City Council - Regular Meeting

Would everyone willing and able please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. I have a flag behind me on my left shoulder.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you. City Attorney Cooper-Smith, would you please present the first item on the agenda?

Yes, the first item on the agenda is ID 16826.

Thank you. We have, I don't see her on the screen yet, but I'm assuming we have Executive Director and CEO of the Housing Authority for the City of Annapolis, Melissa Maddox-Evans. Ms. Maddox-Evans, are you present?

Yes.

Great. Thank you. And great. Oh. I saw the video for a second. There you are, great. Thank you for joining us and thanks again for the presentation last night. We are here for an informational session. Appreciate that you are here to do that. Are you introducing someone else to do that or are you taking the lead on this?

Yes, I was going to introduce our board commissioner, Bishop Coates. I was not sure if he was in the call yet.

Okay, if you can just start with identifying yourself. I guess we all have our names in our boxes here, so I don't know if that's really necessary, but it just seems like a good thing to do.

Sure. I'm Melissa Maddox-Evans, Executive Director, CEO of the Housing Authority of the City of Annapolis.

Very good. And you were starting to say, is there anyone else on the call that you would like to introduce?

Yes, I wanted to welcome Bishop Coates, if he's on the line.

Bishop Coates is not on just yet.

Okay. I think he's trying to get on. So on behalf of him, I would like to extend an appreciation for providing us the time to speak with you today. We'll have a lot of great information to share with you that I hope will prove beneficial to you once we complete our presentation. If you would not mind, if you wouldn't mind holding your questions until the end. I hope that many of your questions will be answered throughout the course of the presentation, but if you still have questions toward the end, we will be happy to hear those and discuss those. So the presentation is about 30 minutes or so, or 40, and I would like to begin that presentation now, if I can.

Yes, I want to acknowledge that Alderwoman Daisha Conti is also on the call.

