HOUSING AND COMMUNITY SERVICES AGENCY 

May 21, 2003

9:00 a.m.

Commissioners' Conference Room

APPROVED 10/29/03

 

Commissioner Peter Sorenson presided with Commissioners Bill Dwyer, Tom Lininger, Anna Morrison and Judith Pothier present. June Gallagher and Bobby Green, Sr. were excused. County Administrator Bill Van Vactor, County Counsel Teresa Wilson and Recording Secretary Melissa Zimmer were also present.

       

1.  PUBLIC COMMENTS

 

Laurie Khodabandehlao, 691 Honeysuckle, Eugene, recalled that she sent the Board a letter.  She asked for placement on a priority basis to move her daughter up on the HUD housing list.  She noted her application was submitted in November 2000.  She stated when she found the name missing in 2001, she signed her daughter up again.  She had been working with Chris Todis to see if there was any evidence of her daughter’s application being there prior to her re-filing.  She wanted to find a way to move her daughter up on the list.  She requested that the Board put her daughter on a priority basis and move her up to where she had originally been.

 

Dwyer commented he had no objection to giving her a priority on the list.

 

Chris Todis, HACSA, reported there are 5,000 people on the waiting list.  He noted on rare occasions they make mistakes and lose something.  He said if anything could be shown that she had been on a waiting list, she would be moved up.  He said there could be a danger of the waiting list collapsing if anyone decides to go before the Board to have their position changed.  He was reticent to recommend any other change in the policy.

 

Morrison was concerned about a precedent being set, as there are people on the waiting list who are just as much in need as in this particular case.

 

Todis stated there were other programs in Eugene where her daughter could get assisted housing but it was not the most ideal fit.

 

Lininger commented that 90% of Section 8 tenants have compelling stories to tell.  He was reluctant to change others on the list, not knowing their individual stories.

 

Pothier concurred with Lininger.  She agreed it would cause many problems.  She thought what Todis did in offering other situations was the best way of dealing with this problem.

 

Sorenson asked Todis to send the Board a memo that would identify any alternative that he had authority for or if it was a Board choice to set up an appeal’s process or other mechanism by which people could appeal.  He commented if there was a mistake that was made, there should be an opportunity for someone to appeal.

 

Dwyer said there needed to be an appeal process set up.

 

Sorenson encouraged Todis to formulate an agenda item or to respond to this problem further.

 

2.  COMMISSIONERS' REMONSTRANCE

 

None.

 

3.  REGULAR BUSINESS

 

a.  ORDER 03-5-21-1H/In the Matter of Entering into a Loan Agreement with the City of Eugene for Rehabilitation of Abbie Lane Apartments.

 

Don Williams, HACSA, reported this was not public housing but assisted housing that was built under Section 8 new construction.  He said they don’t get modernization monies to maintain the facility.  He noted the only avenue they have is to look at loans to do rehabilitation.  He stated that over the years they had ongoing problems with siding at Abbie Lane caused by design flaws.  He said the building is 25 years old with T111 siding.  He said they had to do something to repair it.  He noted the proposal is to remove the T111 siding, fix the dry rot that had been caused by the design flaws and siding, replace the windows, seismic upgrading, insulation repair and at the higher levels of the building, installing metal siding.  He said the money they want to borrow from the City of Eugene’s program for rehabilitation is up to $500,000.  He noted their budget is slightly under $500,000.  He hoped they could do this for less money.  He noted it was a 30-year loan at 2% interest and the rents are adequate to repay the loan.

 

MOTION: to approve ORDER 03-5-21-1H.

 

Dwyer MOVED, Pothier SECONDED.

 

VOTE: 6-0.

 

b.  ORAL REPORT BACK/Blower Door Report. (NBA & PM 3/13/03)

 

Williams stated he had been communicating with June Gallagher on this matter.  He said they did blower door tests that are a highly sophisticated way of pressurizing or depressurizing units to determine how much air exchange there is and where some of the air was coming from.  He explained it was about migration outside or between the units and it is driven by smoke going from one unit to another. 

 

Williams noted they found that no two units performed the same.  He said they were concerned about units that were too tight because of  indoor air quality.  He said they put into their capital fund $75,000 to do a study and repair.  He said they would be replacing or repairing fans and studying one or more of the stacks to see how many complaints they get with noise.  He said they are going to have to do more blower door testing to determine indoor air quality so they could make recommendations.  He said they made changes to the fan system and they are trying to find  an indoor air monitor system that is affordable.  He noted over the next year they would be cleaning the ducts, and performing more blow door testing.

 

4.  CONSENT CALENDAR

 

a.  Approval of Minutes:  None.

 

5.  EXECUTIVE SESSION as per ORS 192.660

 

None.

 

There being no further business, Commissioner Sorenson adjourned the meeting at 9:30 a.m.

 

 

Melissa Zimmer

Recording Secretary