Public Housing Assessment System (PHAS) score, for 2017, putting HACM in the Substandard category. It was suggested that the upcoming budget consider core organizational activities while still addressing the mission as effectively as possible.
Mr. Pérez asked Willie Hines, Jr., HACM's Associate Director, to discuss some of the efforts to address the PHAS score. Mr. Hines noted that one area of focus is increasing the occupancy rates. In 2018, HACM began an initiative to raise occupancy rates by bringing in additional outside partners for custodial and unit turnaround work, by breaking down silos within the organization to increase efficiency and update processes across sectors, by triaging scattered site units to determine their efficacy or what they need, and by rotating extra staff through more complex capital repairs across developments to bring an additional 128 units up to ready this year. Also, staff is working with an industry expert to review records against HUD’s database for accuracy and consistency. HUD’s Section 18 disposition option is being reviewed as one outlet for units that may no longer be viable for HACM. There was also discussion about various external and internal factors that have affected the occupancy rates. Looking forward, HACM will be meeting more frequently with HUD for dialogue and questions. The early unofficial PHAS numbers for 2018 look improved over 2017’s. A new software system will soon be deployed that will streamline maintenance orders and give real-time dashboards of the work being done at developments which should impact turnaround time and allow for more efficient deployment of staff. As the shift to RAD continues, the PHAS number, which is a review of units of public housing, may at some future point no longer apply, but there will still be oversight from WHEDA and the tax credit investors. Staff will continue to update the Board on the PHAS efforts.
Ken Barbeau, HACM Director of Community Programs and Services, introduced Rachel Contos, a new Trinity Fellow from Marquette who will be working at Community Services over the next year and a half.
Mr. Pérez told the Commissioners of some grants HACM is pursuing, and others under consideration. He shared news of some upcoming conferences, including the Wisconsin Association of Housing Authorities, which will be meeting in Milwaukee next week. HACM staff will be providing a number of workshops and there will be a tour of Westlawn.
Mr. Pérez congratulated Commissioner Donald who was recently appointed by Governor Evers to the District 1 Court of Appeals of Wisconsin. Commissioner Donald added that he had just come from a luncheon that honored Vice Chair Diaz for his work in social justice and congratulated him.
Commissioner Van Alstine shared that his term on HACM's Board has expired and that he will be replaced. He said he was privileged to serve for decades. He noted at his start HACM, DCD and RACM were all part of one organization. He believes that Mayor Norquist’s decision to separate the entities and now-Commissioner Diaz’s decision to lead HACM at the time continues to positively impact the organization today – with employees focused solely on HACM, he has seen many notable grants awarded, and improvements in many areas. He stated that he has been proud to serve and wanted to thank Commissioner Diaz for originally nominating him and providing this opportunity. Commissioner Daniels noted that she has been a resident during Commissioner Van Alstine’s service on the Board and was always pleased with his representation. Chair Wagner thanked Commissioner Van Alstine for his assistance as Commissioner and as Vice-Chair and for his work at the Milwaukee Christian Center. He added that Commissioner Van Alstine has been a benefit to HACM’s residents and all of Milwaukee. Mr. Pérez added that he hoped to be able to draw on Commissioner Van Alstine’s knowledge base and common sense advice going forward.
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| | | | Adjournment
Minutes note: There being no further business, Commissioner Van Alstine made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 3:35 p.m. Commissioner Donald seconded the motion. There being no objections, the motion carried. | | | |
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| | | | 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, Patricia Schmidtknecht at 286-5100, (FAX) 286-3456, (TDD) 286-3504 or by writing to the Coordinator at 650 West Reservoir, Milwaukee, WI 53212. | | | |
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| | | | 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. | | | |
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