minutes of a regular meeting - hacep · 2018. 4. 26. · minutes of a regular meeting of the board...

MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING

OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

OF THE HOUSING AUTHORITY

OF THE CITY OF EL PASO, TEXAS

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2014

Item # 1. Call to Order. The Chairperson called the meeting to order at 5:33 p.m.

Item # 2. Pledge of Allegiance. Recited Pledge of Allegiance.

Item # 3. Invocation/Moment of Silence. Moment of silence.

Item # 4. Establishment of a Quorum.

PRESENT: Chairperson Joe Fernandez, Presiding; Commissioners Burt Blacksher, Kevin

Quinn, and Lupita Licerio. The Chairperson declared a quorum with four Commissioners

present. Commissioner Francisco Ortega joined the meeting at 5:35 p.m.

ALSO PRESENT: Gerald Cichon, Chief Executive Officer; Robert Blumenfeld, HACEP

Attorney; Satish Bhaskar, Chief Financial Officer; William Zeigler, Chief Human Resources

Officer; Hector Montoya, HAC General Manager; Roman Velasquez, Director of Public

Housing; Lorena Rivera, Director of HCV Program; Huu Dang, Director of Finance; Frank Cota,

Director of Strategic Planning; Shane Griffith, Public Information Officer; Glo Dore, Executive

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Secretary to the CFO; Sergio Melendez, HCV Homeownership Coordinator; Pete Huerta PH

Homeownership Coordinator; Alex Hernandez, Network Engineer; Patricia Quintanilla and

Aracely Saenz, Executive Secretaries.

Item # 5. Presentation by the FSS Homeownership Programs to Congratulate Participants

of the Public Housing and Housing Choice Voucher Programs Upon the Purchase of Their

New Home. Shane Griffith, Public Information Officer, said that we want to congratulate

residents that were able to overcome obstacles and purchase their own homes. Mr. Griffith

introduced Mr. Pete Huerta to acknowledge the public housing participants.

Pete Huerta, PH FSS Coordinator, said that Eva Alcocer joined the program about 1 ½ year ago.

Ms. Alcocer was skeptical about the program, but they did an assessment, identified several

areas to work with, and set her goals. She is the single mother of three kids and they were in

public housing for 20 years. Mr. Huerta introduced Ms. Eva Alcocer who was presented with a

certificate and a housewarming gift.

Evangelina Alcocer said that she is here to thank everyone for helping her reach her

homeownership dream. She is thankful for the assistance received during the last 20 years,

which helped her raise her kids. She thanked Mr. Huerta for his support and encouragement.

She invited other residents to join the program and allow people on the waitlist to benefit from

public housing.

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Mr. Huerta introduced Diana Mendoza who was in public housing for about seven years. She is

a single mother of three who assisted an orientation session and immediately joined the program.

She set her goals and it only took her about a year to purchase her home. Ms. Mendoza was

presented with a certificate and a housewarming gift.

Diana Mendoza thanked the program and said that it was an honor to be part of it. She pointed

out that she was in public housing for three years, not seven. She said that when she joined the

program and set her goals she was not earning what she is earning today. Mr. Huerta helped her

and the company gave her a $3.00 raise, which provided the extra income that she needed to get

her home. She is thankful for the program because she never thought that she would be able to

purchase a home, yet it took her less than a year to achieve her dream.

Mr. Huerta introduced Roxanne Banuelos who is a single mother of two. He said that when she

joined the program, she set her goals and started working on them immediately. She was a little

skeptical, but today she is the proud owner of a home. Ms. Banuelos was presented with a

certificate and a housewarming gift.

Roxanne Banuelos said that in her opinion, she has been ready for a long time, but needed the

courage to go forward and do it. Mr. Huerta guide her in the right direction and she was able to

accomplish her goal. She is very thankful for the program and hopes that we continue with it

because she believes that just like her there are a number of residents that are ready to move on,

but they just do not know how to go about it. She thanked Mr. Huerta for all of his assistance.

