May 20, 2021 - Minutes
Pursuant to Executive Order 2020-07 & 2020-18 signed by Governor Pritzker and guidance provided by legal counsel, the Lake County Housing Authority conducted this meeting by use of telephonic or electronic means without a physical quorum present in the boardroom. Public access to this meeting was available as follows: Call: 1 312-626-6799 and Enter Meeting ID 893 2281 7211.
Consequently, the May 20, 2021 Regular Board Meeting of the Housing Authority of the County of Lake was held as a teleconference via the Zoom platform. A public notice of the meeting and the opportunity for telephonic access by the public has been posted on LCHA's social media and website (www.lakecountyha.org).
The Regular Board Meeting of the Commissioners of the Housing Authority of the County of Lake, Illinois, was held May 20, 2021 via Zoom and at the Lake County Housing Authority Central Office, 33928 North US Highway 45, Grayslake, IL 60030.
(Commissioners participated in this Board Meeting via teleconference.)
Present:
Dr. H. Lee Jordan, Jr., Chairman
John Idleburg, Commissioner
Susan Malter, Commissioner
Irina Mishalov, Commissioner
Absent:
Kevin Considine, Vice Chairman
Beverly Mull, Commissioner
(Physically present at 33928 North US Highway 45, Grayslake, IL 60030.)
LCHA Staff:
Lorraine Hocker, Executive Director/CEO
Ofelia Navarro, Deputy Director
Khadija Darr, Chief Financial Officer
Valerie Rogers, Executive Secretary
Posting of the notice of this meeting and agenda complied with the requirements of the Open Meetings Act (5 ILCS 120/2.02(a)). The notice and agenda were posted prior to 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 18, 2021 at the principal office, 33928 North US Highway 45, Grayslake, IL 60030 and on the Agency's website, www.lakecountyha.org.
ROLL CALL
Noting that a quorum of Commissioners was present, Chairman Jordan called the meeting to order at 12:32 p.m. Roll call was taken, and the following Commissioners were present: Idleburg, Malter, Mishalov, Jordan. Absent: Considine, Mull.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Public comments were accepted by email at publiccomment@lakecountyha.org or by leaving a voice message at (847) 223-1170 ext. 2320. Comments received by 9:00 a.m. on May 20, 2021 are to be read at the appropriate time in the agenda.
No Public Comments were submitted either by email or telephone by 9:00 a.m. on 5/20/21. Chairman Jordan opened the floor for public comment. No one requested to be heard.
MINUTES - 4/15/21 REGULAR MEETING
MINUTES - 4/15/21 EXECUTIVE SESSION- REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS & PERSONNEL MATTERS
After discussion, Commissioner Idleburg moved, seconded by Commissioner Malter to approve the Minutes of the April 15, 2021 Regular and Executive Session Minutes - Real Estate Transactions & Personnel Matters. The Board voted as follows: Ayes: Idleburg, Malter, Mishalov, Jordan. Nays: None. Absent and Not Voting: Considine, Mull. Motion Carries.
FINANCE REPORT
The list of bills and financial report were submitted by Chief Financial Officer Khadija Darr. (See Exhibits 09, 10)
CFO Khadija Darr reported the list of bills is larger than usual due to the volume of Emergency Rental Assistance payments. She stated this trend will continue until those funds are exhausted.
Khadija reported the auditors from Rubino are on sight and will be through Friday, 5/21/21 when they will deliver an exit interview. The written audit results are several months away.
Khadija stated LCHA received notice from HUD of additional funding for the Emergency Vouchers. LCHA should receive approximately $562,000 to administer fifty-five (55) vouchers under the EHV program.
After discussion, Commissioner Malter moved, seconded by Commissioner Idleburg to approve the list of bills as presented. The Board voted as follows: Ayes: Idleburg, Malter, Mishalov, Jordan. Nays: None. Absent and Not Voting: Considine, Mull. Motion Carries.