Okay. Are you able to see a screen that says background roles? Yes. Okay, great. And so good afternoon to you all, to Mayor, City Council, and colleagues, and thank you for taking the time for this conversation. I just want to start with, I want us to be able to leave this time today with a better understanding of what HACA is, our operating model, and how it's changing. and that will help to prove to be improved in effective partnership with the city of Annapolis. So the goal is not to make you a federal housing expert by any means, but it is to give us a common framework for decisions that affect the residents, most importantly, our neighborhoods and the long-term affordability of Annapolis. So I'm going to begin by providing four ideas uh, with regards to the outcome, hopefully the outcome of this briefing. So, um, so first Hackett is an independent public institution. Our authority is very distinct, but our outcomes are shared with the city. So our operating model is changing, um, because the inherited model, uh, uh, we can't afford to meet, uh, the future possibilities with the model that we're currently under that has been in place for decades. And we established sort of a new vision, a roadmap, HACA 2035, to be able to help us towards that both short-term stabilization and long-term stewardship. So if we can keep those four ideas in view as we go through this presentation, the legal and the financial details are going to make a lot more sense and the opportunities for coordination more clearer. And so the first idea is about TACA's institutional role, and it's pretty much foundational for everything. And so in terms of our role, Maryland created housing authorities, generally speaking, to perform an essential government function. And we are constituted by a seven-member board, which governs the housing authority, which is appointed by the mayor and city council. Our structure matters because it defines the levels of accountability. So although HACA is not a city department, We are also not totally unaccountable to the city. So we answer through law, through HUD agreements, public meetings, audits, inspections, contracts, and board policy. There are clear roles, but it's not about creating distance. It's just about understanding how our two public institutions work and work together, can work together responsibly for the residents. So this structure helps because it helps to recall that the issues that housing authorities face are something that is faced nationwide as to why these laws were even created in the first place. So housing authorities exist in order to create safe, affordable housing that is not always produced by the private market and to produce it at the scale that particular local communities need. So Maryland had recognized, the state of Maryland recognizes that unsafe housing, overcrowding and inadequate supply of affordable housing create public health, economic, and neighborhood consequences. And so the law therefore authorizes a coordinated public action where private investment alone is insufficient. And so that is the public problem that HACA was actually created to address. And it also of course remains A relative relevant today so Maryland went a bit further and declared, and this is all in the Maryland state code that safe housing in an in and of itself is an actual public purpose. And in doing so, it treats the provision of safe, sanitary, and decent housing as a public purpose and an essential government function. So it authorizes public tools when they are needed to reach households that the market doesn't serve. That is the through line from which HACA's legal authority to our current strategic vision is planted. So the tools essentially that we have had in the past may evolve, but actually our public purpose does not. And so next we're gonna talk about where HACA's authority comes from and who governs its use. HACA's authority comes from federal and state law. HUD regulations govern our programs and our annual contributions contract is directly with HUD and it outlines the subsidy we receive with HUD and the criteria to continue to receive subsidy from HUD. And Maryland law establishes our state law and powers. So the practical point for the people in this particular briefing It's pretty straightforward. So HACA's authority, although it's not delegated by the city, it's delegated by statute, that does not reduce the importance of the city partnership. uh, that we have with one another. In fact, it tells us where, just where formal responsibility sits and where coordination must be, uh, intentional. And so these legal sources, uh, give HACA our corporate powers and every one of those powers is for the purpose of carrying out a, a public purpose with regards to, uh, housing. So HACA can contract, own property, undertake redevelopment, exercise powers needed to fulfill its statutory role. The board conducts the authority's business in public meetings. So no one individual board member can push forward a particular agenda. It has to be done via vote in a quorum at our public board meetings. And so the local code governs how our board meetings and our board is supposed to be administered and conducted. So the corporate form gives HACA the ability to act. and the public purpose defines why it acts and to whom it is accountable. And so that authority is exercised within laws, bylaws, and agreements that further define specific responsibilities. So to discuss further, HECA operates, HACA operates within federal, state, county, and city requirements wherever they apply. So our bylaws govern our board The cooperative and inter-agency agreements can assign particular services and obligations between entities that we have agreements with. This distinction is important because a specific agreement creates specific commitments. It does not turn HACA unnecessarily into a city department, or create general oversight, but it does outline the roles and responsibilities and commitments that we have between whether it's the city, the county, or any other entity that we have an agreement with. So a cooperative agreement, which we're going to talk about, becomes clearer when we look at the practical services. For example, the city of Annapolis and the county has a pilot agreement with HACA, which outlines the rules with regards to taxation. that housing authorities do or do not pay under specific agreement with the city and or the county. The city and the county both have independent cooperative agreements with HACA. And so the cooperative agreements can address several things. And for housing authorities across the nation, they are viewed and have different considerations. And so, for example, I immediately came from Charleston City and Charleston County Housing Authorities. Charleston County, for its public housing units, the county pays for the water utilities for all public housing services. Within the City Housing Authority of Charleston, the city pays a portion of the salary and fees for police officers that are specifically assigned to the housing authority. So a housing authority and a local city government can have an agreement that entails the city will cover certain services. It could be water, trash, sewer, protective services, or any services that the local jurisdiction deems that it needs. In our particular jurisdiction, we have a pilot agreement. So those are just provided as examples of common examples of how cities and housing authorities partner with one another to provide a broader public service to the local the local community. So I'm not going to read every requirement on this slide, but this slide provides a point of the breadth of the system under which we operate. So we operate under a broad set of laws and rules, which cover civil rights, resident protections, landlord tenant law, ethics, privacy laws. And so we also operate under several laws that govern our public administration, whether they be employment laws, laws regarding the use of public funds. And we also as a housing authority are subject to many different entities for review and enforcement. And so whether they be HUD or the HUD Office of Inspector General, the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights, It could be Department of Labor or any other environmental entity, the IRS. So these just are examples of all of the entities that we are subject to. So although we are independent by nature, it does not mean that we have unlimited discretion and we obviously have limits under the law and responsibilities to the public under our framework. And so with regards to these laws, these laws are incorporated into our policies, our internal policies. So we have a number of board approved policies with every single policy has to be approved by our board. So they govern our admissions, our occupancy, how vouchers are administered. We have an emergency action plan. We have a personnel policy, fiscal policies, investment policies, et cetera. And so these matter, these policies matter because it indicates the institutional strength with regards to how we are to operate under the current laws and the systems we're required to operate. And so all of our policies have to be approved by our board, are available to the public and are required for transparency purposes. And they are in essence to ensure both program integrity and that the residents have a due process that's afforded to them under federal law. So with regards to resident protections, HACA, we have to enforce our eligibility requirements, occupancy, inspection, program integrity requirements. And we also have a duty to protect residents and employees and the surrounding communities. And so our authority, though, is also paired with due process rights. So residents have the right to reviews in conferences, grievance procedures under law, also the rights to reasonable accommodations and other civil rights protections. And so we have to be consistent with the law and fair under the law. and also enforce the law. So we have many different roles with regards to these rights and responsibilities that we have as an entity. With regards to our organization and entity, we have a seven-member board, as I said, that's appointed by the mayor and city council. We have an executive director slash CEO, which is myself. which carries out the policies and the initiatives of the board. We currently have 28 employees, which cover property management, finance, administration, resident services, and development. So we're a very small organization, but with highly specialized programs and increasingly complex partnerships. So that just makes the reality of us setting clear priorities, having strong systems and reliable coordination essential. So because our reach, our organization's reach is much larger than our staff count suggests. We serve over 1,100 families in our current portfolio. We have 554 public housing units currently, and you can put a pin in that, because we're gonna talk about that later. 770 vouchers that include both tenant and project-based vouchers. We have well over 30 services and programs that we provided. I did provide an attachment and an enclosure to give you more an idea of the types of program services that we provide. And this is to help you understand our reach as an entity. So our mission is not only to manage units or subsidies, it's really to provide stable housing foundation and connect our residents with education, employment, and self-sufficiency programs. So housing is the platform that we do this through and opportunities are supposed to be the outcome. And that mission serves more households and more housing types than just in the public housing program. So we serve families, individuals, seniors, persons with disabilities, veterans, working households. So our household mix includes public assisted workforce, mixed income and market rate housing. We have resident associations and tenant councils to give residents a voice. We have education, job training, recreation, and support programs to help build stability. So the portfolio is just not one program serving one type of family, but our operating model serves many types of families. And so we're going to talk about now have those programs and provide some clarification on how they work. Our programs have eligibility requirements. They can range from deeply subsidized households to workforce and to market rate housing. We also offer family self-sufficiency programs and we are in the process of constructing and building homeownership programs in our future developments at Robinwood and at Eastport Terrace and Harbor House. And so we are in the process of closing on Robinwood and Bloomsbury Square within 2027. So by the end of next year, we will have a reduced number of public housing units, about 353, and an increase in the voucher units from $770 to about $970. So this is significant and we're going to talk about why these changes are significant and why our partnership with the city is very important because of these various program offerings. And so um so HACA in terms of our role this you know slide is more so illustrate how our efforts between city and the HACA um coordinate so um HACA uh provides uh we are lead in the administration of the federal programs that we are funded under with regards to our property, our assets, our operations, resident eligibility, and so on. And the city leads in its municipal role with regards to infrastructure, services, citywide policies, and local regulations that assist in producing and stabilizing housing efforts. So it's more so the strategic work that we have in coordinating these efforts with regards to redevelopment sequencing, our funding, and our advocacy, community engagement, and understanding that we have a shared interest in residents and neighborhood outcomes. And so through this, our roles, we can see how it is essential that we coordinate to address the quote unquote, what is often deemed as the HACA housing question is just much more broader. And so the phrase HACA housing, which a lot of people use, it could be It really describes very different relationships. So in public housing, HACA is the owner and the manager. And with tenant-based vouchers, a private landlord manages the home and the assistance. follows the participant. And a project-based voucher assisted unit, the assistance is tied to the unit. And the property partner properties that are under this program, they maintain independent wait lists. And so as far from a constituent service perspective, it's really important that we identify the actual program and type of housing first. because repair questions, weightless questions, and subsidy compliance questions can be very different depending on the organization that is responsible for that particular program. And so this is to outline those distinctions, and we're going to talk about that a little bit further. Also, HACA does not administer emergency or transitional housing programs On a near daily basis, we receive inquiries about people that are in need of immediate housing assistance. And we do not provide that type of housing through our entity. And we have to route those inquiries in those citizens that ask us those types of questions to the correct entity. And so to elaborate a little bit further, So public housing and the properties that this pertains to are, you know, Eastport Terrace, Harbor House, Robinwood and Bloomsbury Square. This is what we would consider the traditional public housing program where HACA owns the property and we manage the homes. We administer the emissions and the program's requirements that are on the lease. Residents complete an annual recertification and the homes are subject to both HUD and city inspections. So this relationship also includes conference and grievance rights for the tenants. So the key point to point out for this particular program is that HACA has the direct responsibility for the tenants within public housing