HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012_07_31 Housing Authority Minutes "`° TOWN OF MAMARONECK HOUSING AUTHORITY
BOARD MEETING MINUTES
07/31/12
In attendance:
Board Members: Rick Cherry - Chairman, Sal Iacono - Treasurer, Bob Kirby - Secretary, and
Caroline Silverstone
Managing Agent: Bram Fierstein
Antonucci & Associates Representative: Andrew Macko
The Board Meeting was called to order promptly by Chairman, Rick Cherry, at 7:00 PM. The
minutes from the last meeting in March, 2012 were approved.
1. Cash Position HVB Operating Account $ 26,854.24
@ 07/31/12: HVB Capital Account $ 2,166.50
Morgan Stanley L/T Reserve $ 511,361.88
Morgan Stanley S/T Reserve $ 158,102.20
Total $ 698,484.82
2. Treasurer's Report: The Treasurer, Sal Iacono, distributed to Board members, copies
of the annual Independent Auditor Report dated December 31, 2011 and he reported
Q that the auditors found NO material deficiencies (i.e., a "clean" report). Sal also
distributed to Board members, copies of the audited Town of Mamaroneck Housing
Authority financial statements as of December 31, 2011 prepared by the accounting
firm O'Connor, Davies LLP in Harrison, NY. These financials indicate that the
Housing Authority remains in a strong financial position and has been managed in a
professional manner by our agent, Gramatan Management located in New Rochelle,
NY. The Chairman, Rick Cherry, requested these reports be sent both to the Town
Board Liaison, Ernest Odierna, and the Town Supervisor, Nancy Seligson. Finally,
the Treasurer gave the Board an update on the successful transfer of cash/investment
management related to the S/T and L/T Reserve public funds accounts from Bank of
America to Morgan Stanley in May, 2012. The transfer of responsibilities was
seamless and all investments were transferred with no capital losses incurred.
3. Managing Agent's Report: The Managing Agent, Bram Fierstein, reported to the Board
that we currently have 13 Section 8 tenants at Hommocks, representing 24% of the 54
apartment total .He indicated that a current tenant has been approved for Section 8 status
® and the Board unanimously approved this one addition to the Section 8 listing bringing
the total to 14 (i.e., 26% of the total). FYI, the target level for Section 8 rentals is 20%.
Bram also presented the vacancy report: 2 two bedroom apartments currently and a 1
bedroom apartment will be available in August. He indicated that these vacancies should
be filled quickly because of the below-market rents Hommocks typically has --
particularly because of the strong market demand in Westchester for rental apartments.
Bram noted that the Town of Mamaroneck Highway Department did complete several ..,�
small patch road repairs to the Hommocks Apts. driveway versus the full resurfacing
discussed in March by the Town. The Board reserves the right to pay a private concern to
complete a full resurfacing, if the Town decides against the paving project for the
Hommocks School/Apartment area in the next 12 months.
4. Cedar Siding Project: The representative from Antonucci &Associates, Mr. Andrew
Macko, attended the meeting to explain the consultants findings in the cedar siding
engineering analysis dated April 24, 2012, sent to the Managing Agent with a follow up
letter in June. Mr. Macko explained to the Board what options exist to complete the
project and are as follows: Option 1 - Repair only damaged cedar siding. Option 2:
Replace cedar siding to all 7 Hommocks Apt. buildings with new wood shingles. Option
3: Replace cedar siding to all 7 buildings with either mineral cement or synthetic/vinyl
siding. Final cost estimates need to be completed by the Treasurer and Managing Agent
but Mr. Macko distributed Antonucci & Assoc. estimates to the Board as follows: Option
1 - $120,000, Option 2 - $600,000 and Option 3 - $400,000 (for the mineral cement
siding only). Samples of the man made materials --both the mineral cement and
synthetic/vinyl siding were shown and discussed as to the fireproof advantage of cement
siding and 15 year paint warranties -- however, more analysis needs to be completed on
the vinyl siding option. The Chairman reminded the Board that cost is only one factor in
the process --building appearance and environmental impacts must also be weighed in
the Board's final decision. It is also important to note that due to capital budget
constraints, it may be advantageous to limit the cedar siding project to one building
completion per year(i.e., extending the project over a seven year time frame). For the
time being, an extensive analysis needs to be completed by the Managing Agent and the
Treasurer for presentation at the next Board meeting. On a related matter, the Chairman
requested Antonucci &Associates to update the Engineer's Report dated April 2008, to
assist the Board going forward with capital project decision making.
5. Boiler Replacement Project/Boiler Maintenance Costs: Bram Fierstein reported
that the remaining two boiler installations should be completed by 1st Choice
Plumbing no later than September, 2012. Bram also requested Board approval for
a new operational budget item related to boiler maintenance costs. He explained
that ongoing annual maintenance is mission-critical to proper operating efficiency
of the boilers and prevention of unnecessary repairs. However,his concern is that
this significant annual expense (approx. $15,000/year)has not been included in
the budget prepared last December because of our limited experience with the
new boilers built by Advanced Hydronics. Based on this information, the Board
agreed and unanimously approved this new budget item be included in the 2012
operations budget going forward. Also related to the boiler maintenance costs,
under consideration is the option to defer maintenance work on half of the boilers
until the following year(i.e., 26 boilers receive maintenance per year). The
Chairman conducted his own review of this deferral and found this approach is an
acceptable practice in the building industry. Both the Managing Agent and the
Treasurer will be reviewing maintenance contracts proposals in the coming weeks
and will report their results to the Board at the next Board meeting. However, in
the interests of time and approaching winter, the Board unanimously approved
giving the Managing Agent the authority to sign the final boiler service contract
with the winning vendor provided the contract is within the budgeted amount.
6. New Business: Board Chairman Rick Cherry proposed a Bulletin Board be
constructed within an appropriate Hommocks Apartments common area, to post
Housing Authority Board Notice of meeting dates for interested tenants to attend
and other important announcements. Caroline Silverstone indicated that tenants
should be encouraged to use the Town of Mamaroneck web site for these type of
announcements. The Managing Agent indicated he would take responsibility for
the bulletin board concept, investigate its costs vs. benefits and report these
findings to the Board at the next meeting.
7. The next Board Meeting will be scheduled as soon as the cedar siding project
options previously discussed in Item#4, have been vetted, analyzed and ready for
presentation and review by the Board.
The Board Meeting was adjourned at 9:15 PM.
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