November 14, 2023, Board Meeting Minutes

8:00 AM
Tranquil Terrace
845 Swoope Ave.
Winter Park, FL 32789

Commissioners Present: Board Chair; Hal George, Commissioner Kevin O'Rawe, Commissioner Tammie Holiday, Commissioner Bob Klettner, and Commissioner Karen Jacobs.
Commissioners Absent: n/a
Commissioners Virtual: Vice-Chair; Kenneth Goodwin and Commissioner Dawn Ofodile
WPHA Staff Present: LaShanda Lovette, Executive Director, Amaris Hunt, Executive Assistant, Felix Alicea, Procurement/Project Manager, Tarena Grant, Resource Coordinator and Sherry Sutphen, Attorney.
NDC Staff Present: James Allen
NDC Staff Virtual: Rick Elwood
NDC Staff Absent: Cindy Wilson (arrived at 9:47am)

1. Call to Order
   Chair George called the meeting to order at 8:15 AM and announced a quorum. He introduced the newest board member, Commissioner Bob Klettner to everyone in attendance.
2. Public Comment
   There was no public comment bought to the board.
3. Consent Items
   1. Approval of October Minutes
      Commissioner Klettner moved to approve the October 2023 Board meeting minutes. Commissioner Jacobs provided a second. The motion was accepted without further discussion.
4. Actions Items
   1. Approval of Resolutions
      • No. 11142023A
        - Approval of Operating Budget and HUD form 52574 for Fiscal Year 2024
        -ED Lovette explained that this s is to approve the operating budget for October 1, 2023 - September 30, 2024, in the amount of 8.8 million dollars based on net rental income across 6 properties. Total expenses were roughly$5 Million with $3 Million being controllable. She explained that we're hoping for a net provision for reserves at the end of the year, which would be around $356k for the entire year. Chair George asked if the change that was requested at the Budget workshop had been updated. ED Lovette confirmed it had indeed. Commissioner Jacobs asked for clarification on the year to date section of the budget and why it differed. NDC's James Allen tried to provide clarification. However, it was settled that ED Lovette would meet with Commissioner Jacobs separately to provide further clarification. ED Lovette attempted to have the accountant, Melissa Martinez join via phone, but was unable to do so. Chair George called to approve the resolution. Commissioner Klettner moved to approve the resolution and Commissioner Jacobs provided a second. The motion was accepted unanimously with no further questions.
      • No. 11142023B
        - Approval of the refinancing of the Plymouth Mortgage with Florida Housing Finance in the amount of $688,610.91 and authorizing the Executive Director to execute all necessary documents
        -ED Lovette explained that the resolution is the approval of the refinancing of the Plymouth mortgage with Florida Housing Finance. Attorney Sherry Sutphen commented that there may be changes to the documents that are attached to the resolution, as she is still working with their legal team on the environmental survey and property survey. Commissioner O'Rawe asked why there is an additional $90k on the original loan amount. Attroney Sherry Sutphen said that it is likely fees. However, ED Lovette said she will look into it and confirm with the board. Chair George asked if the total encumbrance can be shared with the board for each property at a later date. ED Lovette confirmed. Attorney Sherry Sutphen clarified that the goal today is to approve the mortgage and that the resolution will give ED Lovette the authority to sign on the boards behalf, with the understanding that legal counsel will review everything prior to her signature. Commissioner Jacobs motioned to approve and Commissioner O'Rawe provided a second. The resolution was approved unanimously.
   2. Other Items - Execution and Submission
      • Approval and Execution of HUD Form 50077 PHA Certifications of Compliance with PHA Plans and Related Regulations
        -Ed Lovette explained that the form is required by HUD and is a list of everything we are required to do as a PHA and how we should administer federal dollars. She expressed that it is her goal to ensure we are meeting each of these checklist items for 2024. Commissioner Jacobs motioned to approve the execution and submission of HUD form 50077. Commissioner O'Rawe provided a second. The execution and submission of HUD form 50077 was approved unanimously.
      • Approval and Execution of HUD Form 51999 General Depository Agreement
        -ED Lovette explained this form explains how funds we receive should be handled in relation to our bank and that we are required to complete one each year. The bank is also required to complete the form. Commissioner O'Rawe motioned to approve the execution and submission of HUD form 51999. Commissioner Jacobs provided a second. The execution and submission of HUD form 51999 was approved unanimously.
5. Executive Director - Discussion and/or Direction
   1. Forensic Investigation Update
      -ED Lovette explained that both Patti and Rachel had a chance to speak with the forensic auditors and they had additional questions that required us to open up the scope. She confirmed that everything had been provided to them, as of the week prior and additional questions were asked of her as of Yesterday. She expressed her goal is to wrap everything up by the end of the current week and present everything to the board. She confirmed she would email this over to the board before the next board meeting. Chair George took a moment to get Commissioner Klettner up to speed on the conversation and why the audit was requested.
   2. Tuscany Balcony Project Update
      -Mr. Alicea shared that we are down to the last 15 balconies. But that work was at a standstill as we needed to order more railings, due to a miscount of inventory. He is hopeful that work will be completed within the next 2 weeks.