homes. For voucher assistant homes, which we have about 770 units under those programs, they are administered by our partner properties, Wilborn Estates. Obery Courts, Annapolis Gardens, Morris H. Blum. And at these properties, households have to satisfy both the housing choice voucher requirements and the low income housing tax credit requirements. So there are two different programs, have essentially the same reporting requirements, but the residents must comply with both to live at these sites. There are also project-based waitlists and also a tenant-based waitlist for these properties. What HACA does at these properties, we administer the subsidy. The partner owner manages the property and the tenancy. That division is very important, and it is why a resident has to actually have a valid relationship with both the housing authority and the partner property. But HACA here is not... the landlord. And so to be able to further illustrate, there are essentially three legal relationships going on in a voucher relationship. The voucher has three parties and three documents. The HAP, which is the Housing Assistance Payment Contract, connects HACA to the landlord, whether it's an individual landlord or a property. landlords such as Oberee Courts. The voucher connects HACA to the participant in their certain obligations that HACA has to the resident and that the resident has to perform to remain in a program such as a recertification. The dwelling lease connects the landlord to the tenant. And so this seemingly simple model can lead to many questions, but it also answers many questions. So HACA can answer questions related to the subsidy and the program. The landlord manages the property and the lease, and the participant has to comply with program and tenancy obligations. The voucher type then determines whether the assistance moves with the family or stays with the unit. And I'm going to talk about that distinction under the voucher program. There are two different types of vouchers. There's tenant based voucher and project based voucher in tenant based assistance. It generally follows the participant and may be portable to another jurisdiction. So they can move if they'd like and they can take their voucher with them to another state, just to another area that has another housing authority that will accept their voucher. The project-based assistance is tied to the unit and the mobility depends on the program's timing. And so The subsidy traditionally stays with the unit. So if the resident moves out, their assistance does not carry with them unless they're able to get another tenant-based voucher. So both programs, they include due process protections and both programs depend on HUD funding. So if there's not enough HUD funding to issue vouchers, then we have to cease issuing vouchers. And so the main point here is that even the term voucher is not interchangeable because there are specific types of vouchers which outlines the family's options and who the responsible parties are. And so just to lay those distinctions, here we're going to talk about the systems in which housing authorities are graded performance-wise. So the FOSS score covers public housing programs, and it covers several different categories as listed here. and what the scoring metric is. I don't expect anyone to remember this point allocation, but the point is HACA's performance is judged as an operating system with regards to properties, management, fiscal discipline, and the timely execution of its capital funds. The Housing Choice Voucher Program is also scored In a number of metrics that covers these different categories so and it is scored under a different system, and so. The. The point is to be able to show to you that both these programs are scored for all of the various program performance measures for each program. So with regards to our role and what we do in dealing with the current climate in particular with regards to funding availability, there is a great deal of volatility on the federal funding level. And our inheritance model, the model that we currently operate under is highly exposed to federal funding and federal funding changes, administration changes. and with regards to rules, with regards to how we can use our assets. So the point of this is not to discuss any type of partisan issue, but the fact that HACA does not control the federal decisions that dictate the limitations of where its funding can be allocated, nor can it control how much funding that it receives. So it is crucial that we diversify our sources of income and that we create the institutional capacity to be able to deal with the fluctuations of a very uncertain federal landscape that we have right now. So this is just an idea of the types of changes that we have been dealing with with regards to changes on the federal horizon. whether they're staffing changes at HUD. There was a notice published last week, but that was also detracted last week with regards to organizational changes on the HUD level, for instance. There's a proposed rule now with regards to public housing subsidy and giving the administration more control over how those subsidies can be utilized and when they can be retracted outside of what Congress has determined. So there is a lot going on on the national landscape, a lot of litigation with regards to the sustainability of certain programs that have been traditionally funded year after year. And so the need for resilience for our agency is just higher than ever in this highly volatile environment. So in terms of our plans, as I indicated, the number of public housing units that we have and the number of vouchers that we anticipate them both decreasing by the year end 2027 and decreasing even further with our first phase of development in Eastport Terrace Harbor House in 2028. So although the number of public housing units are decreasing, the number of voucher units will increase. So this does not indicate a change in our public purpose, but it does indicate a change in the programming, the financing, the ownership, and the management of the particular units that are under these different programs. And so we are at a juncture where we have to rely less on federal dependents because we have aging assets, deferred capital needs, and we have to move from being reactive from an operating standpoint to being proactive and use the development tools that we have. in order to do so. So our goal through setting our different initiatives is to be able to address this current housing environment and where we need to go. And so our future model with regards to HACA 2035 focuses more on modern asset stewardship, mixed income communities, and a diversified investment portfolio along with increased resident opportunities. So these aren't separate initiatives. They all go hand in hand. Better assets help support more stable communities and a diversified capital helps make preservation and redevelopment possible. A stronger institution for us helps us manage these investments responsibly and resident opportunity ensures that our strategy is connected to actual people's lives and the improvement of their lives. We're going to talk about with regards to our long-term stewardship role, which is to stabilize operations, modernize the housing that we have, reposition ourselves from a fiscal standpoint, and become great stewards of the assets that we have. And so these essentially reflect the changes that must occur in order for us to provide sustainable housing. And so this just illustrates the reasons why we need not only physical transformation, but institutional transformation to increase resident stability and mobility. So not a single dimension is enough. We need to address and are addressing issues within all of these different areas for the benefit of our residents. And so with regards to redevelopment, so there are these redevelopment brings great changes, but we're gonna outline just the different varying roles and responsibilities that HACA has during and after the redevelopment process. So in our redevelopment projects, HACA retains land ownership, across all of our properties. And the affordability is protected through contracts, deed restrictions, and program requirements. And eligible public housing residents that are in good standing can return once the redevelopment is completed. Oversight is layered through HUD investments, public funders, local inspectors. The complexity serves the public purpose, but should not obscure it. Our responsibility is to keep the controls, the resident protections and accountability understandable. And so to help you understand just across our full portfolio, which we intend to convert in full, we already are halfway through converting our public housing properties as you see here, but we plan to convert all of our properties under redevelopment plans that are already underway. And so, that we are able to implement all of the activities that go on with this conversion process. And so, Throughout that, this gives an illustration of once the properties are converted, what programs are applied. So redeveloped property may have RAD vouchers, project-based vouchers, or both. They can also have tenant-based vouchers and also units that are under the housing income tax credit program. Each of these programs have its own eligibility, mobility options and annual compliance rules. So the strategic implication is that one property can have several legal and operating relationships. So our challenge is to make sure that there's clarity with regards to the residents, elected officials, staff, and partners about which rules apply to which homes. So the tax credit layer is important because it brings equity to the project and reduces debt. And that's why we pursue tax credit funding. So in the most simplistic terms, the tax credit program provides that the federal government can allocate tax credits to states. The states then award them competitively. to projects and then investors purchase the credits. The sale produces the equity that we need to actually build the new buildings or to do substantial rehabilitations. And it's that equity that lowers the amount that the entire property project must borrow. And in that lower debt service, we can make the rents more affordable and more feasible. The investor then receives tax benefits while the public purpose is protected through allocation rules, affordability requirements, and governing agreements. So the financing model is very important because it explains why the property entity has to manage separately from the members, the managing members of that entity. And I'm gonna explain a little bit why. This slide just gives an illustration on how those dynamics work for a particular deal. So in a tax credit property, and we anticipate Bloomsbury Square to become a tax credit property The property LLC actually holds the real estate interest, the buildings, let's say. The managing member entity represents the developer and the HACA affiliate. And while the tax credit investor holds the entire economic interest, nearly 99.9% of this interest the managing member owns 0.01. So when you hear terms like HACA owns 49% versus the other developer owning 51%, that means HACA through its nonprofit owns 49% of the 0.01% of the property. And the reason why HACA must use an affiliate property to do that is that a housing authority is not allowed under law to apply for tax credits. It must use its affiliate or subsidy for legal purposes because a housing authority is administering the vouchers for that particular project. And so to Further illustrate, each of the partnership properties has its own LLCs, own owners, own managers, own waitlist requirements, own contracts, inspections, and compliance obligations. So while HACA retains the land, there are different entities. that may own or manage the day-to-day operations of these properties and are required for the improvements of these properties and the administration of the programs that are tied to the residents on these properties. And so it is important that There will not be a generalization also from one partnership to another because each deal can be crafted a little differently, but this is the general framework of how our low income tax credit properties and RAD slash PBV properties are operating. And so, and through that, it helps us outline what our requirements are. In our partnership agreements with tax credit properties, we are also required under RAD and PBV programs to transfer very similar rights that our tenants have under public housing. and voucher programs. And they can include, for example, grievance protections, the white VHACA consent decree requirements, inspections requirements, 504 and VAWA requirements. Our new management entities have to adopt our admin plan and our ACOP, which govern the housing choice voucher program and public housing programs as applicable. There are several different policies that the new properties have to adopt so that resident protections continue. Affordability is continued through HAP contracts, our tax credit compliance, extended use agreements, and other deed and agreement restrictions. Oversight comes from HUD, the investors, local inspectors, and our public funders. And the structure is layered depending on the capital that is layered at the particular site. So for example, we talked about Blooms Bay Square. Blooms Bay Square is subject to, with regards to inspections, city inspections, HUD inspections, but also state inspections because the state has given funding for the creation of that particular development. So with regards to sources that will help understand the varying entities and roles at play for housing authorities, of course, there's HUD and different newsletters that provide insight on the changes and the requirements that are coming from HUD. We are in connection and in partnership with several housing authority associations to be able to learn best practices and stay current. And a variety of these, a variety of these organizations have websites that you can avail yourselves to if you'd like to explore further. And so as we are nearing, closing. So I'm providing a few things that will be helpful for ongoing coordination with the city. Of course, it's always helpful to have quarterly meetings to be able to discuss the different changes in the affordable housing landscape generally to keep the leaders current. And with regards to our policies and initiatives, of course, to help with the sequencing of approvals and infrastructure needs to ensure that there's consistent constituent language that's being provided and resources for advocacy for the community, and that we are able to mutually meet our goals that are under both. All of our goals are indicated in the consolidated plan for the local jurisdiction. And so our goal eventually, ultimately rather, is to be able to provide more understanding that yes, HACA is an independent public institution, but it is an essential city partner. And that is our goal to continue to modernize our assets, our operations, to improve our institutional capacity and to do that through consistent coordination with all entities that will enable it to happen, including the city of Annapolis. And so we have very shared goals and also very shared dependencies that will dictate more so our future with regards to success in the area of affordable housing. And so I will stop there and I will take I appreciate your patience throughout this, and I'll take this opportunity to ask any questions. I understand that Bishop Coates was able to get on the call, so I will also ask if he would like to share a few things or remarks that he be allowed to share some also. But thank you so much for this time, and I will be able to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you very much, Director Maddox-Evans. Bishop Coates, or Chairman Coates, would you like to introduce yourself and say anything?