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Sergio Melendez, HCV Homeownership Coordinator, introduced Martha Silva who entered the

Section 8 Program on February 1999. In August 2012, Ms. Silva started the FSS Program and

after two years she was able to purchase her home on January 10, 2014. Ms. Silva was presented

with a certificate and a house warming gift.

Martha Silva’s son addressed the Board on her behalf. He said that his mother had been talking

about owning a home for several years. She started working with Mr. Melendez who helped her

a lot. He said that thanks to her mother he is in the real estate business and was able to represent

her in the sale. He thanked the agency for the program and the benefits provided to the residents.

Ms. Silva added that without the program this could not have been possible; it is a blessing for

her and her son.

Sergio Melendez introduced Ms. Susana Monreal who entered the the Section 8 Program about

seven years ago. Ms. Monreal started with the FSS Program on July 2013 and qualified to

purchase her home on June 12, 2014. Mr. Melendez said that when Ms. Monreal purchased her

home she returned her voucher assistance to give another family the opportunity to receive the

assistance. Ms. Monreal was very appreciative for the assistance received while in the program.

She was presented with a certificate and a housewarming gift.

Susana Monreal thanked everyone for making her dream a reality. As a single mother, one of

her main goals was to have a patrimony for her kids. She thanked God for helping her get a

home and Mr. Melendez for his assistance and support. She decided to return her voucher

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because she knows there are many families in the same situation she found herself before and

wants to give an opportunity to someone else. Thank you.

Sergio Melendez introduced Ms. Nancy Garcia who joined the Section 8 Program in May 2012

and started with the FSS Program in May 2014. Ms. Garcia worked on her goals to qualify for a

first time homebuyer program and secure financing to her home. She purchased her first home

on August 28, 2014. Ms. Garcia was presented with a certificate and a housewarming gift.

Nancy Garcia thanked everyone for the help received in purchasing her home. It was a big

dream, which she thought she was never going to achieve as a single mother. Thanks to this

program she got her home and has a stable place for her daughter. She thanked Sergio Melendez

for all of his help.

Mr. Cichon recognized Mr. Melendez and Mr. Huerta for their hard work on behalf of the

residents and congratulated the new homeowners. He said that moving into homeownership is

one of those dreams that many people are not able to achieve.

Item # 6. Resident Association Presidents to be Heard. Lilia Vasquez, JWRC President,

accompanied by Susana Herrera, JWRC Secretary, and Ms. Lozano, JWRC Treasurer, said that

they wanted to recognize the work done by the administration as it relates to the residents and

RAD transition. On September 6, we had a meeting to provide them with the opportunity to get

answers all of their RAD related questions; it was a very productive meeting. The meeting was

crucial because this change is very difficult for the residents. Ms. Vasquez said that

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informational meetings at the communities are on-going. The residents are worried, they feel

uncertain, but they are getting the needed information to help them through the transition. She

assured them that the JWRC is working with the administration to keep residents well informed.

They are also asking their support because at the end the residents will benefit from these

changes. She thanked the Board for their attention.

Item # 7. Citizens to be Heard. None.

Item # 8. Approval of Minutes of a Regular Board Meeting That Took Place on September

17, 2014. Commissioner Blacksher made a motion to approve item # 8. It was seconded by

Commissioner Ortega. Motion carried unanimously.

Consent Agenda:

Item # 9. Purchasing and Construction Contract and Purchase Order Awards:

A. Request that the Contracting Officer be Authorized to Sign Recommendation for

Contract Award for Internal Hardware Supplies Contract # WH 15-B-0002. This

Contract was Procured Through an Invitation for Bid (IFB) Process. The

Recommendation is as follows:

Department: Warehouse

Award to: Hardware Specialties and Glass

Independent Hardware, Inc.

Intermountain Lock &

Security Supply

$125,814 est.

