BOC - May 2024 Meeting Minutes

Little River County Housing Authority Quarterly Board Meeting 
Thursday, May 16, 2024 @ 2:00 PM
The meeting of the Board of Commissioners of Little River County Housing Authority was held on Thursday, May 16, 2024 @ 2:00 PM via Zoom.

Members present: Chairperson Barbara Brown, Commissioner Anthony Nelson, Commissioner Terry Smith, Commissioner Mike Cranford and Secretary Denise Riley.
Members absent: Commissioner Amanda Johnson

Item I) Meeting was called to order by Chairperson Barbara Brown

Item II) Invocation by Commissioner Anthony Nelson

Item III) Roll call by Secretary Denise Riley

Item IV) Resolution #2024-05: Approval of Meeting Agenda: Meeting agenda was mailed to all Board members for review prior to the meeting. A motion was made by Commissioner Mike Cranford to approve the meeting agenda. Seconded by Commissioner Anthony Nelson. All were in favor. Motion carried.

Item V) Resolution #2024-06: Approval of Previous Minutes: Previous Minutes were mailed to all Board members for review prior to the meeting. A motion was made by Commissioner Anthony Nelson to accept the previous minutes. Seconded by Commissioner Mike Cranford. All were in favor. Motion carried.

Item VI) Resolution #2024-07: Approval of 2024 CFP. The Housing Authority is to receive $407,418 in capital funds for 2024. HUD Form 52840-A was mailed to all Board members for review prior to the meeting. A motion was made by Commissioner Mike Cranford to approve 2024 CFP. Seconded by Commissioner Anthony Nelson. All were in favor. Motion carried.

Item VII) Resolution #2024-08: Approval of 2023 FYE Audit report. A copy of the Audit report was emailed to all Board members for review prior to the meeting. Denise Riley explains that the audit was easy and efficient due to the setup of their office. Segregation of duties is a persistent issue for the agency, despite efforts to fix it. Denise Riley and Commissioner Mike Cranford discussed the annual audit for their organization, with Denise expressing frustration with the timing of the audit. Denise plans to look for another auditor for the next fiscal year, despite the current auditor's assurance of improvement. Commissioner Mike Cranford supports switching to a new auditor. A motion was made by Commissioner Mike Cranford to approve the 2023 FYE Audit report. Seconded by Commissioner Anthony Nelson. All were in favor. Motion carried.

Item VIII) Resolution #2024-09: Approval of Low Rent Budget for 2024-2025: A copy of the budget was mailed to all Board members for review prior to the meeting. Denise Riley reported that the budget for staff training, travel and maintenance materials had to be increased significantly. Denise and a staff member have NAHRO committee assignments at the State, Regional and National level. Also unexpected increases in materials, forms, office supplies, utilities, insurance costs. Training cost had to be increased as HUD has implemented several new programs, and all staff members must be trained including the Maintenance Dept. A motion was made by Commissioner Anthony Nelson to approve the Low Rent Budget for 2024-2025. Seconded by Commissioner Mike Cranford. All were in favor. Motion carried.

Item IX) Resolution #2024-10: Approval of Low Rent Budget Revision for 2023-2024. A copy of the Budget revision request was mailed to all Board members for review prior to the meeting. Denise Riley explained that we are under budgeted in staff training, travel and some other budget line items. She noted additional funds are not being requested for the revision, she will be moving funds from other budget line items that are not being used or have been used and have funds left. A motion was made by Commissioner Mike Cranford to approve the Low Rent Budget revision for 2023-2024. Seconded by Commissioner Anthony Nelson. All were in favor. Motion carried.

Item X) Resolution #2024-11: Approval of Utility Allowance Schedule for Public Housing. A copy of the proposed utility allowance schedule for Public Housing was mailed to all Board members for review prior to the meeting. Denise Riley explained to board members that every year HUD requires housing authorities to review their utility allowances and if there's a 10% increase or decrease then those allowances must be revised. LRCHA uses The Nelrod Company of Ft. Worth, TX to update utility allowances for PH and HCV programs. Commissioner Mike Cranford asked if there was a significant increase this year and Denise reported that utility allowances decreased for PH this year. A motion was made by Commissioner Mike Cranford to approve the Utility Allowance schedule for Public Housing. Seconded by Commissioner Terry Smith. All were in favor. Motion carried.

Item XI) New Business:

1. RAD Conversion update: Agency received 3 proposals for RFP Legal services and 2 proposals for RFQ Co-Developer. Pre-proposal conference for Co-Developers was held on Monday, April 22nd. Two Co-Developers attended in-person and 3 Co-Developers attended virtually. An Evaluation committee has been put in place for Legal Services. Members are Commissioner Mike Cranford, Audriana Rodriguez, LaShun Bland w/Jacksonville HA. Denise is working on creating an Evaluation committee team for RFQ's for Co-Developer. The committee will consist of CEOs from other Housing Authorities who have undergone a RAD conversion.
2. Window Replacement contract for Site E (N. Cedar, Lang, N. Beech St). Window contract start date is June 1st. RWE, LLC will be the General Contractors.
3. Renovation of offices: Work has been started at the Foreman office. Agency contracted with Create Stone from Dallas, TX to place a stone overlay over the exterior of the building and it looks great. We plan to do the Ashdown office in the next phase. Both offices will also have inside work done. All lighting will be replaced, and new storefront doors will be installed. Doors will be ADA compliant for wheelchair accessibility.
4. Commissioner Mike Cranford attended a Board Commissioners training last month in Little Rock, AR. He expressed a thank you to the agency and reported that he learned a tremendous amount of reiterating some things he did know but there was a tremendous amount he did not know and that it was a great training. Denise encouraged other members to attend Commissioners training and explained the benefit it brings to the agency.

Having no more business meeting a motion was made by Commissioner Anthony Nelson to adjourn. Seconded by Commissioner Terry Smith. All were in favor. The meeting was adjourned.

Attest:
Secretary Barbara Brown, Chairperson
Board of Commissioners