SynoPSiS oF cooPeraTor’S SeSSion

- For marCH 27, 2023 board meeting

Chair Dr. Althea Hicks opened the cooperator’s session at 7:04PM.

Question: Update with the washing machines.

Response: I need a little bit more on the question because there is a lot with the laundry rooms and I am not sure what aspect she wants an update for. So there has been clarification asked on this question, so we will come back

Question: My question is about occupant’s annual affidavit of household income for calendar year 2022. Last year I noticed that it was a fillable version, but the problem was that the form requires legal paper for printing. Long story short, I now see on this year’s form, at the bottom it says, however the form must be printed on legal size paper, signed and notarized. What can you do to help us print this out?

Response: Management advised we usually send those door to door, so there shouldn’t be any need to print one out, even if there is a fillable form online. We send you the physical form, to your door, and the way that the State would like it now is they are actually itemized by apartment so we can’t just send out an income affidavit that is a blank. It actually is for that apartment and that’s the way they want it, so you should probably use that form that is sent to you and fill it out by hand because the State wants it in that way. The State has advised us that they want those income affidavits sent by apartment, so if you were able to do it last year, I will have to talk to my assistant, about it, just to see if we can accommodate you this year, in the same way.

Question: When can we expect brand new laundry room machines? The washer/dryer issue is major issue at this point. The hours should be lengthened due to the lines waiting for the dryers. Is there a special committee to tackle this community wide problem?

Response: Management stated, regarding new machines, there is an existing time frame on the contract that we currently have. Off the top of my head I want to say it is about a year from now, maybe a little more than that. I know that the Board is going to be looking at options with regard to new machines and a different way to do this, so that is coming down the line.

Question: I am here on behalf of our neighbors in our building. There is a tremendous problem with mice. The problem has increased. These incidents are being reported but I would like to find out if we can get a plan together. We haven’t had a mass clean out in a while. All of us in Building 14 still have the old convectors. Many of those convectors are sealed up, including mine, but the mouse problem is completely out of control. Group four management office representative suggested that we get some new traps and we have and mice are now being caught that way, but there has got to be some type of solution. This is a health hazard. People in my building have a group chat so everyone has been discussing different solutions and we have been trying everything, peppermint spray, getting stuff from Home Depot, but the problem is beyond what any particular cooperator can actually do at this point. I think that there has got to be some other method.

Response: Management replied, they would like to check a couple of things, including rechecking the shareholder’s unit. I do know that even after my convectors were sealed when I lived here, there was still a conduit in the front closet associated with the old intercom lines that also needed to be sealed and, in some apartments, there are issues with the closets, so I would really like to recheck your apartment if possible, that’s one. Number two, when we contact you I would love a list of everyone else that is having these problems so we can check their apartments as well. I think that that is the best way to do it. Ultimately the answer that I believe will work are the new convectors, because that conduit of the chase wall behind the old convectors is the way that they travel and even after sealing it, it is just very difficult to get it completely sealed because even over time I find that they still, without upkeep, manage to get back into your apartment, so the ultimate answer is the new convectors. The immediate answer is that we should recheck your apartment as well as everyone else’s to make sure that everything is sealed up and that the exterminator has visited. I will take down your information after the meeting.

Question: I am going to address -- first of all I think it was at the last Board Meeting or the meeting before, when the Board voted to allocate $300,000 and distribute it among the various committees. I would like to know, what was the rationale for that and what good is it going to do the cooperators? How will the cooperators benefit from that? That’s the first thing. The second thing that I would like to know is, what is the rationale for teaming House Congress and starting a tenant’s association.

Response: Board President responded by stating the budget for the Board Committees was passed for transparency. Board Committees spend money on not only refreshments but also having events for the community residents. That budget represents .4 percent of our annual budget, so while $390,000 may sound like a big number, it does not even equate to one percent of our overall operating budget.

Question: What is it, the Tenant’s Association and House Congress joining together and who came up with that idea? What is the rationale for that? Do you know anything about the history of each one of these institutions or organizations or setups?

Response: Board member advised it was her understanding that House Congress was here first, that they helped to setup some of the organizational structure of the Board. What has happened over the last couple of years is that -- over the last ten or so years House Congress has been relegated to managing community rooms and that’s it. They used to run a candidate’s night. They used to have forums where candidates would come and speak to cooperators. They used to work with the Board. The new Governor passed a law that stated that tenants could form an organization, so since we already had House Congress that used to advocate and work with the shareholders here in Rochdale, that was my rationale for putting a motion up for the Board to recognize House Congress as the defacto tenant association.

Question: Being that the funds allocated for the expansion of parking lots 3A and 3B on Bedel Street are no longer sufficient due to the pandemic and inflation, what is going to be done with that money?

Response: Management advised those funds were supposed to come out of a combination of the Wells Fargo and the HCR Reserve Account. While we do have extra funds in the Wells Fargo, we probably are going to those monies on power plant infrastructure. We are looking at the cooling tower. There will be further conversations with the Board with regard to the overall infrastructure of Rochdale moving forward. Management is working on a comprehensive plan for what is left to update and improve.

Question: When are the new parking spots are getting built?

Response: Management stated the expansion of the parking was slated for spring/summer of this year. I have met with a representative of the board regarding the proposed expansion. Based on feedback, the scope of