HomeMy WebLinkAbout20250862.tiff Housing Authority of the City of Greeley
Weld County Housing Authority
Meeting of the Board of Commissioners
Wednesday 02/26/2025
4:30pm
Minutes
Weld Trust-815 8th Ave,Greeley,CO 80631
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Attendees:Shawn Walcott,Kim Longworth,Ernest Cienfuegos-Baca,Scott James,Juliana
Kitten,Kyle Holman,Olivia Milstead,Karin Crandall,Vincent Ornelas,Bobbier Cranston,
LaVon Sonne
1. Call to Order at 4:31 pm by board chair Shawn Wolcott
2. Action Item-Approval of prior meeting minutes:Shawn Walcott mentioned that his last
name was misspelled.Vincent Ornelas made the correction to Shawn's last name.Vincent
Ornelas stated that minutes from the January 8,2025 were also updated to include
comments made by Julianna Kitten regarding the level of reporting done by the Executive
Director and the Board's financial oversight responsibilities.Julianna Kitten Acknowledged
the changes.It was motioned by Karin Crandall to approve the February 26,2025 meeting
minutes with the correction to Shawn Walcott's name;Motion was seconded by Kim
Longworth;no opposition;all approved;motion passed.
3. Open Public Comment Period:no public comments
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4. Executive Director Reports:Vincent Ornelas introduced LaVon Sonne of Sonne
Consulting.LaVon has been brought on to provide fee accounting for the Housing Authority
and provide assistance with financial clean-up.Vincent Ornelas stated that no financials
would be presented but wanted to give LaVon Sonne the floor to be able to give an
independent assessment of the financial standing and answer any questions from board
members.LaVon Stated that she has been doing fee accounting for forty plus years.LaVon
Sonne stated that the financials of the Housing Authority are not in balance,which the
Board has been told repeatedly.LaVon Sonne stated that she did not want to present
financial statements to the Board that she knew were not correct.LaVon Sonne stated that
Central Cash was not being reconciled and she has begun working with the accounting staff
to do complete prior month reconciliations.LaVon Sonne stated that she has implemented
internal controls that have been lacking.Vincent Ornelas stated that both signature stamps
for checks are currently in his possession and no longer floating around with staff that is not
the Executive Director.Ernest Cienfuegos-Baca asked if all checks must have two
signatures or if checks above a certain amount require two signatures.Vincent Ornelas
stated that all checks must have two signatures but in speaking with First Bank,the bank
will honor any check that has at least one signature from any one of the three signers.
Ernest Cienfuegos-Baca suggested coming up with a check signing policy that would grant
the Executive Director the ability to sign checks without a dual signature under a certain
amount.Vincent Ornelas stated that he would work with the Fee Accountant,Auditor and
legal pr draft a check signing policy.LaVon Sonne stated that she was hoping to have
financials to present at the next board meeting.Vincent Ornelas sated that once 2024
financials are prepared,2025 Budgets can then be drafted and presented to the board.
Vincent Ornelas presented the Housing Department report.Ernest Cienfuegos-Baca asked
if there are duplicates on the different waitlist that the Housing Authority manages.Vincent
Ornelas stated there are duplicates as some households are eligible for multiple programs.
5. Action Item—Public Housing Budget:Vincent Ornelas presented a Public Housing Budget
and draft resolution for Board consideration.Vincent Ornelas stated that a Public Housing
Budget must be approved in order for the housing Authority to avoid noncompliance and
possible penalties.Vincent Ornelas stated that this draft budget was created by the last
Accountant using an average of the previous three years and the expectation is to amend
this budget once financials for 2024 have been completed.It was motioned by Kyle Holman
to approve Board Resolution 2025-02 of the Public Housing Budget.The Motion was
seconded by Ernest Cienfuegos-Baca;no opposition;all approved;motion passed.
6. Agency Plans
a. Vincent Ornelas presented the Housing Authority's 5-Year PHA Plan and Annual PHA
Plan for Board considerations.Vincent Ornelas explained that no action was needed
at this time as these plans would need to go through a public comment period.
Vincent Ornelas encouraged all Board Members to review the plans and provide
feedback at the next board meeting.Vincent Ornelas brought attention to the 5-Year
PHA under Goals and Objectives.Vincent Ornelas explained that it is his intention
to reposition the Public Housing program.Vincent Ornelas clarified that
repositioning the Public Housing program will not result in any current tenants being
displaced.Julianne Kitten asked if utilizing the RAD is still being considered for the
Public Housing units.Vincent Ornelas explained that RAD hasn't been a beneficial
vehicle for repositioning over the last couple of years due to funding,but HUD is
planning on issuing new guidance soon that will make RAD more attractive.Vinent
Ornelas committed to making sure the Housing Authority will only reposition if it
makes sense and is advantageous to the tenants and the agency.