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Funding Source: COCC

Procurement Type: Invitation for Bid (IFB)

Contract Term: New

B. Request That the Contracting Officer be Authorized to Sign Contract

Modification for Executive Search Services Contract # EX 13-C-0027. This is for

a One-Year Extension. This Contract Was Procured Through a Request for

Proposal (RFP) Process. The Recommendation is as Follows:

Department: Human Resources

Award to: Bob Murray & Associates $30,000 est.


Procurement Type: Request for Proposal (RFP)

Contract Term: Renewal

C. Request That the Contracting Officer be Authorized to Sign Contract

Modification for Automotive Fleet Insurance Contract # FS 14-C-0019. This is a

One-Year Extension. This Contract Was Procured Through in Interlocal

Agreement. The Recommendation is as Follows:

Department: Finance

Award to: Wells Fargo, Inc.

d/b/a USI Southwest

$48,622 est.


Procurement Type: Interlocal Agreement


D. Request That the Contracting Officer be Authorized to Sign Contract

Modification for Executive Consulting Services Contract # HR 14-C-0027. This

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Contract Was Procured Through a Request for Proposal (RFP) Process. The

Recommendation is as Follows:

Department: Human Resources

Award to: The Certus Group, LLC $50,000 est.




E. Request That the Contracting Officer be Authorized to Sign Contract

Modification for HVAC Supplies. This is for a One-Year Extension. This

Contract was Procured Through an Invitation for Bid (IFB) Process. The


Department: Warehouse

Award to: Cunningham Distributing

Contract # WH 14-C-0021

Passage Supply Co.


First Source Servall


Morrison Supply Co.


$30,000 est.


Procurement Type: Invitation for Bid (IFB)


F. Request That the Contracting Officer be Authorized to Sign Recommendation for

Contract Award for Legal Services Contract # EX 15-R-0002. This Contract was

Procured Through a Request for Proposal (RFP) Process. The Recommendation

is as Follows:

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Department: Executive

Award to: Reno & Cavanaugh

Pepper Hamilton LLP

$200,000 est.



Contract Term: New

G. Request That the Contracting Officer be Authorized to Sign Recommendation for

Contract Award for Moving Services Contract # RAD 15-R-0005. This Contract

was Procured Through a Request for Proposal (RFP) Process. The


Department: RAD

Award to: Coleman American Moving

R.H. Brown & Company

Holiday Moving & Storage

$150,000 est.

Funding Source: COCC/RAD


Contract Term: New

Mr. Cichon reviewed the proposed items under the consent agenda. In reference to item # 9-G he

said that the estimate is completely incorrect. This is for RAD related moving services. We are

going to be moving approximately 6, 100 families as this progresses and it is going to cost a lot

more than the estimated $150,000. He asked Mr. Bhaskar to elaborate.

Satish Bhaskar, Chief Financial Officer, said that in reference to the dollar amount, there are two

kinds of moves that we are looking for during this transition. We are moving people leaving the

program and transitioning into Section 8; we have to pay for their moving cost. That is the

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estimated money that we are showing for $150,000, which is not in our original budget. In

referent the moving cost for the 1591 units in tranche I, we have several single moves and

several double moves because of the way the construction will progress. We have an estimate of

approximately $3.7 million. However, the $3.7 million is running through the development cost

and is not part of our operating budget; that is the reason we broke it down this way. Mr.

Bhaskar added that we are requesting to remove R. H. Brown & Co., LLE from the award

recommendation because their proposal did not include packaging. We thought we could add it,

but we were advised by legal counsel that we could not

Mr. Cichon clarified that under item # 9-G the award is to Coleman American Moving and

Holiday Moving & Storage in the estimated amount of $150,000 as it pertains to payments by

HACEP, but with the $3.7 million most likely coming from development and construction.

Commissioner Blacksher made a motion to approve consent agenda item # 9-A. It was seconded

by Commissioner Ortega. Commissioners Blacksher, Ortega, Quinn, and Licerio voted in favor.

Chairman Fernandez abstained. Motion carried.

Commissioner Blacksher made a motion to approve consent agenda items # 9 B-G. It was

seconded by Commissioner Ortega. Motion carried unanimously.