Certainly. Hi, I'm Bishop Craig Coates. I'm the chair of the Board of Commissioners for the Housing Authority of the City of Annapolis. I want to say good evening to everyone, to the mayor, city council, city staff, our executive director, and also present in the audience are quite a few of our board commissioners. I want to just say there's a simple, I don't want to prolong it, there's a simple word that comes to mind, it's synergy. It's when a lot of components come together toward a realized goal. And I really believe that's what our goal is now, is to really build that synergy with the city as well as private partners. Because in all essence, HACA is historically about to Embrace something has never happened in our history and that is to reimagine what. Affordable housing looks like, um, and and to protect the public interest along with having private and public involvement. I think the most important asset in all of this are the residents. And so I represent a board that represents diverse experiences from development to management to people management. And we recognize that there's a lot of ambiguity right now because we are on a new horizon and people aren't certain what that looks like. So we want to respectfully have a better relationship Especially with the city, because honestly, this has been probably the first that we've had this opportunity to get this far. So we're very hopeful that we can build and strengthen and then get our residents on board because everything that you have just been presented. I mean, imagine a resident having to try to digest all of this. but yet it is for our residents. It's not just about them. And so I think a successful partnership has them at the table too. And so as chair of the board, that's one of our goals is to work to make sure our residents are equally represented in their voice in this process, because transition can't happen without them. We can build better houses, but we have to have people that believe along the way that it is for a better and a more equitable future. so um thank you and thank you executive director my apologies i could not get on the link but i'm glad to get on and i'm open to dialoguing with you all continually we get a lot of messages from residents and usually their messages with um looking for guidance on how to address issues. And as I remind a lot of them, our biggest challenge is you're living in dilapidated housing and we're going to do the best we can, but we all want something better. But what that better looks like, it needs to be clearly communicated. And I think that all parties involved have to be able to speak the same language that we are moving forward. So thank you so much, Mr. Mayor, and you all thank you for being on with us today. I agreed with Melissa. I believe that this was a long time coming. We needed a forum to make sure everyone understands, at least the nuts and bolts of a very complicated process, but that we are doing a good job of navigating it better. And we can all do better. But we solicit your support. Funding, all of this is so important as we are looking at the new way housing has to be managed for the future for it to be sustainable. Thank you.