7. Board Training
a. Vincent Ornelas provided board members with a link to HUD's PHA Board of
Commissioners Training.Vincent Ornelas encouraged all Board Members to create
a free account of HUD Exchange and take advantage of the free training.Ernest
Cienfuegos-Baca asked how long each module was.Vinent Ornelas explained that
the 8 modules are roughly an hour and a half each.Shawn Walcott set a goal for all
members to complete the training in the next two months.
8. Discussion Items
a. Board Composition:Shawn Walcott stated that the current bylaws do not have an
established structure on committees.Shawn Walcott feels that having committees
would help the board carry out action items more efficiently and effectively,for
example the Board Composition recommendation to the City of Greeley.Shawn
Walcott proposes establishing an Executive Committee to draft a Board
recommendation to the City and help with drafting new bylaws.Shawn Walcott also
recommended that the Board establish a Finance committee in the future.Bobbier
Cranston stated that a motion to establish a committee would be sufficient at this
time.Karin Crandall stated that she would be interested in helping with drafting new
bylaws for the Board.Ernest Cienfuegos-Baca expressed interest on sitting on a
finance committee.It was motioned by Kyle Holman to create an Executive
Committee comprised of Karin Crandall,Ernest Cienfuegos-Baca and Shawn
Walcott.The Motion was seconded by Kim Longworth;no opposition;all approved;
motion passed.
b. U.S.Department of Housing and Urban Development:Vincent Ornelas stated
that there isn't much known about the state of the Department.Vincent Ornelas
explained that it was reported that the administration is wanting to cut 50%of the
workforce at HUD,which will have an impact on program administration.Guidance
is not being given to field offices on the changes and we are in a wait and see at this
moment.Vincent Ornelas stated that he has been in constant contact with our
elected officials to make sure they are aware of the importance of the services we
provide to the public.Vincent Ornelas explained that it is unlikely that ICE would ask
for Housing Authority assistance in locating any undocumented individuals.HUD
already has demographic information on our families and approaching Housing
Authorities directly is unlikely.Ernest Cienfuegos-Baca encouraged Vincent Ornelas
to provide information to households that might need information on additional
assistance.
9. Updates
a. Special Limited Partnerships:Vincent Ornelas stated that he will sit down with
Bobbier Cranston in the coming week to draft a letter of intent for the Cityline
Development project.Vincent Ornelas explained that revenue generated from these
types of projects will benefit the other programs that the Housing Authority
administers.
b. Weld County IGA:Vincent Ornelas provided an update on the executed County
IGA.Titles and deeds will be transferred over to the Housing Authority soon.Vincent
Ornelas stated that the Greeley-Weld Housing Authority name will cease to be used
and a new email domain of GreeleyHousing.org will be utilized moving forward.
Ernest Cienfuegos-Baca asked why would the Housing Authority change names now
and not wait until the Housing Authority changes its name like Housing Catalyst.
Vincent Ornelas stated that the name change is required now due to the IGA.
Vincent Ornelas explained that it would be best to wait until the County Vouchers
become GHA's vouchers to rebrand.Bobbier Cranston did explain to the board that
we are required to change names within 90 days of the execution of the Weld
County IGA.
c. Yardi:Vincent Ornelas stated that the Housing Authority has a tentative date of July
1$`,2025 for going live with Yardi.The Housing Authority staff has started weekly
calls with Yardi to build the new environment and will work with Yardi staff in making
this a smooth transition.
d. City Work Session:Bobbier Cranston explained that the April Work Session
scheduled for April is an opportunity for the Housing Authority to update City
Counsil on the separation of the two Housing Authorities,to introduce Vincent and
discuss the board makeup.Julianna Kitten explained that the comment regarding
council member Hall was not intended to sway the Housing Authority's
recommendation and that the Executive Committee should feel confident to do
what is best the Board.
10.Adjourn:It was motioned by Ernest Cienfuegos-Baca to adjourn;Motion was seconded by
Kyle Holman;no opposition;all approved;motion passed.
Next Board Meeting Scheduled March 26,2025.
Respectfully submitted by Vinent Ornelas,Greeley Housing Authority Executive Director/Board
Secretary
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