Minutes, June 16, 2020

Minutes from the June 16, 2020 Clarksville CDC Monthly Meeting

In support of citywide efforts to reduce the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), the June 19, 2020 Monthly Meeting was held via Zoom.

Board members in attendance: Aly Byatt, BJ Friedman, Malcolm Greenstein, Paula Hern, Kim O’Brien, Mary Reed, and Gregory Tran.

Others present:  Rose Gabriel

1.    On a motion by Paula, seconded by Aly, the minutes from the May 19, 2020 monthly board meeting were approved as corrected.

2.    BJ presented the monthly balance sheet and profit and loss statements. As of May 31, 2020, our checking account balance was $20,001, our savings balance was $127,662. The profit and loss shows the receipt of a $7500 PPP forgivable loan. The “SBAD” income of $1000 is likely our Economic Injury Disaster Loan. It was an automatic deposit. Will check with the bank to verify. Expenses related to the make-ready of 1729B W. 11th are detailed.

3.    Rose presented the property management report. All tenants who applied for HACA funds and were originally approved were eventually denied because the fund ran out of money. Mary thinks the Council will approve more money. Malcolm asked if there was an advantage to contacting Councilmember Tovo’s office to see if these tenants will have to reapply or are they already in line, and is there anything she can do to help them with access.

The board discussed one tenant family who has been hit particularly hard by the current situation, and will continue to be hit hard for reasons specific to their situation. The Finance Committee will discuss this situation and report back to the board. Kim asked about the possibility of reaching out to the CCDC community to establish an emergency fund should it be needed.

A long-time tenant moved out, leaving the unit pristine. Rose has received a number of applications to fill the vacancy. Several are Section 8. A few repairs need to be made, so we are probably looking at August for new tenant.

The board discussed next steps regarding a tenant who is in arrears.

4.    Mary reported that there’s been a lot of recent interest related to Clarksville’s history. The Neill-Cochran House Museum developed a driving tour of significant African American sites to coincide with Juneteenth. The majority of the stops are in Clarksville. Mary did a short video to be included.

She also reported on a cycling event that brought more than 200 cyclists of all ages to the Haskell House. They filled the yard. The organizer had a boom box with a mike so Mary could share the history. It was an enthusiastic crowd, with residents from the nearby condos joining in, as well.

Rowena Houghton Dasch, executive director at the Neil-Cochran House Museum, is studying maps and surveys related to the Pease land. Her research shows there were 10 enslaved people at Woodlawn (per the 1860 census.) The

Pease Park Conservancy is also working on telling the story of the Pease family and Woodlawn, which will encompass Clarksville. Stephanie Lange is serving as a consultant on the project.

5.    Malcolm has crafted a new tenant lease document. It’s shorter, more clear and  concise, incorporating tenant rules into the document. The board expressed its thanks to Malcolm.

6.    Mary reported that she signed two agreements this week that will turn over to CCDC the OWANA affordable housing funds that were previously managed by Home Base. The approximately $50,000 (plus an additional $5300 currently unallocated) will be turned over to CCDC soon, and past loans will be forgiven. We have yet to hear from OWANA regarding any specific requirements they will have regarding expenditure of the funds. Next month, the board will begin considering spending priorities for the funds.

7.    Rose reported on progress at the new CCDC house at 1611 W. 10th Street. We have had to make a design change due to proximity to power lines. We’ve yet to receive the city funding due to continuing work on document wording to address that the land we’re building on belongs to the City of Austin. American Youthworks is on hold due to COVID, but it looks as though we won’t need them until the fall, due to the early work being done by certified contractors.

8.    Rose gave a progress report on Haskell House repairs. The money is now available and we can submit invoices as soon as materials are approved. Our insurance company requires we use fire-retardant cedar shakes—the City has approved their use.

9.    Under Other Business, on a motion by BJ, seconded by Malcolm, the Board appointed Felicia Farnes to fill the tenant slot on the Tenant Selection Committee. Her appointment is for 2 years, to run through May 2022.

10.                  The board did not meet in Executive Session 

Actions taken via Electronic Vote:  

5/20/20: The board approved the replacement of the air conditioning units at 1708 W. 10th. The unit at the B unit had gone out and needed immediate replacement. Since the unit at the A unit was the same age, the decision was made to replace it now, as well, and to add insulation in the attic of the B unit. Two bids were received. The Finance Committee recommended approval of Totally Cool’s bid to replace both units at a cost of $11, 522. We anticipate a rebate of $1,732, which will make our actual cost $9,790. This action was time-sensitive and could not wait until the June board meeting.

5/26/20: The board voted to accept bids from Kidd Gutters to install gutters at 1729 W 11th and 1821 Waterston, in the amounts of $1960 and $1768, respectively. Kidd Gutters was not the lowest bid, but the lowest bidder has proved to be not responsive. Installation of these gutters had been discussed and approved at the last Finance Committee meeting and as a pressing repair/improvement could not wait until the June board meeting.

5/29/20: The board voted to renew our annual insurance coverage with Higginbotham. This action was time-sensitive and could not wait until the June board meeting.

Minutes from Finance Committee Meeting, June 11, 2020

Attending: Mary Reed, CCDC president, BJ Friedman, CCDC Treasurer and Rose Gabriel, CCDC Financial Manager

Mary Reed and BJ Friedman reviewed the financials for May 2020 and asked Rose Gabriel about anything they did not understand.

BJ compared the CCDC bank statements for May against deposit slips, debits transactions and receipts. 

BJ asked when the CCDC will begin collecting money from tenants for their share of the monthly water bills at properties where service is not divided. Rose said that the new tenant at 1729B West 11th is now paying for her water use and that paying it is part of her lease. However, we cannot ask the other tenants to begin paying for their water until their leases come up for renewal. Also, Rose noted that although the tenant at 1729A West 11th has a month-to-month lease, she is struggling to pay her rent so it’s unlikely she could come up with money to pay for her water. A discussion ensued about the number of able-bodied adults living at that address who could work and whether the tenant on the lease could not find a better paying/more stable job.

Rose noted that a number of tenants are behind on their rent and some are being non-communicative. She reviewed which tenants had not yet paid their July rent. Some of the rental payment issues are COVID-related; but our rental collection situation has not become any worse than it has been in the previous two months.

The CCDC has been approved for EIDL money (we think), but Rose is having problems logging into the federal government portal in order to pursue the next steps for accessing the money. She has a call into customer service.