HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO Minutes of Commission Meeting Thursday, January 08, 2009
440 Turk Street San Francisco, California
A Regular meeting of the Housing Authority Commission of the City and County of San Francisco met at 440 Turk Street, San Francisco, California, on Thursday, January 08, 2009, at 4:00 p.m. President A. Brown called the meeting to order at 4:04 p.m. 1. ROLL CALL PRESENT:
Rev. Amos Brown, President Neola Gans, Vice President Jane Hsu, Commissioner Millard Larkin, Commissioner George R. Brown, Commissioner
NOT PRESENT:
Dwayne Jones, Commissioner Matthew Schwartz, Commissioner
A quorum was present. ALSO PRESENT: 2.
Mr. Henry A. Alvarez III, Executive Director Mr. Roger Crawford, Assistant General Counsel
APPROVAL OF AGENDA President A. Brown moved to amend the agenda and hear Consent Item A1 due to time constraints. Commissioner Brown motioned to accept the agenda as amended. Commissioner Larkin seconded the motion. This request was approved unanimously. 1) RESOLUTION TO ADOPT A LOCAL PREFERENCE FOR THE SECTION 8 PROGRAM WAIT LIST FAMILIES THAT ARE ALSO PARTICIPANTS IN THE SAN FRANCISCO DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S WITNESS RELOCATION AND PROTECTION PROGRAM (WRAP). (Presented by: Tony Ucciferri, Administrator of Section 8) Larry Wallace, Captain with the District Attorney’s Office as well as Tony Ucciferri, Administrator of Section 8, presented this Resolution. This resolution provides the
Commission Meeting Minutes January 08, 2009 Page 2 Board to adopt a preference to the Section 8 Program wait list for families participating in the Witness Relocation and Protection (WRAP) Program in collaboration with the District Attorney’s Office of San Francisco. The preference will have a weight of 16 points and will enable a family to rise to the top of the wait list and be assisted immediately. Currently there is no preference on the Section 8 Wait List for witnesses of violent crime who are placed in the Witness Relocation and Protection Program in exchange for testifying against violent criminals. This preference on the wait list will enable families to rise to the top of the wait list in exchange for their testimony against violent criminals, and in turn, encourage other families to come forward should other violent crimes occur, and further act as a deterrent to criminal activity. Witnesses will be encouraged to testify against violent criminals without the threat of retribution and thus facilitate creation of a safe haven in Public Housing. Commissioner Brown wanted more information on how the preference affects the Section 8 vouchers. Henry Alvarez, Executive Director informed the Commissioners that there is not a significant effect on our Section 8 Program. Commissioner Brown was also informed that none of our current Section 8 guidelines would be affected by this program and this program could begin to take place as early as the following week that the Resolution was passed. Commission Larkin requested more information on the impact of other residents in the Section 8 program and the procedures we will put ion place to ensure the security of other resident impacted by this program. Mr. Wallace informed the Commissioners that there were policies in place that could not be discussed in a public forum due to confidentiality reasons. 3.
GENERAL COMMUNICATIONS Henry Alvarez, Executive Director, combined the General Communication and the Report of the Secretary by reporting on the information regarding the Disposition of several pieces of properties that are involved in the settlements used for the judgments, scoring for the Section 8 Assessment Program (SEMAP) which shows that we scored 85% and designates SFHA as a standard agency. He also invited the Commissioners to the Hope SF Leadership Academy Graduation and he informed the Commissioners that they could find the comments on the Draft Hunters View Relocation Plan in their packets as well.
4.
COMMITTEE REPORTS There were no Committee Reports.
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REPORT OF GENERAL COUNSEL Roger Crawford informed the Commission that there was no need for a Closed Session unless otherwise noted by the Commissioners.
Commission Meeting Minutes January 08, 2009 Page 3 6.
TENANT REPRESENTATIVE REPORT Kimberly Hill-Brown, President of the Tenants Association, informed the Commissioners that she did not have anything to report and that she was present to hear the Hope SF Leadership Academy presentation.
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PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS There were public Comments by the following: Sara Shortt, Housing Right Committee of San Francisco John Corella, Bay Area Legal Aid Deva Youngblood, Resident of Hunters View
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS There was no unfinished business.
9.