REPORTS
The following reports for April 2021 were provided.
- Public Housing - Zachary Stone, Director of Facilities (Exhibit 01)
- Procurement - Aaron Broeski, Project Manager (Exhibit 02)
- Property Disposition - Derek Eovaldi, Property Disposition Coordinator (Exhibit 03)
- Housing Choice Voucher, PBV[1] - Jennifer Ferguson, Director of HCV & Compliance (Exhibit 04)
- FSS[2], Housing Counseling, Mainstream Vouchers & FUP[3] - Heidi Semenek, Director of FSS & Special Programs (Exhibit 05)
- Human Resources - Lelfran Elgezdi, Director of Human Resources (Exhibit 06)
- FOIA/OMA[4], Travel-Training - Valerie Rogers, Executive Secretary/FOIA & OMA (Exhibit 07)
Other Matters
- HUD establishes income limits for all areas of the country and publishes them annually in the Federal Register. They are based upon estimates of median family income with adjustments for family size. The income limits are used to determine eligibility for the HCV & Public Housing programs and for income targeting purposes. Per LCHA's HCV Administrative Plan and the Public Housing ACOP[5], at least 75% of the families to our programs during our fiscal year must be extremely low-income families. Income limits are used for eligibility only at admission.
HUD Notice PDR-2021-02, effective 4/1/21, updated income limits. These incomes are listed by dollar amount and family size.
As of 4/1/21, to be eligible for either the Section 8 or Public Housing program, family income cannot be greater than those on the following chart. - On 4/23/21, HUD announced it will substantially increase in-person housing inspections by the Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC), beginning on June 1, 2021 for Public Housing and Project Based Voucher rent assisted properties. REAC will provide targeted properties with a 28-day advance notice to give PHAs, owners, and property managers adequate time to prepare. HUD has prioritized the properties to be inspected using various risk factors. If a resident does not feel comfortable with an inspector entering their unit, the resident may opt out from the inspection. In those instances, another unit will be selected for an inspection. (See Exhibit 08 for resident notice.) LCHA immediately scheduled key staff to attend specialized training on both the Uniform Physical Condition Standards (UPCS) and National Standards For The Physical Inspection Of Real Estate (NSPIRE) protocols that will be used by HUD. HUD will not be issuing inspection scores to PHAs in 2021. Rather, inspectors will only be looking for life threatening deficiencies on the property. Life threatening deficiencies must be fixed within 24 hours of the inspection.
- HUD has updated the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) dashboard. The HCV dashboard presents to the general public visualizations of HCV program statistics based on most recently available data taken from, among other places, the Voucher Management System (VMS). The updated dashboard now includes pages on leasing changes, percentages of HCV programs devoted to special purpose vouchers, leasing potential, project-based voucher portfolios, comparing budget and reserves between two states or programs, and comparing leasing and per unit cost (PUC) between two states or programs. In addition to aggregate national data, the Dashboard also shows data on individual PHAs. Housing authorities can be selected, and data can be viewed on things like utilization and budget reserves. Finally, the Department has also updated the "HCV Dashboard User Guide & Data Dictionary." The Department has posted a YouTube video discussing and explaining the expansion, which can access here. State is Illinois and LCHA is IL056.
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Rubino is the company LCHA contracted to conduct our required independent financial audit for FYE 9/30/20. They are on-site this week working with staff and collecting data. Most information will be downloaded to their portal for ease of access. As you may recall from the past, previous auditors have requested contact information for our Commissioners to speak with them directly. We will notify you should this information be requested from this company.
- In alignment with the updated CDC guidelines, LCHA has made the following updates for staff.
If staff have been fully vaccinated:
[1] Project-Based Vouchers
[2] Family Self-Sufficiency Program
[3] Family Unification Program
[4] Freedom of Information Act. Open Meetings Act.
[5] Public Housing Admissions and Continued Occupancy Policy