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June 11, 2024 Meeting Minutes
Winter Park Housing Authority Board Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, June 11, 2024
8:00 AM
Tranquil Terrace Community Center
845 W. Swoope Avenue
Winter Park, FL 32789
Commissioners Present: Board Chair; Hal George, Commissioner Bob Klettner, Commissioner Karen Jacobs, Commissioner Courtney Bugia, Commissioner Elaine Clark
Commissioners Absent: Vice-Chair Kenneth Goodwin and Commissioner Nancy Lewis
WPHA Staff Present: Tarena Grant, Interim Executive Director, Melissa Martinez, Director of Finance, Amaris Hunt, Executive Assistant and Sherry Sutphen, Attorney.
NDC Staff Present: James Allen, NDC
Virtual Guests: Rick Elwood, NDC, Cindy Wilson, NDC - Regional Manager (Joined at 8:24am)
- Call to Order
Chair George called the meeting to order at 8:03 AM and announced a quorum. - Public Comment - There were none
- Consent Items
- Approval of Minutes - April 9, 2024
Chair George asked if there were any questions regarding the minutes from May 23, 2024. Seeing none, Commissioner Jacobs motioned to approve the minutes. Commissioner Klettner provided a second. The motion was approved unanimously.
- Approval of Minutes - April 9, 2024
- Action Items
- Approval of Resolutions
- RESOLUTION 06112024-A - Authorizing Signers for the Tuscany Loan Refinance in the Amount of $3,753,000.00
- Interim ED Grant briefly explained the terms of the loan. Commissioner Klettner motioned to approve the resolution and Commissioner Jacobs provided a second. The motion was approved unanimously.
- RESOLUTION 06112024-B - Authorizing Signers for Winter Park Oaks Reserve Account with Southstate Bank
- Interim ED Grant briefly explained the terms of the loan for Winter Park Oaks and the banking requirements. Commissioner Klettner motioned to approve the resolution and Commissioner Jacobs provided a second. The motion was approved unanimously.
- RESOLUTION 06112024-C - Valley Bank - Public Entity Resolution
- Interim ED Grant explained that the resolution is to allow her to be added as a signer to the Valley Bank accounts to begin the process of moving the bank accounts over to the new banking institution. Commissioner Klettner moved to approve the resolution. Commissioner Jacobs provided a second. The motion was approved unanimously.
- RESOLUTION 06112024-A - Authorizing Signers for the Tuscany Loan Refinance in the Amount of $3,753,000.00
- Discussion and/or direction related to the Executive Director position candidates
- There was a brief discussion on who each commissioner would like to eliminate based on the Job requirements and each candidates qualifications. Commissioner Jacobs made a recommendation to move forward with interviews for Michael Daneen, Dr. Lamberg and Tarena Grant. Commissioner Klettner provided a second. The motion was approved unanimously.
Attorney Sutphen stated that the interviews would need to be advertised as a public meeting. Mrs. Grant will not be in attendance for this, since she is an interviewee. Chair George asked that each commissioner prepare 3-5 questions they'd like to ask each interviewee. He also stated that it would be important for NDC to share questions their team may have with the commissioners to ask on their behalf. Mr. Allen asked for the resumes of the 3 individuals they'd be interviewing. Mrs. Sutphen confirmed she would share them with their team. There was no further discussion.
- There was a brief discussion on who each commissioner would like to eliminate based on the Job requirements and each candidates qualifications. Commissioner Jacobs made a recommendation to move forward with interviews for Michael Daneen, Dr. Lamberg and Tarena Grant. Commissioner Klettner provided a second. The motion was approved unanimously.
- Approval of Resolutions
- Executive Director Discussion and/or Direction
- Banking and Property Updates
Interim Executive Director Grant shared that the 2023 audit had been submitted to both HUD and the Federal Audit Clearing House.
She gave updates on brief updates on banking matters as it pertains to accounts that need to be opened and/or transferred and the loan refinancing for Tuscany at Aloma. With the transition to be completed by August 1st.
She shared photos of the office transition at The Meadows at Margaret Square.
Lastly, Mrs. Grant shared that the team is currently prepping for pre-audit with Patti Tilchin and the fiscal budget for 2025.
