Minutes - Approved
Ridgefield Housing Authority
Ridgefield, CT 06877
RHA Unapproved Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, January 3, 2024
Meeting Via Zoom – 305 224-1968 (266 192 1953)
Commissioners Present: Vincent Liscio, Paul Janerico, Ed Baird, Maree Macpherson (All Board Members on Zoom)
Commissioner Absent: Jan Hebert
REM Staff: Wade Rockwood
RHA Resident: Krisann Benson
A motion to approve RHA Meeting Minutes from December 20, 2023, with no changes, was made by Mr. Janerico and seconded by Ms. Macpherson, all present approved.
A motion to approve the Tenant Commissioner Report was made by Mr. Janerico and seconded by Mr. Liscio, all present approved.
A motion was made to adjourn the RHA meeting by Mr. Janerico and seconded by Mr. Baird-all present approved.
Mr. Liscio called the meeting to order and read the Mission Statement aloud. First order of business was the Approval of Meeting Minutes, which was completed. Mr. Liscio called upon Mr. Rockwood to start with his Management Update.
Management Update: Mr. Rockwood began by reiterating the dates for the Holiday Parties at both Ballard Green on January 5th and Congregate on January 9th. Invitations were distributed to all residents. A job posting has been made to find a qualified individual to assist Doug with his duties and Mr. Rockwood and Doug will personally be involved with the interview process. Scheduling will begin later this month for unit inspections and residents will be notified of their timing. On Tuesday, January 9, Wade and Renee will join Senior Voices – Affordable Housing to speak to seniors at Ridgefield Library, especially Ballard Green and Congregate, from 1:00 – 2:30pm. Mr. Rockwood will acquire link to send out to all and also secure link to newsletter – “Senior Affordable Housing”. Mr. Liscio commented that the individuals involved with this program are excellent. Not an official Report needing a vote at this time.
Financial Report: Due to Covid over holidays, slight delay in report, but will send to Board later today. We will have a budget meeting on January 10. Any questions you may have for Robert, please forward to me beforehand and I can compile. I will copy my note to Robert to all Board members prior to meeting. Budgets are out and uploaded to Box. Additionally, Renee reached out to Fairfield County Bank and if monies moved to money market account, we can get 3% - there will be limited availability on those accounts, but shouldn’t impact anything for us. Mr. Liscio agrees. This is not an official report. No Motion.
Tenant Commissioner: Ms. Macpherson updated Board on a promised name of legal firm/telephone number that handled cases gratis for individuals. CT Legal Services in Waterbury, CT – 203 721-8551.
Old Business
Ballard Green Walkways – Researching new sites and conducting outreach to vendors in the past to see if they can give an immediate assist with problem areas. In the meantime, Doug has started making drainage repairs to areas needing attention. There is a possibility of doing walks in concrete but we need to pursue a grant. We can use previous concrete estimates for that purpose. Ms. Macpherson has a name for Mr. Rockwood to pursue.
Emergency Plan: Started to edit plan and update for moving forward. Relating to the staff training in CPR, first aid, Renee considering legal implications. Mr. Liscio asked if we have something in place should we need. Yes, there is a plan in place. Ms. Macpherson has the name of an individual that she previously took classes from, that deals with seniors, in particular. She will look for contact info and share with Mr. Rockwood.
Prospect Ridge Cameras: Open Systems in the process of scheduling a date to discuss implementation plan.
CNA – Will reschedule meeting and include Ms. Macpherson on the invitation list. Ballard Green and Meadows are completed and Congregate and General are upcoming. Mr. Rockwood has the master plan continuously updated with information needed to secure appropriate funds as required. Mr. Liscio asked if we were budgeting funds for capital improvements over next 12 months? This will be a topic on the upcoming budget meeting next week. Ms. Macpherson stated that the walkways are always a topic of discussion and also the overly bright lights on the property. Mr. Baird suggested “motion” lighting. Residents quite happy about additional cameras being placed on complexes.
Contracts, Leases, Insurance: Mr. Rockwood creating spreadsheet with status of each with dates to ensure this is kept up with regularly.
Alternate HS: No updates at this time.
Oil Tank: Successfully completed project. Bank to do payment release. Then can expect report and file on DropBox.
DropBox: tutorials pending. Interested Board Members will contact Mr. Rockwood to schedule meetings. Ms. Macpherson questioned the purpose of DropBox and an informative discussion ensued.
Budget Meeting – scheduled for January 10, 2024.
LP Exit – New item on Old Business.
New Business
None
Mr. Liscio then asked for a vote to adjourn meeting at 9:00AM
RHA Minutes Respectfully submitted by Patricia Harney, Recording Secretary.
Next Meeting January 17, 2024 at 7PM
Minutes available in Hardcopy at REM Office, Gilbert Street, or outside REM Office at Prospect Ridge, or with this link on Town Site: https://www.ridgefieldct.org/housing-authority.
Audio Visual Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/share/69MqplDgA2tgFYrjuXMo_SBPsgtzgO6OeoNl9UPStyI6LrmNqkATpPQT3RUNSSZo.3cIuEMSX11gwWbzT