Regular Agenda:

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Item # 10. Discussion and Action Regarding Resolution Authorizing the Chief Executive

Officer to Submit Grant Applications for the 2014-2015 Annual Renewal of the Veteran’s

Lodge and Siesta Gardens Shelter Plus Care Program to the Department of Housing and

Urban Development. Mr. Cichon said that these grants are for programs where we the

chronically homeless. We work closely with the Veterans Affairs Association or with MHMR to

assist the residents. We have been working with these programs for approximately ten years and

we want to submit an application for a one-year extension. He asked Mr. Velasquez to elaborate.

Roman Velasquez, Director Public Housing Program, said that the Siesta Gardens Program is

coming up for renewal after a ten-year period. This will be our first annual renewal. This is a

22-unit property where we house 22 chronically homeless individuals that receive supportive

services for Emergence Health Network, formerly MHMR. The Veteran’s Lodge is for a 15-

unit, which is up for renewal. He said that these two grant renewals are competitive and there

are other agencies in the city that also bid for these funds.

Mr. Cichon said that we do not own the Veteran’s Lodge, we just administer the vouchers as it

applies to those fifteen veteran’s families. We own the Siesta Gardens’ property, which is an old

1950 hotel on Dyer and Hondo Pass that we revamp; the land is continuous with Roosevelt. We

are looking at these sites as a possible site to do a private/public partnership in the third phase of

RAD that might utilize the entire property, but since we have CDBG money on this, it makes it a

little tricky.

Commissioner Ortega asked what the amount of the grant is.

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Mr. Velasquez responded that we are asking just over $150,000 for Siesta Gardens. It is like a

project-based voucher and it is administered through the Housing Choice Voucher Program. For

the Veteran’s Lodge we have an agreement with a private management company that affords us

15 units and it is also through a voucher. The resolution before you is to authorize the Chief

Executive Officer to submit the grant application for a one-year renewal and to enter into MOUs

with the Veterans Affairs, with the private management company, and with Emergence Health

who provides the supportive services for the residents at Siesta Gardens.

Commissioner Blacksher asked if the Siesta Gardens contract is for another ten years.

Mr. Velasquez said that it will be a one-year renewal to give us an opportunity to explore other

options. He said that when we first acquired this property part of the funding came from the

City’s CDBG Program and there is a fifteen year performance period and a fifteen year

requirement that the property remain affordable. Whether we receive the grant through this

renewal process or not, the property itself and what we do with it must remain affordable for

another five years. The individuals that we have at Siesta Gardens would be relocated before

taking any action.

Commissioner Ortega made a motion to approve Resolution No. 1973 under item # 10. It was

seconded by Commissioner Licerio. Motion carried unanimously.

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Item # 11. Discussion and Action Regarding Resolution Setting the Date and Time for the

November 2014 and December 2014 Regular Board of Commissioners Meetings.

Commissioner Blacksher made a motion to schedule the November Board meeting on

Wednesday, November 19, 2014 at 5:30 p.m. and the December Board meeting on Wednesday,

December 17, 2014 at 5:30 p.m. It was seconded by Commissioner Ortega. Motion carried

unanimously.

Item # 12. Discussion and Action Regarding Resolution Authorizing the Issuance of

Multifamily Revenue Bonds With Respect to Multifamily Residential Rental Projects:

Authorizing the Filing of Application for Allocation of Private Activity Bonds With the

Texas Bond Review Board; and Authorizing Other Action Related Thereto. Satish Bhaskar,

Chief Financial Officer, said that we have with us Bill Avila, Bond Counsel with Bracewell &

Giuliani, Robin Vaughn from Hunt Development Group, and Jeff Weiss from Hunt Capital to

answer any questions they may have. In the summer we requested the approval of a resolution

authorizing $85 million worth of bonds. At that time, we were working with one set of numbers

with very preliminary guides. We found that we had a low estimate on the construction, we then

revised what we wanted to do and the cost of construction went up. Also, the appraisal value of

the properties we are putting into this deal was estimated at around $28 million and the actual

appraisal came at $62 million, which is a substantial difference. Mr. Bhaskar showed a slide

with the costs associated with the 4% LIHTC in tranche I. We have a projected hard, soft, and

financing costs of about $221 million, which is still a moving target, but it is close enough. The

50% test is being set at $110 million, and our bond counsel has advised that we go up to the bond

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limit of $125 million. He said that the cost of land is not included in this set of numbers because

it is not a factor.