- Banking and Property Updates
- WPHA Reports
- ROSS Report
- Mrs. Grant explained that we continued with our reoccurring property events. In addition to those services, we held various community events for Plymouth, The Meadows and Tranquil Terrace. Community partners hosted bingo, lunch & learns, A1 checks and free lunch events.
There were no community engagement meetings this month, as preplanning was done for summer activities, sponsorships and preparation for The Meadows Back to School event.
Lastly, she highlighted Winter Park Police Department for their generous donation of food pantry items to the residents at The Plymouth. She also gave specials thanks to the Crealde Summer Art camp and Albin Polasek Museum for the sponsorship of our WPHA youth residents.
- Mrs. Grant explained that we continued with our reoccurring property events. In addition to those services, we held various community events for Plymouth, The Meadows and Tranquil Terrace. Community partners hosted bingo, lunch & learns, A1 checks and free lunch events.
- ROSS Report
- NDC Reports
- Property Overview
- Mr. Allen gave a brief overview of property occupancies and updates on vacancies at each of the properties. He confirmed they are still offering concessions on the 80% set asides.
There was a brief discussion on the status of the remediation progress at Tuscany at Aloma. Chair George asked for clarification of the timeframe the project can take based on our current plan for addressing remediation issues. Mr. Allen explained that this is solely dependent on the capital the property would have access to. Chair George asked for a breakdown on costs as it pertains to each unit to get an idea of the overall costs. Mr. Allen confirmed he would provide a spreadsheet with this breakdown to the board.
- Mr. Allen gave a brief overview of property occupancies and updates on vacancies at each of the properties. He confirmed they are still offering concessions on the 80% set asides.
- Financials
- Mrs. Grant explained that we did not provide a financials handout since WPHA did not receive combined financials from NDC. The board collectively inquired about why financials were not received. Mrs. Grant explained that the financials we've been provided with have been directly from NDC, as they had not been sanctioned by the fee accountant, Patti Tilchin, to date. Ms. Martinez explained that the financials we've been receiving have not been accurate, and we've requested them to be fixed by NDC. Ms. Tilchin has not sanctioned financials since December 2023. This is due to plugs in Tenant Accounts Receivables and HAP Accounts Receivable. There was brief discussion on where the problem lies for WPHA based on what NDC's CFO has provided on the general ledger regarding HAP Accounts Receivable and how the errors can be fixed. It was suggested by Chair George that an accounting meeting be held with NDC, WPHA and Ms. Tilchin to discuss how to resolve the issues. Mrs. Grant reiterated that WPHA's team is willing to assist in any way necessary, but due to limited access, we are unable to truly lend a helping hand.
- Mrs. Grant explained that we did not provide a financials handout since WPHA did not receive combined financials from NDC. The board collectively inquired about why financials were not received. Mrs. Grant explained that the financials we've been provided with have been directly from NDC, as they had not been sanctioned by the fee accountant, Patti Tilchin, to date. Ms. Martinez explained that the financials we've been receiving have not been accurate, and we've requested them to be fixed by NDC. Ms. Tilchin has not sanctioned financials since December 2023. This is due to plugs in Tenant Accounts Receivables and HAP Accounts Receivable. There was brief discussion on where the problem lies for WPHA based on what NDC's CFO has provided on the general ledger regarding HAP Accounts Receivable and how the errors can be fixed. It was suggested by Chair George that an accounting meeting be held with NDC, WPHA and Ms. Tilchin to discuss how to resolve the issues. Mrs. Grant reiterated that WPHA's team is willing to assist in any way necessary, but due to limited access, we are unable to truly lend a helping hand.
- Property Overview
- Commissioner Reports
- There was no commissioner's report.
- Mrs. Sutphen advised that a lawsuit was filed by OneSource for breach of contract and negligence. They have also filed a claim against our engineer. Mrs. Sutphen gave a brief history of the balcony project and suits as a result of it for the new commissioners. It will be handed over to the insurance company once litigation is completed. There was no further discussion.
- Adjournment
With there being no further business to come before the board, Commissioner Jacobs motioned to adjourn, and Commissioner Clarke provided a second. Chair George called adjournment at 9:17 a.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Hal George, Board Chair
Tarena Grant, Interim Executive Director