Hope Housing Authority Board Meets
The Hope Housing Authority met on Thursday (5-15). After the call to order and the approval of the agenda the minutes were approved. The new business included the approval of tenant accounts receivable write-offs for Low-Income Public Housing and Kelly Homes, designating debt as uncollected as of May 15th. Another resolution was the approval of the application and participation agreement with the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration to be able to recapture some of these debts through the capture of state income tax refund checks.
The write-off for LIPH was a little over $107,000, and the one for Kelly was a little over $2,000. All four resolutions were adopted. The fourth resolution was a revised housing choice administrative plan that included a change in the number of days allowed, from 10 to 30, to allow tenants to provide pay stubs in order to calculate the payment correctly.
Executive Director Zach Hicks announced that Ms. Wilson has been added to the staff as deputy director. She gave thanks for the opportunity to serve.
There are 32 vacant LIPH units, with 344 applicants on the waiting list. Multifamily had 5 move-ins, with 3 more expected when ready, and 14 vacancies.
As part of the executive report, Director Hicks stated the auditor was scheduled to present the audit report ending June 30, 2024, to the commissioners; however, due to a last-minute conflict on their part, it would need to be rescheduled at the board’s pleasure. A discussion of the next meeting schedule, which conflicts with a holiday when the agency is closed, ensued followed by a rescheduling of the audit presentation. As a result, the next meeting will be on June 5th, and the audit review will take place at the July 17 regular meeting.
An insurance check was accepted for the units damaged by arson in November 2024. To ensure that the proceeds from the insurance check will adequately cover a complete repair, there will be a follow-up to determine what is grandfathered versus what is required to be brought up to the current code as part of the process for choosing what to bid.
Ms. Wilson spoke of eliminating unnecessary things, streamlining processes, and doing more with less.
Mr. Hicks stated that modernization wasn’t being implemented. Still, an emphasis was being placed on quality-of-life improvements, as well as capital needs, to achieve as much as possible with the available funds.
There was no executive session. The meeting adjourned.