Thank you, Chairman Kutz. So again, thank you, Melissa and Craig for your presentation and chairing all of that. I certainly, on behalf of the council members, and I think we have Alderman Thorpe, Alderman Johnson, we had Alderman Chandemeyer, we have Alderman O'Neill. Are there other council members who I have not yet acknowledged that are on the call?

I'm here, Mr. Mayor.

Oh, thank you, Mayor. I didn't see your name or number.

I'm going here too, just Daisha.

Oh, thank you, Alderman Conte and Alderman Huntley. Thank you. So let me make sure, so a couple things. I want to give next the council a member, council members a chance to ask questions. We do have staff members. There you go. I see you, Alderman Huntley. We do have some staff members. I want to give them a chance to ask questions next after we get through council members. And then we'll see where we are with time. I I want to start with just saying from a high level, my administration, my personal goals are to, housing is a top three or at least five priority for me. And I want to make sure I'm using all of the tools at my disposal to think thoughtfully about housing quantity in the city of Annapolis, housing quality in the city of Annapolis, that we are exercising proper oversight and collaboration with the HACA board, who the mayor does have oversight over, and then collaboration with the housing director to ensure that we are also addressing safety and health standards, code enforcement issues, while these properties are undergoing various stages of redevelopment. So those are among the many serious things on my plate that I'm thinking about. Council members, let me turn it over to you and look for questions. Feel free to use the chat feature. I'll try to follow that. But also just if I can see you and you raise your hand, I'll also try to acknowledge you. Okay. Not hearing any requests by council members. How about staff member? Oh, Alderman Thorpe. Now I see him. You're on mute, Alderman Thorpe.

I think Alderman Hundley had his hand up first, but...

I don't see... You can go ahead. Harry, I'm not seeing you raise your hand on the feature or the chat feature, or I'm not seeing your face anymore, so that's why I'm not seeing you.

There we go. But, yeah, Alderman Thorpe is welcome to go first.

Okay. Okay, so thank you. I want to pile on in my appreciation for... taking the time to do this this evening, this afternoon. I think it's an exceptionally important topic, and as the mayor said, so important. I think my question is for Melissa, but perhaps the city attorney can pipe in or Bishop coats and it comes out of the meeting last night. And I was struck at the choice neighborhood initiative meeting last night. And and quite frankly, thank you again, Miss Maddox Evans for the amount of effort you go to keep the community informed. But I was struck at the perception of the residents that were in attendance. That the city has a significant the city government has a significant accountability responsibility authority. For the operations at Harbor House and Eastport Terrace, and that's where the meeting was yesterday. And I love, Ms. Maddox-Evans, the fact that you use the word partnership in discussing city government and hacker relationship. But as a council member going on a year, I still don't feel comfortable that I know what the authorities, the responsibilities, what the residents should be holding the city council accountable or the city government accountable to do for our public housing. And I love partnerships, but and perhaps I'm a victim of a 28 year military career. But but can you help me understand? And I'd ask to be a little specific as you can. What are the the the legal issues? authorities? What are we accountable? What can I work to produce as a council member to get to success? And again, I think Ms. Maddox-Evans, and then perhaps if I could ask the city attorney and the chairman to perhaps comment as appropriate. Thank you.

Thank you for that question. And one of the reasons why I listed these several legal documents that govern housing authorities is for that very reason. The first place you would go is the Maryland Housing Authorities Law, which dictates what housing authorities are, what they do, and the role with regards to a housing authority within a particular jurisdiction. So our law literally is in the Annapolis Housing Authority law under the state Maryland code. So that would give you a great deal of information to start. The second document that I mentioned in the presentation is the cooperation agreement that is in existence between the housing authority and the city of Annapolis. That outlines the different roles and obligations that each mutually each entity has legally agreed upon. The third document is the pilot agreement that is between the city of Annapolis and the housing authority. So those are the documents to start with that provide the actual legal obligations. Other obligations that follow are by mutual agreement. For example, the city has agreed to provide funding for the redevelopment of Eastport. And in that agreement, what outlined the roles and responsibilities of each party. In the past, the city agreed to provide capital funding or funding for the pool. And in that agreement, it outlines what the obligations are. for each of our entities. As far as from a strategic standpoint or a aspirational standpoint of how the city and the housing authority should be partnering further, that should be referred to in your consolidated plan for the city. It would outline what the city's expectations and goals are with regards to affordable housing, entities, including the housing authority So those are just a few documents, where you would start everything else beyond that would be a mutually agreed on policy initiative between our entities. And so I hope that is helpful as as far as bases to start with regards to what the housing authority does versus what the city's role is with regards to our two entities.

Alderman Thorpe, I think you're also asking Bishop Coates more.

Yes. Hi. Yes. And I apologize. I have to drive. I got to pick up my kids. But I want to say from the board's perspective, a simple ask is that you be present. You know, Alderman Thorpe, Alderman Conte, many of you are present and your presence in our public meetings is very helpful because you get the facts, you get information from us. And not only that, but to go onto our website and read our documents from our public meetings, because when you're present, you get more of a sense for what the community is experiencing, what we are experiencing collectively. And it really does kind of help to better support our efforts to know you're present, that you can ask questions, you present to us on legislation and how it may impact our residents. This is very important to us so that we can stay informed other than just us attending city hall meetings, but for you to bring information to us. Senator Henson brings information to us consistently every month about how legislation is going to impact us and impact what we're doing. This is very helpful to us. And I want to say to all the persons that are currently serving, it's been great to have you guys there at our meetings because your presence and your input has made a difference on several issues that we've had to address. So for me to speak, if I may speak on that, your presence and being able to be involved in our conversations that happen every month is very important to us.