Mr. Cichon asked Mr. Bhaskar to explain the 50% test.

Mr. Bhaskar said that the 50% test is the money that we get for construction from Capital funds

and the loans should be close to 50% of the bond money.

Commissioner Blacksher asked if there is a leverage threshold.

Jeff Weiss, Hunt Capital Partners, said that to expand on the 50% test, if we tax-exempt the 4%

credits to come along with tax-exempt bonds there is a rule that every building has to be financed

with at least 50% tax-exempt bonds. We have done the 50% test to show that we need a certain

amount of bonds that will be used to finance that property. These bonds are not long-term

outstanding, the large portion of them are short-term bonds because the properties can support

$125 million in permanent debt. So there is a portion of the bonds that are outstanding for a

short period of time to meet the minimum test of financing the properties, which goes through

completion of construction. In response to the leverage threshold, the transaction can only

support a short amount of hard debt and that hard debt is much less than 50%. He said that only

about 30% of the cost will be financed with long-term bonds.

Mr. Bhaskar said that there are three to four sources of revenue. One of them is the capital with

approximately $70 million; mortgage sources about $55 million; and we are putting about $60

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million worth of property. There is some gap of close to $30 million that we will contribute

from the Central Office. November 14 is the day by which we have to apply for this year’s funds

available. We are ready to file the application in the next two weeks. Mr. Bhaskar asked if there

were any questions.

Mr. Cichon said that for the benefit of the public he would like for him to break this information

and justify the greater amount that we are requesting as compared to where we were before.

Mr. Bhaskar said we had requested $85 million and at that time the estimated value of the

acquisition cost was only half of what we have today. The construction cost also went up. The

difference between those two elevated the total cost to about $150 million. Now, we need to

increase the bonds to get the 50% of the total. That is why we had to move from $85 million to

$150 million.

Chairman Fernandez said that previously we were considering different organizations and

entities to purchase those bonds. He asked if we reduced it, or if we are going to the general

public.

Bill Avila, from Bracewell & Giuliani, bond counsel for the Housing Authority and Alamito

Public Facilities Corporation said that there is two series of bonds series “A” and “B.” The

series “A” bonds are going to be placed with Freddie Mac. We are not going in the capital

market or Wall Street to do a public offering. The series “B” bonds are also going to be privately

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placed and cash collateralized. We break them out in series “A” and “B” just to distinguish that

there are two different series both secured by the related collateral.

Commissioner Blacksher asked if the series “A” bonds become a debt on the property.

Robin Vaughn, Hunt Development Group, said that the series is just to meet the 50% test that

was previously discussed. It is important to understand that, at all times, it is fully cash

collateralized. We will get an interest rate on that money. It is really just a mechanism to meet

that 50% rule. He said that this will be a debt on the balance sheet of the project owner.

Mr. Cichon said that the new construction cost is looking at approximately $51 thousand per

unit.

Commissioner Licerio made a motion to approve Resolution No. 1975 under item # 12. It was

seconded by Commissioner Blacksher. Motion carried unanimously.

Item # 13. Secretary’s Report.

