7.14.2025 Housing Authority

Meeting of the For River Housing Commission is now in order. It is 4:37.

Two of our commissioners are running a little late, but they should be here very shortly.

Roll call.

Chairman Long here.

Vice Chairman Underh Hill here.

Commissioner Burns is tardy.

Commissioner is tardy. Commissioner Maderas here.

Councelor, can you read the uh open meeting law?

Sure.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Persuent to the open meeting law. Um the language for the open meeting law is as follows.

Person went to the open meeting law. Any person may make an audio or video recording of this public meeting or may transmit the meeting through any medium.

Attendees are therefore advised that such recordings or transmissions are being made whether perceived or unpersceived by those present and are deemed acknowledged and permissible.

Do we have any here? Anyone here for citizen input?

Seeing none. Anybody here for resident input?

None.

Minutes of the proposed regular meeting held June 16, 2025.

Hope we all reviewed it. I'll take a uh motion to accept.

Motion uh to accept the uh minutes from the June meeting.

Second.

Motion made and seconded. All those in favor?

I opposed.

The bills in communication vouchers.

Right there.

We review the vouchers. If there's no discussion, I'll uh take a motion to accept the vouchers.

I'll make a motion to accept the vouchers.

Second.

Motion made and seconded. All those in favor?

I I opposed.

I'm doing all these shot right there.

Yeah. Read them all in. Yeah.

Okay. management reports. We have applications, occupancy reports, penance accounts receivable, work order report, monthly section 8 voucher activity report, monthly personnel count and report, director of monizations monthly report, bank investments and bond debt balance reports.

Make a motion uh to accept the management reports.

Second motion made and second. Any discussion?

Seeing none, all those in favor?

Opposed?

Financial reports. the monthly financial reports after this weekend.

The monthly financial reports for May 2025 been reviewed.

I'll accept a motion to approve the financial reports for May of 2025.

I'll make a motion to approve the monthly financial reports May 2025.

Second.

Motion made and seconded. Any discussion?

None. All those in favor?

I oppose.

Update from the executive director.

Thank you, Chairman Long. Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome. A few things to uh update uh everyone on. Uh our human resources department. We hired a truck driver uh to replace uh previous employee who retired. And we also uh hired a CCTV technician for uh monitoring our cameras. Uh so those were both uh done um last month.

Uh in your packet you received a letter from HUD regarding our CMAT score for the section 8 department. Uh once again um we're uh considered a high performer.

We scored a 97.

uh Carrie Faras, uh Maria Fanso, um who run that department and all their staff members just do an incredible job um administering that program. So, year in and year out, we're a high performer under the section 8 um department.

uh resident services. Uh we've kicked off uh some of the cookouts at the elderly sites uh this week and we're also starting our movie nights which will um cover six sites. Uh starting tonight is the first one at Pleasant View. So, um I don't recall which movie is being shown, but if anybody's interested in a free movie, you can go down to Pleasant View about 8:30 tonight to get popcorn and pizza.

It's a great event. The kids and the families really enjoy it.

Uh under miscellaneous, I know uh last month we had um a resident from Bishop E express some concerns. Um we've uh started an investigation into that.

We're almost ready to wrap up and there will be a resident meeting scheduled for next week uh to address uh those concerns. Uh and I will be sending out an invite to all uh board members. If they're able to attend, they can attend.

Um one last thing, uh next month's board meeting is scheduled for August the 11th. That's the second Monday. I am going to be away um returning back to work on the Thursday. So, we have three options.

you can uh go forward with your meeting with me being absent. We can do the Thursday when I get back or the following Monday.

So, it's the pleasure of the board.

Whatever you'd like to do.

Could you run the dates by me again? I'm sorry. I'm a little slow.

So, the meeting is scheduled for August the 11th, the Monday.

Yeah. I'm back to work on the Thursday.

Yep.

So, uh, we can do the meeting the Thursday or the following Monday, which would be the 18th, or you can conduct the meeting without me.

So, you have three options.

They work for me. The dates work.

I'm fine with the I prefer you be here.

So, I'm I'm fine with Thursday or Monday.

I'm fine with Thursday or Monday.

Yeah. Same with me.

What the Thursday? Jason, I don't have a preference, but if you want me to pick one, I'll pick one.

Pick one.

Go with the 18.

Yeah, sounds good.

Is that Monday?

Yeah.

Yeah.

The following Monday. So, be pushed out a week, same time, 4:30.

Yeah, I think it's good with that.

Okay.

So, uh, for the record, Martha?

Yes.

August the 18th at 4:30, which is a Monday.

I'll send you.

Yep.

18 foot30 together.

And that is all I have for this morning.

Thank you.

At this time, I'd like to uh welcome back our commissioner, Jay Burns, who's been uh absent lately. Uh not by his own choice, but we're glad to have him back and be back at full compliment. Um so, welcome back, Commissioner.

Thank you. Great to be back.

The other thing is I was remiss when we started the meeting, but I think we should uh really uh take a minute to just uh have some thoughts about the uh victims of the Oliver Street uh fire last evening. Um pretty bad. I think uh everyone who has talked about it has said the uh fire services, EMS, police, all our first responders did a hell of a job and I congratulate them and I thank

them. But I think you know we our hearts really go out to the victims and those who lost their lives in uh in that terrible terrible uh fire. So if you just take a minute to just you know whatever you have to just little moment of silence please.

Thank you. Uh next is our new business uh under modernization. We have no items this month.

uh procurement. We had uh cleaning and preparation of vacant units.