And City Attorney Cooper-Smith, was there anything that you wanted to add? I think Alderman Thorpe asked if you had anything in his question.

I don't have anything else to add to that.

Okay. Alderman Huntley, do you want to ask your question, please?

Thank you so much. Bishop Coates, I'm hoping you can answer this question, but if you're... driving and can't just let me know and I can adjust my order. I'm asking this question to you not because the director isn't able to answer and I know she could, but because I think this is something that I know you're particularly good at. In the redevelopment, and I almost hesitate to call it redevelopment, in the renovation of Bloomsbury Square, I think there is a lot of mistrust. I don't think I know. There are a lot of residents who are worried that they're not going to be able to come back. That property has a lot of history. There's been a lot of fighting over it. There's been a lot of broken promises, not even in my lifetime, but over the course of that project. So my question to you is this. What can we do to help residents feel more comfortable? What can we do to give them assurances that if they live there, they're going to be able to come back to their homes?

Okay, I'm unmuted. So let me just say from the perspective of having grown up in public housing in Annapolis, this has been ongoing ever since there was public housing in Annapolis because, as you know, this is a tale of two cities, right? There are people who have and the have-nots, and a lot of times the haves don't believe the have-nots deserve, okay? I want to say from the perspective of working with the Housing Authority that I believe our language is constantly reiterates that people aren't going to lose a home. Even in the redevelopment of properties before Bloomsbury Square, Wilburn, different things. We made a promise to our residents under Beverly Wilburn at that time that they will have a home to come back to, and we delivered on that. I think what's helpful from the city's perspective is to reinforce that narrative, but also to help us when we're trying to relocate people in the process of redevelopment um finding places for them to be partnership with the city can help us tremendously because it's it's an expensive task but it's one we owe those residents you know people should never leave a place and feel like they're refugee so i believe that the conversation the language that we speak as well as the city needs to be the same language um you know sometimes you'll get complaints at your doorstep that will be probably postured differently than what it really is. I think having a working relationship that puts us on the same team versus you guys being the police over us per se, it's very helpful because people are like, you know, kids and parents. If I can play one parent against the other, I'd do it. I think that if If the city and HACA are talking the same language and we have regular sessions to discuss these concerns, if they exist, it's very helpful. I think the more people that are reinforcing the same ideals, which is that people deserve to live in affordable housing and they should be able to live by the waterfront and don't have to have millions, because that was one of the big issues about Bloomsbury Square in the paper for years. I think it's important that we all talk about protecting the equity for our most vulnerable population.

And you're also welcome to attend the number of public community meetings that we've had at Bloomsbury Square and really all of our sites in which we communicate all of the residents' rights along with the responsibilities during the renovation process. And every single meeting, we discuss the right to return. And I think when you hear that personally, and then someone may come to you and say, well, I have this fear that I have a right to return. You can actually say, well, this was discussed at the last meeting and this was the written information that was given to the residents. We are required to offer that right. We're not allowed to do a redevelopment project without offering the right to return. So, uh, So I would encourage you and welcome you to attend the meetings that we have where you can hear what's being discussed with residents to help them with any type of fears that they have.

Thank you, Director.

Sorry, go ahead, Alderman Huntley.

I'll be really quick on it just to say thank you. And Chairman Coach gave me a good idea about maybe finding some trusted voices from other projects where We've gone through this, right? You mentioned Wilburn Estates. That could be a way to help soothe people's fears. Because I think I framed it in the way that I did because it's not necessarily that people aren't being told the right thing. It's that for one reason or other, people are not always, they don't always believe it. And so the question to me is, if this is true, and I take you guys at your word, we need to come up with a better way to make sure that people really feel that. And one part is, like you said, making sure we're all talking from the same, singing from the same hymnal, perhaps, Bishop, but also I think those trusted voices from places where that's happened before could be another tool.

I'm not seeing another raised hand from council members. I want to respond to questions that I heard from Alderman Thorpe and Alderman Huntley. Alderman Thorpe.

And Mayor Libman, I do have one other question, but go ahead and respond first.

Alderman Thorpe, I'm going to list you what I think are the things that the mayor, the council as a whole, some are me go through the list and it'll become self-evident number one is code enforcement and by that i mean supporting uh with resources our department of planning and zoning that does code enforcement they need resources to do more if we want them to do more code enforcement number two is support uh permit review and assistance and so again that's planning and zoning and by support that means not just telling them to do it but it's giving them resources so that they can get through permit reviews faster for everybody, including HACA's permits, but also with HACA and as a special relationship, giving them assistance when you think of it in terms of when they come up with traffic plans, making sure they get as many meetings as they need to have preliminary traffic plans developed and so on, traffic just being an example of one of many. number three uh specific funding um whether it's an operational item like supporting the pool like the council did or the the city did but it's also could be capital funding uh if the city wanted to be a funder for any of these redevelopment projects Number four is advocacy of residents, and that's showing up meetings, learning what the residents are concerned about, and then also being an advocate for trying to get financing. So that's going to the county, the state, and federal government, and that's obviously a part of the mayor's office role. Number five is being a presence and information sharing. So it's being a presence not only at HACA quarterly meetings, but resident meetings. Bowman Place, I was at a pop-up at Bowman Place, and they have a resident meeting there. and where they discuss, they get the residents together so we could show up there. And the information sharing, on this right to return, the key point that Director Maddox-Evans carefully points out every time she mentions it, it's residents in good standing. And it also, she was careful to point out, it's right to return to a size place that they previously had. So if their family grows, between point a and point b that doesn't mean they get entitled to a larger space if they are currently um subject to a right of eviction because they're not paying a rent they have additional people in the building that are not in the lease they're violating the lease in any number of ways that they that it could be violated also prevents a right to return and i suspect so just like emphasizing suspects i don't know those who don't believe or who doubt that the city will in the future honor a right to return, had perhaps heard stories where people were burned because of the same conditions that we're talking about today, that through storytelling, oh, I wasn't allowed, or I know somebody who wasn't allowed to return. Well, if you had somebody in the apartment or you weren't up to date on your rent, you're not gonna be allowed necessarily, or have a right to return at least. I don't know about allowed, but you won't have that right. So just be careful of that. those details. Next on Alderman Thorpe's list is public safety. So ensuring that our public safety departments, police, fire, OEM, are engaged in these properties. When I was an alderman, there was a public safety officer for HACA that had at least a person, and it happened to be former city police chief Joe Johnson, It gave somebody for our police chief to coordinate with, and that would be certainly helpful. And we welcome to have that coordination again. And lastly, oversight of the HACA board, which you heard me mention is one of our responsibilities. So one, two, three, four, five, six. So those are the seven responsibilities, I think, as a council we have.