RAD Update. Mr. Cichon said that we lost the appeal on

Westfall/Baines. So we had initially received approval for Westfall/Baines for 9% tax-credits,

but unfortunately right before the award there was a notification that we were over the $3 million

cap because they were not factoring in our non-profit status and several other things. There were

problems with TDHCA we thought there were mitigating factors we went to TDHCA we had the

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appeal we presented we had counsel there and our expert in tax-credits we all presented to the

Board it looked like we had a chance, it looked like 50-50 and then they decided to go with the

recommendation of staff and chose not to give us that particular tax-credit. In all we have two of

the three tax-credits that we were hoping to get and instead of the $3 million cap we got $2.3

million in tax-credits which is still fantastic for the Housing Authority. We won Tays and we

won Krupp. The issue with Tays is predicated upon getting a letter from HUD saying that there

is not a fair housing issue with building in the Chamizal area. Right now that deadline is in

November. We have not received approval form HUD who is the entity that oversees fair

housing issues. TDHCA is looking for a way, if they were sued, that HUD is agreeing not to

have any issues with fair housing. We believe that we will get that Mr. Provenghi is working

closely with them, we talked at the national level in October. That is where we are with the tax

credits and everything there. The current RFP is out we are still looking for a developer partner

for the Tays property. We are hoping to have someone for you by the next board meeting.

There was a win with IBI we are trying to purchase several properties from IBI there was a

request to allow us to buy the current HUBs affecting seven properties that fall under historically

underutilized businesses and there was a motion to change that where non-profits will be allowed

to buy the HUB and will then mean that you would need to have a HUB, which most likely will

mean that Ike Monty will have to remain the purchase. So we are now able to buy all those

properties and the non-profit can now substitute for the HUB.

Commissioner Blacksher asked in reference to Tays we have to get this letter from HUD by

November what happens if we don’t?

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Mr. Cichon said that the risk is losing that particular 9% tax-credit. When we were in front of

TDHCA they asked to have it by November, but recognized that we do not have control over that

and offered to be more flexible and give us more time realizing that we are dealing with a federal

government entity and HUD is not known for moving quickly and TDHCA works closely with

them and knows that it is very difficult to get documents. We still believe that we can get it by

that date and we have both national and local working on it and there seems to be an agreements,

language has been approved we reached out to Coats Rose who has done this for Galveston

Housing Authority and we believe that using the same language we should be able to move it

along quickly, but as of right now we are caught in no men lands.

Commissioner Blacksher asked if there is a Supreme Court case that is pending in that subject.

Mr. Cichon responded that not specifically on this subject it surrounds fair housing and you are

right it did go up and as you know the fair housing issues has gone up to the Supreme Court

before, this is the third time what has been happening is that the advocates are very fear full of

ruling and normally those cases are drop out. We do not know what is going to happen, but it

would not affect the fair housing issues that we have on this case. And if you think of it from a

legal prospective HUD has always said please go forward and rebuilt these areas of town all we

are doing is exactly what they approved us for under RAD we don’t think that there is any

liability in that regard. Also the fact that we are increasing the diversity of the units, we are

increasing the thresholds. Right now almost all of the units that are at Tays are at 30% or less on

MAI we are increasing that with the tax-credits to 60% or less we don’t think that there is a

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diversity issue either whether is race or economical. We think we are very strong in that

particular matter.

We went to DC and had a chance to meet with Secretary Castro and the top RAD staff. We

presented to them what we are doing we talked about the mod issues we talked about Freddie

Mac loan that we are taking. We had a chance of explaining the moving procedures that we are

talking about. One of the main issues is that there is an issue about over income families as you

do tax-credits anybody that is over and above 60% of MAI don’t qualify for the tax-credits.

Almost all of our tax-credits fall 60% or less. You have a conflict of laws as it pertains to what

authority you can do vs. what you can do under RAD. There has been discussions with the

lawyers as to how do we find financing if these families are over income, which means that we

can’t then receive tax-credits for those particular families. We believe that we are down to the

end of the discussion and it looks like we are going to be limited and we are going to have to find

additional funding and most likely we will have to pay out of our own pocket for about 10% of

the units that we are going to convert. This is just a challenge that we are going to have to take.