NEW BUSINESS
A) CONSENT AGENDA NOTE: All matters listed hereunder constitute a Consent Agenda, are considered to be routine by the San Francisco Housing Authority Board and will be acted upon by a single vote of the Authority Board. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a member of the Authority Board so request, in which event the matter shall be removed from the Consent Agenda and considered as a separate item. 1) RESOLUTION TO ADOPT A LOCAL PREFERENCE FOR THE SECTION 8 PROGRAM WAIT LIST FAMILIES THAT ARE ALSO PARTICIPANTS IN THE SAN FRANCISCO DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S WITNESS RELOCATION AND PROTECTION PROGRAM (WRAP). (Presented by: Tony Ucciferri, Administrator of Section 8) Vice President Gans motioned to approve the Consent agenda. Commissioner Larkin seconded the motion. The Consent agenda was approved unanimously. B) ACTION ITEMS 1) INFORMATIONAL PRESENTATION: HOPE SF LEADERSHIP ACADEMY GUIDEBOOK FOR RESIDENT INVOLVEMENT AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT (Presented by: Joyce Armstrong, Management Analyst & Coordinator of Hope SF Leadership Academy)
Commission Meeting Minutes January 08, 2009 Page 4 Joyce Armstrong presented this Item along with the participants in the program. The presentation outlined the guidelines for resident involvement and community engagement. 2) RESOLUTION TO 1) AUTHORIZE THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO SUBMIT A DEMOLITION AND DISPOSITION APPLICATION TO THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT ("HUD") FOR PHASE I OF THE REVITALIZATION OF HUNTERS VIEW AND 2) APPROVE THE RELOCATION PLAN FOR THE HUNTERS VIEW REVITALIZATION PROJECT, HUD PROJECT NUMBER CA001000954 (Presented by: Dominica Henderson, Management Analyst, Housing Development/ Barbara Smith, Administrator, Housing Development and Modernization) This resolution authorizes the Executive Director to submit an application and all related documents to US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) application numbers DDA0003309 and DDA0003105 for demolition and disposition of up to 113 units to begin Phase I of revitalization at Hunters View. Additionally, this resolution would adopt the Relocation Plan (Plan) for the revitalization of the entire Hunters View site. The Hunters View revitalization project will redevelop all 267 public housing units that currently exist on the site and add 474 mixed-income rental and ownership units, for a total of 741 housing units. The Hunters View Associates (Developer) , Hunters Point Affordable Housing, The John Stewart Company, and Devine & Gong, Inc., are the selected developer and are currently engaged in negotiations with the Authority to enter into a Master Development Agreement (“MDA”) for the entire site and a Development Disposition Agreement (“DDA”) and Ground Lease for Phase I. The proposed site plan also includes community rooms, open space, recreational facilities, and other amenities. The Authority must submit an application, attached as Exhibit B, to HUD for demolition and disposition of Hunters View in compliance with provisions of Section 187 of the Housing Act of 1937, as amended by Section 121 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987, and 24 CFR Part 941, Subpart F. Once HUD approves the Application, the Executive Director will prepare to transfer the property through a negotiated sale to the Developer for the purposes of developing a mixedincome development. The Authority plans to submit applications for demolition and disposition of the site in three phases to correlate appropriately with the Developer’s revitalization plan. The Development is in need of significant capital improvements and has over $18.5 million in immediate needs. Additionally, the residents of Hunters View need increased access to human services and economic opportunities. The residents of Hunters View benefit from this action because the revitalization will 1) improve the physical conditions and quality of life, 2) bring information and service providers to Hunters View households, and 3) increase the connection that this isolated community has to the
Commission Meeting Minutes January 08, 2009 Page 5 rest of San Francisco through new streets and community facilities. Other, low-income families will benefit because in addition to the public housing replacement units, there will be low income housing tax credit units for working families that need affordable housing. The revitalization and the Relocation Plan process have opened additional avenues of partnership between City agencies, the Developer, and the Tenant Association which helps connect people to assistance and helps improve the standard of service that all of these groups provide. Finally, this inventory removal action is a significant step toward increasing the Authority’s ability to provide quality, safe, and affordable housing to San Francisco residents.