Thank you very much, Mr. Mayor.

I have to say kudos. Absolutely, Mr. Mayor.

Thank you. Thank you. And the only further clarification I would give with regards to the occupancy issue is that during the renovation process, we ask residents to clarify who are the tenants and household members on their lease. And what we try to communicate to them is that the persons that get assistance and the right to return going forward are only the persons that are listed on your lease. And so that determines the number of bedrooms that you get when we renovate. That also determines the amount of rent you'd be responsible for if any additional household members have increased income to the unit. So it's very important that during this process, and we conduct several individual interviews with residents, that residents clarify and update their lease because their lease will determine the voucher size unit going forward. So the new bedroom, their bedroom size may increase once we move everybody back, provided that the persons are listed on the lease. So That's what we encourage residents to do now if they have added persons to their household. Otherwise, you're right. We don't give them, let's say, a bigger bedroom size, even if they need it, unless all the household members are listed on the lease. And so I just wanted to give that nuance. Because actually a bedroom size could increase or decrease. when we convert, because one of the obligations of the housing authority is to what's called right size the household. So if someone is overhoused or under house, the goal is to correct that once we move people back to the units. And actually that also determines the number, the new bedroom mix that we do at the site, because we also understand that families change. And families, households change over time. So persons that moved in originally may not be the same size as they are right now. So I just wanted to elaborate on that nuance.

Okay. Council members, I don't see any raised hands. I know Alderman Huntley said he had another follow-up. Okay. Alderman Huntley, why don't you go ahead with your follow-up?

Thanks. It's a quick question. I'm guessing it's not going to be a quick answer. Before I get to that, I just want to say, Director Evans, you had a way of framing the return that you just said that I particularly appreciated. It was something along the lines of, as long as you make sure the people are on your lease, then you're good. I'm paraphrasing, obviously. But it reminded me of that coaching thing of telling people, make sure you remember rather than telling people don't forget. So I just wanted to give you kudos on that phrasing. But my question really is, you mentioned in some of these properties having three sets of inspections, city, state, feds. Is there no way that we can consolidate that? It just, I mean, I'm thinking a little bit about the way we do road repair, where we have an agreement with BGE that we work together so that we don't repair the road and then they tear it right up. It just seems so duplicative. Is there not some way that we could come up with an MOU with the state and the feds that we could get that down to two instead of three or one instead of three? Maybe we let the feds inspect it instead of us. I don't really care which of those three it is, but is there not any way to reduce that burden?

And that would be a beautiful thing if we could. And so we actually do when we receive notice of let's say if hud is coming to us inspect and it's on or around the time the city. plans their annual inspections, we actually do now ask that the city inspectors coordinate the timing of the scheduling with the hud inspectors because we don't want the continual intrusiveness. with the residents and also our staffing is limited because I can guarantee you our maintenance staff spends about 70 to 80% of their time escorting inspectors throughout our properties in addition to balancing their daily obligations because there are so many inspectors. Unfortunately, we do not have prior notice of when HUD is coming to inspect units. we get at most 28 days notice that may or may not coincide with when the city inspectors are coming to do inspections. We also try to coordinate the state inspections along with city inspectors. So we try to do that now, but if there is a much better coordinated effort, for example, at Bloom Space Square, we know their state inspectors are coming Around November ish or December ish. But we also know that the city does not start inspecting Bloomsbury Square to maybe You know, January or February. So we would have to coordinate maybe the city inspectors inspecting earlier. than they would. So probably the most flexibility is between the city and the state. I do not anticipate there being very much flexibility with regards to federal HUD inspectors. We really do not even know when the HUD inspectors are going to come because it changes year after year and time periods change. And we only get 28 days notice as to when they're coming, if they're coming at all. And so, but that that would be ideal if we can do that because we do spend a great deal of time just orchestrating inspections. That are occurring on site.

Alderman Huntley, I think I want to add, I'm saving city attorney Cooper Smith from having to say this, but I'll call to your attention that we just settled a lawsuit for $15 million because the city did not treat inspections of HACA properties the same way as it did other properties. rental properties. So there's certainly legal requirements. We would have to change your city code to do what you're doing, which obviously isn't our capability, but I believe it's also would have to change state law. And Mr. Cooper-Smith could correct me if I'm wrong. And again, so those things are in our capabilities, but obviously they'd be very politically charged decisions considering the focus on city inspections and frequency and what they're looking for.

Point taken. And I don't discount that. The last thing any of us want to do is violate anybody's civil rights. That said, if we can go from those inspectors spending 70% of their time.

I'm sorry, the maintenance folks down to only 30%. I mean, that would be incredible.

So that might be worth pursuing, but I understand it's a certainly complicated topic.

It's a fair point. I don't know what the answer is. Okay. Besides council members, anybody else in city government wish to ask anything? Alderwoman, also Johnson, take yourself off mute.

Good evening, everyone. I really enjoyed that presentation that Ms. Melissa had provided for us today and also hearing what Bishop Coates' remarks were great too. But when the tenants are out for redevelopment, where do they go? I mean, do you put them somewhere while that's going on or are they on their own living until they can return?