Other housing authorities have done this in the past and while there is some room we are a little

nervous based on the fact that if HUD finds that we have somehow not comply with the law has

the right to pull those vouchers meaning the RAD allocation that we received and, of course, we

don’t want to put that at risk at all. These are considerations that are going into it and he just

wanted to put it on the table because he wants all of them to understand that it can affect the

financing of the 10% of the equity that we would receive for these particular families. Secretary

Castro said that he wanted to come down and visit El Paso and he was hoping that he could come

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down sometime in November. The meetings that we had in DC lasted quite a while he asked if

anybody that was present wanted to add any information.

Bill Avila legal counsel with Bracewell & Giuliani said that Jane Macon is in Washington and is

working on getting the Secretary to El Paso.

Robin Vought, Hunt Development Group, said that in reference to the over income issue that Mr.

Cichon talked about there is what he would call a disconnect between low-income housing tax-

credit rules and Public Housing and Section 8 rules. But, if your income is 80% or less of the

area median income you qualify to live in public housing and once you quality to live in public

housing you can always live in public housing no matter what your income is. Tax-credit rules

are different, in order to qualify for tax-credits when a unit is place in service the resident in that

unit has to earn 60% or less of area median income. And so you have by our estimation out of

1591 units that are going through the first phase of the RAD conversion about 106 residents in

those 1591 that earn above 60$ of area median income and that would mean that those units that

those tenants or residents would live in would not qualify to receive the credits associated with

that unit. That is really the issue that we are trying to deal with at this point.

Commissioner Blacksher asked if we were hoping for a reconciliation between the two.

Mr. Cichon said that unfortunately it is statutory so the residents have an absolute right to return

to the property. We were thinking that if we could move them into the third tranche to receive

time because we are going to be buying certain properties based on the fact that we have flood

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plain units that can’t be rebuilt that at that point it would give us an opportunity to move those

over-income families into those units that are not going to be tax-credit properties anyway.

Unfortunately, the way the law is written they have an absolute right to return when you receive

your CHAP. Our point was that if we have not finally signed the document, which will probably

be finalized in March, does that gives us lead way to take those steps and in discussing with our

attorneys it is a problem that was not considered at the highest level of government as it pertains

to tax-credits. There was a separation when RAD was being proposed in understanding how tax-

credits interplay with the funding to rebuild those units. Similarly, as we talked about tax-credits

having a disconnect with public housing as we had the discussions in DC, DC will not allow a

partial close in public housing and so when you have a tax-credit as you know right now with the

average set-aside 25% of the units must be maintained as public housing, well HUD says that we

can’t carve out 25 units in that community and not having them be part of RAD. So now we are

forced with figuring out how to do the new development and still happen to port with what the

federal government is asking. We have two options as it seats right now either you do 100%

public housing, which is what we are trying to move away from, which also costs a lot more

money to build or you put vouchers into those particular units, which would be project-based

vouchers which we have. We have not utilized that aspect of vouchers within our current

system. The delta between the two on just the Tays project is about $7 million and it looks as the

project-based vouchers may be a better option for us. It will still be affordable housing, it will

not allow us to build into our ACC cap, but those are the discussions we are having right now.

We do not want to lose the tax-credits, the value of those tax-credits is significant, but

unfortunately the QAP and the way TDHCA is interpreting the rule, even though we believe the

Attorney General would agree with us, does not mix with how HUD wants to do the RAD

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transaction. As you know this has not been done before, so we are the first movers. It is a lot of

moving pieces and a lot of heavy lifting but we will get there. We are going to have to change

legislation and we are working closely with our local politicians and with our counsel in order to

write legislation that would allow us then to change the set-aside rules to allow not just 25% of

public housing and do a full RAD conversion and at the same time grandfathered it so that we

can go back and address the units that we currently have under Tays and Krupp that are currently

part of the Texas 9% allocation. He offered to answer any additional questions.

Chief Financial Officer Reports.

Statement of Revenues/Expenses for August 2014. Mr. Bhaskar

discussed the financial reports for July and August 2014 and offered to answer any questions.

Statement of Changes in Net Assets for August 2014. No discussion.