Commissioner Brown inquired on the concerns regarding starting demolition before the funding was secured. Ms. Henderson informed the Commission that there would be no demolition before funding and financing for phase one was secured. Commissioner Brown wanted to know the residents reactions to the Relocation of residents in Phase One. Ms. Henderson informed the Commissioners that the Relocation Working Group was specifically responsible for designing the guidelines for relocation and the group contained residents. There was very little resistance shown by residents. Commissioner Brown motioned to approve this item. Commissioner Gans seconded the motion. This Resolution was approved unanimously. 3) RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO ENTER INTO TWO TWO-YEAR CONTRACTS FOR $75,000 EACH, WITH SCA ENVIRONMENTAL INC AND BENCHMARK ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING TO PROVIDE LEAD, ASBESTOS AND MOLD CONSULTING AND TESTING SERVICES ON AN ASNEEDED, TASK ASSIGNMENT BASIS, FOR ALL DEVELOPMENTS IN AN AGGREGATE AMOUNT NOT-TO-EXCEED $150,000 FOR THE TWO CONTRACTS (Presented by: James Mark, HD & MOD Senior Project Manager/ Barbara Smith, Administrator of Housing Development and Modernization) This Resolution will authorize the Executive Director to enter into contracts with the two highest-ranked asbestos, lead and mold consulting and testing firms on an as-needed basis for all housing developments over the next two years. These two contracts will provide asbestos and lead based paint construction oversight as required by HUD, CALOSHA and City regulations for over $5,000,000 in capital improvements from the 2007 and 2008 Capital Fund Programs. Federal regulations require Public Housing Authorities to public solicit construction contractors by issuing Invitation for Bid construction documents including Plans and Technical Specifications. The objective of this contract is to provide the Authority with competent professional, licensed Hazmat
Commission Meeting Minutes January 08, 2009 Page 6 consultants to assess the need, design the solution, prepare construction documents for public bidding, and provide technical expertise to evaluate and monitor the contractor’s construction and performance under the construction contracts as required by CALOSHA, City Codes and HUD Guidelines. By their scoring and ranking, the Evaluation Panel determined that SCA and Benchmark were the top-rated firms. Both firms have significant prior experience with this and other public agencies and institutions. The reference checks on the firms produced no negative comments, and neither firm is on the federal Excluded Parties List. Commissioner Gans motioned to approve this Resolution. Commissioner Brown seconded the motion. This Resolution was approved unanimously. 4) RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO
RETURN UNSPENT FUNDING FOR THE MARTIN LUTHER KING/MARCUS GARVEY HUD DEVELOPMENT (Presented by: Tony Ucciferri, Administrator of Section 8)
This Resolution authorizes the Executive Director to return unspent Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) issued to the San Francisco Housing Authority. The SFHA is in possession of $2,337,893 in overpaid HAP since July of 2008. Pursuant to HUD instructions, the funding is to be returned. Commissioner Brown motioned to approve this Resolution. Commissioner Larkin seconded the motion. This Resolution was approved unanimously. 5) INFORMATIONAL PRESENTATION: FY 2009 FINANCIAL SUMMARY AND VARIANCE REPORT, YEAR-TO-DATE THROUGH NOVEMBER 2008 (Presented by: Cheryl Taylor, Administrator of Finance) This Informational Presentation outlines the year-to-date net income for the San Francisco Housing Authority. SFHA is ahead of budget at $0.76 million, due primarily to underspending; staff is investigating this under-spend to determine if savings will be realized by yearend or are the results of expense timing. Preliminary analysis of FY 2010 revenues and expenses shows a potential shortfall of $2.5 million. Commissioner Brown requested to resume the meetings of the Finance Committee meeting. Mr. Alvarez informed the Commissioner that he would adhere to this request.
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PUBLIC COMMENTS ON ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA Public Comments were heard from the following: John Dorsey, Resident of 1880 Pine Pastor Jewell Ruffin, Employee of SFHA
Commission Meeting Minutes January 08, 2009 Page 7 Dave Figeroua, Employee of SFHA 12.
COMMISSIONERS COMMENTS AND REPORT President Brown stated that we need to make every effort to ensure justice to everyone especially after the homicide incident on Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Commissioner Brown requested to keep the closed session as agenized. Commissioner Brown moved to go to closed session. Commissioner Larkin seconded the motion.
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CLOSED SESSION A Closed Session was scheduled with the Executive Director and Agency Counsel under Government Code Section 54957 (b) (1), 54956.9, 54957.6 to update the Commission on personnel issues, pending litigation and labor negotiations. The Commission went into Closed Session at 5:30 p.m.
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RECONVENING OF COMMISSION MEETING The Commission reconvened from Closed Session at 6:30 pm. Mr. Crawford stated that President A. Brown, Vice President Gans, Commissioner Brown, Commissioner Hsu, and Commissioner Larkin were present. No decisions were made.
16.
ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Commission, Commissioner Brown moved to adjourn the meeting. Commissioner Larkin seconded the motion. President A. Brown adjourned the Commission Meeting of January 08, 2009, at 6:31 p.m.
Henry A. Alvarez III, Secretary/ Executive Director
Rev. Amos Brown, President