Mm-hmm. So the answer is it depends. So the optimal goal is to move them on site, meaning to a vacant unit that's in the same neighborhood. So we would keep unit, we usually with every redevelopment, keep vacant units vacant so that we can temporarily move residents to those vacant units as their section of the neighborhood is being redeveloped. And then we can move them into the new unit. And it depends on whether, you know, buildings are being demolished and built new or substantially rehabbed. So they would either go to another one of our developments, like we have vacant units. If Rob one is being redeveloped, we would move some residents over to East border Harbor house to stay there. That's what we did with Wilborn estates at Morris H. Blum. You know, we preserved a lot of vacant units inside the building. So many residents didn't have to move at all outside of the building. They just moved to a different unit inside of the building. Some residents went to other units at other neighborhoods because they had relatives there. Some residents went to live with their own residents completely offsite because they felt more comfortable doing that. Some residents wanted a voucher to live somewhere else. while the project was being redeveloped. I say all of those options because every single option is up to the resident as to what they want to do. And during this time, we work with the resident to be able to see what's the best option for their particular family. So if they're living offsite with a grandchild or relative, that's because they want to and they feel most comfortable doing that. none of it is what the housing authority cannot force an option. The only way we can give limited options is if we have limited options. So for example, by the time we redevelop Eastport Terrace and the Harbor House, there will be no other developments to transfer residents to because we would have redeveloped all the other ones. And so that is why with that particular project, we're trying to build on our vacant land first and then move residents to that vacant land and do it in sequential order so that people don't have to leave the neighborhood at all during the renovation. But the choice is up to the resident as to what they particularly want to do. And it's a personal choice for that family.

Okay. So do they have to let you know, or is it okay? They have to notify you or they can just make their own decision.

We have what's called relocation teams.

Okay.

Teams that this is all they do is handle the relocation process for the resident. It's like a case worker. So they sit down, they have individual interviews. They, get the residents particular household needs. It could be disability needs or their children, what their school needs are with regards to transportation. Also, we do coordinate with the Anne Arundel County public school systems. We have a very coordinated effort with the school system. We periodically meet with them. They talk about alternate bus routes, So it's very extensive, the collaboration and coordination that we do during the relocation process with various entities. And so, but it is through individual counseling with the resident, but there does come a time where they have to make a decision because their building is scheduled to be renovated at X date. And so once we close on these developments, we issue what's called a 90 day letter.

Okay.

Every single resident at the site saying in 90 days, we're going to begin the relocation process.

Okay.

And in that is phased. Not everyone is relocated at one time. We have four or five phases per redevelopment. So it might be a group of 10 families, a group of 20 families.

Okay, good.

So it's not all at one time, everyone moving. And that's how we stage the redevelopment.

Oh. Okay, well, that sounds good. That answered my question. I appreciate you.

Thank you.

Okay. Doing a great job.

Appreciate it.

Okay.

Thank you, Alderman.

You're welcome. Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you. Any other council members or city staff wish to ask any questions?

Mr. Cooper-Smith, please. Thank you. Just briefly, could you talk a little bit about the resident councils, I believe they're called? And we're getting some questions about those and their relationship with HACA, maybe what the interaction looks like.

Sure. And so HACA helps to facilitate resident councils, a resident advisory board, and a tenant council. The resident advisory board, their leaders are the presidents of each tenant council. Every development has the right to form a tenant council. They request our assistance. We assist them when they are having elections, let's say, getting information out, flyers. If they want assistance from us, they sometimes forward us funding requests for different events. But housing authorities are not allowed under federal regulation to manage the financing for any of these tenant councils or directly manage the council itself. Meaning every single tenant council and RAB board has its set of bylaws that are independent of the housing authority. They appoint their officers independent of the housing authority. In fact, the housing authority staff is not even allowed to attend their meetings except upon invitation of the tenant council. So if they want to invite me or another staff member, we like for you to come and talk about so-and-so, or we have questions, then I come, but I cannot just attend their tenant council meeting except by invitation. And so, The entity is separate and apart from the housing authority. The housing authority's role is to allow them to have tenant councils, and that right transcends our property redevelopment. Penrose, for example, must allow the tenants of Obrey Court to form a tenant council if they wish, Wilborn if they wish. Annapolis Gardens, Landex must allow tenant councils, but it must not be involved and dictate what the tenant councils do. And so we do not have any authority with regards to tenant councils. The only authority we have is related to any funding we provide. So if they say we want to have a funding for a particular event, they must have funding for that event. Otherwise, we will not issue the funding. Or we could ask for the funding back if the funding was used for a different purpose without authority and so all funding requests have to come through us by virtue of vote and minutes of their tenant Council meetings meaning. an individual tenant council member can't say, I'd like for you to give us $500 for a Christmas banquet. That's great. We would love to do that. Can you please provide to us the notice from your meeting, which stated that this was something that was voted on upon your tenant council. And then we need that for our audit purposes and our records. Then we can issue you monies for a particular X event. And so that's sort of the mechanics of how the tenant councils are operated.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Groupsmith. Any other questions, council members or staff? Okay. Seeing none, I'm about to move into the closing. Last chance. Okay. Mr. Groupsmith, please present the next item on the agenda.

The agenda has been completed.

Okay. Thanks again, Ms. Maddox-Evans, Bishop Coates, and all those participants, council members, and staff for being on here. Welcome the public members who were able to join us today. Helpful discussion. Again, no one's thinking this as the first or the last, just a part of our series, getting smarter and more collaborative.

Mr. Mayor? Yes, sir. Okay, thank you so much. I just wanted to make mention of something that was on my mind and Mr. Cooper Smith really brought that back to my memory that we have to also remember we're managing a culture. And in many cases, a culture that on paper we may be familiar with, but in action, we may not be. Part of my training historically has been in African-American community and social development. And I believe it would be very helpful if anyone that is involved with moving policy along for communities of color, particularly in our communities where it's predominantly African-American that we are assisting, that there's some legislation, there's some, excuse me, reading materials that are very helpful. One of my colleagues I graduated from Maryland with, Dr. Rhonda Williams has done extensive work with public housing, politics and public housing. She has a book out called Politics and Public Housing. And there's one that's really a good insight that's called Public Housing Myth. And it's perceptions, realities and social policy. She actually really does delve into like the question with Mr. Cooper Smith, what is the real function of the tenant council Because the reason why we have to remain separate is because they have to have the right to activism and community activism, especially. And I can honestly say, though we are very much assisting our tenant council as much as we can, I've been meeting and talking with all the women county about doing an educational session for residents on activism and how to properly advocate what you believe are your needs and issues of that sort. I think this is very helpful. So if anyone wants to do any extra reading, I would say please pull one of those two books and read because it does give you some tremendous insight into some of the challenges that we are dealing with when it comes to changing culture and redevelopment in public housing. Thank you.

Okay, thank you. Is there anything else for the good of the order, council members? Okay, hearing none, the session is adjourned. Thank you everyone again for your time.

Thank you.