HACEP News Articles/Events. Shane Griffith, Public Information Officer, said that on

September 15, Eva Alcocer was featured in an inspirational story on Univision 26 and El Diario

de El Paso regarding her success in overcoming obstacles and closing on her own home. After

those stories ran and aired, Pete Huerta, HR Homeownership Coordinator, got approximately 70

calls from other residents who were interested in joining the program. On September 18, we

hosted an open house for approximately 14 public housing authorities from around the country

with approximately 40 individuals. They were interested in our innovative business process

improvements and technology solutions. We have been spending a lot of time in terms of

23

engaging our resident population as it pertains to RAD. Since September 18 we have met with

the residents of Graham Telles, Kennedy Estates, Truman, Anderson, Kennedy Brothers, Tays,

Marmolejo, Baines, Eisenhower, and monthly with the officers of the JWRC. On September 14

the El Paso Inc. included an announcement about the contract opportunity for moving services

related to RAD. On September 27, El Diario de El Paso featured the Housing Authority’s RAD

efforts in its coverage of the Affordable Housing in El Paso: A Silent Crisis? panel discussion

hosted by La Fe and the Social Justice League. In other news on September 30, the El Paso Inc.

included our announcement of HACEP’s acquisition of $101,000 grant from HUD to continue to

support our coordinators with the Public Housing and Housing Choice Voucher FSS Programs.

On October 16, KFOX covered the “Living Wills” outreach efforts by the County Attorney’s

office at Father Pinto. On October 17, El Paso Times included a list of public housing sites

where EPISD will provide six information sessions to encourage parents to enroll their children

in free pre-kindergarten classes. From October 15-18, Commissioners Fernandez, Blacksher,

and Ortega joined Mr. Cichon and staff at the NAHRO Conference in Baltimore. Mr. Cichon,

together with officials from the Baltimore Housing Authority, presented on a panel about RAD.

HACEP received an Award of Excellence for eHACEP. HUD Secretary Julian Castro addressed

the conference attendees about how HUD is the department of hope and how his administration

will focus on outcomes. Mr. Griffith presented an award from Dr. Natalicio and UTEP

recognizing the Housing Authority as part of their centennial celebration as one of the 100

partners that they have been working with during this past century. Mr. Griffith offered to

answer any questions.

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Commissioner Ortega made a motion to go into recess. It was seconded by Commissioner

Blacksher. Motion carried unanimously. The Board went into recess at 6:50 p.m.

Commissioner Blacksher made a motion to come out of recess. It was seconded by

Commissioner Licerio. Motion carried unanimously. The Board reconvened at 6:55 p.m.

Item # 14. The Board of Commissioners May Retire Into Executive Session at Any Time

Upon the Motion of Any Commissioner Pursuant to the Texas Government Code, Section

551.071-551.076 to Discuss Any of the Following:

Section 551.071 Consultation with attorney.

Section 551.072 Deliberations about real property.

Section 551.073 Deliberations about gifts and donations.

Section 551.074 Personnel matter.

Section 551.076 Deliberations about security devices.

Discussion on the Following:

(a) Discussion and Update by Legal Counsel on Pending Litigation Matters. (Section

551.071)

(b) Discussion and Update by Legal Counsel Regarding Leticia Montelongo v. Housing

Authority of the City of El Paso. (Section 551.071)

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Commissioner Ortega made a motion to go into executive session. It was seconded by

Commissioner Licerio. The Board went into executive session at 6:55 p.m.

Commissioner Quinn made a motion to come out of executive session. It was seconded by

Commissioner Blacksher. The Board reconvened at 7:40 p.m.

Item # 15. Adjournment.

There being no further business to be discussed before the Board, Commissioner Blacksher made

a motion to adjourn. It was seconded by Commissioner Quinn. Motion carried unanimously.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:40 p.m.

ATTEST:

________________________________ ______________________________

Gerald Cichon Joe Fernandez

minutes of a regular meeting - hacep · 2018. 4. 26. · minutes of a regular meeting of the board...

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