      Attorney Sherry Sutphen took this time to speak to 3 Lawsuits because of the Balcony project. One was an Injury that occurred which One Source has picked up the defense on. We also received a demand letter from One Source for $2million+ in losses due to the termination of their contract. Basically, stating that due to the termination of the contract, they lost other contracts. The last lawsuit from Kodiak Property Maintenance for anticipated revenue of $24k+. She went on to explain that she hopes to settle with the Kodiak Property Maintenance lawsuit and is currently negotiating with their attorney. Once a number is settled on, she will submit a settlement agreement to the board with a full release. Once approved by the board, they would voluntarily dismiss their action. Commissioner Klettner asked if it could be helpful for the board to approve a settlement of up to $12K to assist in the negotiation process. Attorney Sherry Sutphen confirmed that it would. Commissioner Klettner motioned to approve a settlement of up to $12K for the RMK Lawsuit. Commissioner Holiday provided a second. The motion was approved unanimously.
   3. Financials
      -ED Lovette explained any variance of over 10% for each property. She went on to note that Patti Tilchin, fee accountant, has moved a lot of items from capital expenditures to repair and maintenance. So, that is why capital expenditures is negative 99%. And negative 91% year to date. She informed the board that they could anticipate the same thing in the new fiscal as well.
6. ROSS Report
   -Mrs. Grant explained the community partner highlights for October. She expressed that our community partners, Life Home Therapy helped to support with Resident Check-in's at Tranquil Terrace. We assisted 8 individuals with additional care needs for diabetic shoes to insurance benefits adding $230 for help with groceries. Affordable Concierge continue to support our residents with affordable service support with housekeeping needs, moveout cleaning, organization, and meal prep. Various community partners came out to support our residents at Plymouth with a resource fair with goodies for Halloween. Many insurance agents held seminars to share benefits, assist with policy reviews, and more. She went on to explain that she had the opportunity to submit an application with the Mustard Seed of Central Florida to collaborate on a grant opportunity that will support our WPHA Families with their services. The grant has since been awarded in the amount of $10K. Residents now have the ability to get free furniture and delivery when in need. She also attended the Central Florida Foundation Table Talk event by invitation of our partners at Simply Healthcare on the topic of Economic Injustice. She met 4 other agencies to build partnerships with as well. She also gave a Special Thank you to our community partners at Vystar Credit Union Winter Park. We received a check for $400 as part of their hours of volunteerism with us, serving our Meadows & Plymouth Residents.
7. NDC Report
   1. Property Overview
      -Mr. James Allen highlighted that the City hit a transformer at Plymouth, which has caused our senior residents to be without power for 2 days. This in turn affected the elevators and they have been down a total of 4 days. This placed a huge burden on the fire department to assist our residents. He went on to explain that he foresees full modernization of the elevators as they are dated. Mr. Alicea explained that the generators on site will only kick on in the event of a total blackout. Since only half of the building was affected, they did not. Commissioner O'Rawe asked about the elevators at Tranquil Terrace. Mr. Allen confirmed these would need modernization as well and they will begin looking for quotes.
      Mr. Allen then went on to explain that a resident at Winter Park Oaks had vandalized the club house and was harassing staff. He shared that the police were called, and he is currently incarcerated. He was under eviction at the property as well. Due to the resident being a veteran and unmedicated, the situation was handled very cautiously.
      Mr. Allen went on to highlight that we are currently taking applications at Tuscany at Aloma and will be meeting with the team today to discuss how to tackle vacant units and get them filled. He moved to highlight that unit 794 at The Meadows, which has been down due to a tree falling through the roof, has gotten all the permits to begin working the repairs. Demo is scheduled to start November 16th,2023.He will update the board at the next board meeting. Chair George asked if there are any challenges outside of the norm with any of the properties. Mr. Allen explained that the most challenging is Tuscany at Aloma. Otherwise, everything else is standard property management. He touched on the Realpage conversion and how staff is currently tracking day to day activities manually. He is hopeful the conversion will be completed within the next two weeks.
8. Commissioner's Report
   1. Commissioner O'Rawe
      -He asked what committee he'd been added to. ED Lovette explained that she needed him to be on the evaluation committee for the RFQ for Co-Developer. She went on to explain she would provide the proposals to him after the board meeting.
   2. Commissioner Ofodile
      -She let everyone know that she was working with the ROSS coordinator, Tarena Grant on a Holiday event with Fresh Stop Bus and Second Harvest and she is excited at the opportunity to serve out residents again.
   3. Chair George
      -He shared that he had a preliminary with Bainbridge, a developer, regarding Tuscany and hoped they would provide a valuation on the property. They did confirm that they would only value the land itself, as they do not see a benefit to the buildings. They understand the development potential and think the best avenue is to potentially add more units. He will continue discussions and share with the board.
9. Adjournment
   With there being no further business to come before the board, Commissioner Jacobs motioned to adjourn, and Commissioner Holiday provided a second. Chair George called adjournment at 9:53 a.m.

Respectfully Submitted,
Hal George, Board Chair
LaShanda Lovette, Executive Director