Um is a recommended action to award a three-year contract with an additional one-year contract renewal at the sold aggression of the affordable housing authority to the loan bidder Lydia's cleaning service in an amount not to exceed $103,100.

May I ask one question? Is the 103 for all three years or is 103 a year?

All three.

All three. Okay.

And the 103 also includes and the renewal for an additional and again no it would not include the renewal because but it's our sole discretion to exercise.

So it's 3 years and if I may it's not not to as you know we have to it it's almost it's almost impossible to give an exact count. So I meet with Mr. Majuski beforehand, but we're putting out an estimate number of onebedrooms, two bedrooms, three bedrooms, four bedrooms that would open up over that over that time frame. So again, with our with our goals, HUDM mandated goals of flipping those units

and leasing them up as quickly as possible. So I'll meet with I always meet with the administrator of the contract and I get estimates from Ed. So again, we're that it's very possible that it may not it be that much if you don't hit the number of vacancies, you know, and as you know, we haven't we've been especially on our elderly sites, we don't have the turnover that we had years ago. So

I would a local company.

Yeah, SW I believe Swansea and we sent it to the three folks. I mean did the did the advertising requirements, but I did send it to the three folks that we've had in the past. One company is one of our on calls who I think is busy with other stuff, carpentry, painting, things of that nature. And the other company I think is kind of getting out of the getting out of the business. So

that's the sense I get. And then again, we did the normal protocols of of uh the other mandated statutory required advertisements, the newspaper, things of that nature.

I'll make a motion.

You made one.

All right. So, I'll make a motion to award the three-year contract with a uh additional one-year contract renewal to Lydia's Cleaning Service.

Second.

Not to exceed $13,100.

Second.

Motion made and seconded. Any further discussion?

All those in favor?

I opposed.

Next item is plumbing fixtures. is the recommended action. Award a six-month contract to Wind Supply of Four River Supply New England and Plumbers Supply in an amount not to exceed 50,000.

I guess that's per year for each vendor.

The six-month contract six month. Yeah. Not to exceed six-month contract not to exceed $50,000 for each vendor. Is that correct?

Correct. Okay.

I have a question.

Yes.

I'm sorry. Is this just for um the purchase of materials from these companies?

Yes. So, you know, with our internal staff, again, to close out work orders as quickly as possible, we have three plumbers internally. We utilize all of the local plumbing supply houses in the city. We always award multiple contracts here. What we've done is just, this is just recent, but we've looked to shorten down the term from a year to 6 months.

We target about off the top of my head, we target about, I believe it's about 25 items that we typically get routinely. So obviously there are certain emergency items that may not be in there that you don't confront frequently. Um and uh we get these in place because sometimes you need these stuff on the shelves.

Sometimes you do have the luxury to have it ordered and and delivered to the supply house. But this is a a constant, you know, it's a it's a different it's it's a different need for a a quasi political branch of government like us, right? I mean, we're we're a large landlord, so you you won't see a city typically do contracts like this. I mean, if they have an issue with a bathroom at city hall, it's typically

shut down. If it takes 2 weeks, it takes 2 weeks. But by nature of our leases where we got to address these things and again, the work orders are in the system. It's another way we're evaluated as far as the time frame of closing out work orders. It's an immediate typically a health safety issue, right? Running water, toilets, showers, things of that nature. So our buying in this particular

field is heavy in the plumbing area. So that's why we do and we we in our advertisements we announce ahead of time that we we plan on reserving the right to have multiple contracts. So and just so you and and just for the edification of the commissioners the first one wind supply that's the former Simons on uh on Cambridge Street in case you're not familiar with that. So these are again

three local vendors in the city.

Uh, I'll make a motion uh to award six-month contract to Wind Supply of Ball River Supply New England and Plumbers Supply in an amount not to exceed 50,000 for each vendor.

Second.

Motion made and seconded. Any further discussion?

All those in favor?

I opposed.

Electrical inventory supplies recommended action. Award a six-month contract to Blown Bidder Electrical Wholesalers Inc. in amount not to exceed $50,000.

I'll make a motion to award a six-month contract to the loan bidder Electrical Wholesalers, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $50,000.

Second.

Motion made and seconded. Any discussion?

May I comment, Mr. Chairman? Just on same item we do the the now we do send to the three locals. This has been a historic thing. I don't know why typically EW responds. So what we do to remain on the same side again we have inter internal electricians two to be specific um we do set up blankets at the other two site at the other two vendors in the city on the first of each month

in case our folks need to go there to make the purchase. So, and and again for to to assist in oversight, we do the same thing on the three plumbing houses.

Even with the contracts, we set up blankets on the first to show some oversight to help both the county and uh our facilities director, you know, track the purchase and whatnot.

Thank you, commission. Uh chairman, do we have a motion on this already?

Yes. Motion made and seconded. No major comments. All those in favor? I I opposed.

We have no miscellaneous items this month.

I did want to uh recognize and I know the uh executive director had made mention of this but uh just to the staff at the for housing authority and the administrators and that type of thing is uh for them to earn a 97% uh uh um score in the overall capac uh and be designated as a high performer is a is a heck of a uh I'm proud to say that uh they're doing a

great job and I think they should be recognized and uh that's I'm saying that congratulations on uh on doing that and keep up the good work.

Does anybody have any other business that has to become before the meeting?

Done.

Done. I'll I'll entertain a motion to adjurnn.

Motion to journ.

Second.

Motion made and seconded. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor? I I opposed.

This meeting is now over.

It's good to see you today. Doing great.