Image provided by: Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians; Siletz, OR
About Siletz news. (Siletz, Oregon) 1983-1989 | View Entire Issue (April 1, 1987)
SILETZ, OREGON, APRIL, 1987 - PAGE 9 February SIHA Meeting The Siletz Indian Housing A uthority (SIHA) meeting was con ducted on February 26, 1987, with Phil Rilatos (Chairman), Arthur Bensell (Vice Chairman), Judy John (Commissioner), Jeff Williams (Executive Director), Sharon Rilatos (Bookkeeper/Secretary), John Barber (HUD OIP Development Specialist), Donald Klein (HUD OIP Architect), and Zavier Rueda (Cooper Consultant Architect) present. Although absent for the afternoon session Selene Brandt (Secretary/Treasurer) was present for the evening session. Also pre sent at the evening session was Cris Kinney (IHS Engineer), Gregg Grechlecer (IHS Supervisory Engineer), Dee Pigsley, Lori Johnson, and Manual Rilatos. It was noted that an official resignation had been received from Dee Pigsley; therefore, she is no longer a Housing Authority Commis sioner. This meeting is broken into tw o parts: an afternoon session and an evening session. The first part of the meeting was utilized as a discussion period between HUD OIP and the SIHA Board to establish the direction that will be taken for development of SIHA's second project of 15 homes, and to coordinate its scheduling. Areas covered were as follows: COMBINATION OF THE TWO PROJECTS. HUD OIP noted that combining would aid in keeping to the timeframe, noting that by September 1987 we would need to present a development pro gram, final site approval documents, and the schematic designs. The method used for setting of TDC Standards for Siletz was discussed. SITE LOCATION. HUD OIP noted that because of the time limit, we need to utilize the same site as the other 35. There was a discussion as to where the other 15 houses would fit in. BID METHOD for 35-2. A Conventional-bid method has been selected. It was noted that there would be only one general contractor who would build both the subdivision and the houses. SCHEDULING (Project 35-2) for the 15 homes was set. This in cludes a topographic survey for the portions to be used for the 15 homes, soil tests, and having everything ready for the architectural engineering (AE) firm we hire. Either actual or target dates were set for the various stages to completion o f the project. SELECTING AN ARCHITECT. John Barber suggested that we get someone as local as possible to design these. He ntoed that we need to set up a rating and ranking system before we interview the architects, giving 15% o f the points to Indian ownership, and work ing out a 100-point system. John stressed that the documentation be very good on how we arrived at establishing a point system. The TURNKEY PACKET was reviewed. Some items in the packet were discussed. Don Kline noted that we must ensure that it is clear what the Turnkey developer is required to do and that there are no gaps in that,-and to ensure that the Housing Authority, architect works closely with the developer, adding that something will always be questionable. W e must figure out potential problems and resolve them early. Zavier Rueda suggested that we write into the document that the contractor supply complete plans and specs for each unit type for our review, and that would allow us to pick out a lot of bugs. Zavier Rueda of Cooper Consultants departed at this point. John Barber and Don Klein of HUD OIP also departed at this point to later return for the second part of the meeting. The INVESTMENT POLICY was reviewed and approved. Phil noted and Jeff agreed that the policy covers what we are doing now. Jeff added that it also covers what is needed for the management period. Upcoming training and meetings were discussed. Jeff noted that John Meyers, the head of HUD Central Office would be at the Association meeting at Boise, Idaho. Approval was given for Jeff to attend the Collections and Evictions Workshop at Las Vegas in March, and the HUD Accounting Workshop at Seattle in April. Phil noted that the Council approved transfer of the management of the HIP contract to the Housing Authority. Phil stated that they will leave the letter of credit draws with the Tribe who will transfer it to the Housing Authority by check. It was noted that documentation of employee time spent on HIP is to be carefully logged so as to be traced back and audited. Also, to maintain a separate account on the HIP funds. Jeff stated that for the next meeting he would schedule a review as to how the budgetary figures came about, and/or applications. There was further discussion as to how the HIP funds have been and will be handled. The Progress of Project 35-1 was discussed, noting the start and completion dates now expected. Cris Kinney of IHS presented the status of the off-site work, noting they had been waiting for the on site work to clear access for a road they need to run to the storage- tank site in order to do the soil-sample testing required for it. When this testing is completed, all their costs can be figured, after which they can advertise. Since IHS's work would continue to be held up waiting for the on-site work to start. Cris Kinney stated he will find a different way to accomplish the required clearing, and get a new schedule set. Judy asked about future SIHA meetings. Jeff stated that we would need one to review the proposals that come in. The meeting recessed at 5:00 p.m., and was scheduled to reconvene at 6:00 p.m. PART II Chairman Phil Rilatos reconvened the meeting at 6:15 p.m. Council members were here to get an update on the off-site sewer and water project itself, and an update from HUD on where they are now with the project, and what the expectations are. CRIS KINNEY, IHS gave a general report on the scope of project. Cris indicated where they are going to tie into the City water system with new water main from the pump house and run to the tank site. The tank will be 150,000 gallons. For sewer, we will tie into a manhole located on the south side of the Pow-Wow grounds and run up to and along Judd Road to tie into the subdivision sewer at tw o ponts. Of the tw o contracts they will have, one will be advertis ed in about 116 weeks involving just the water and sewer mains which will hook up to the suodivision. The next contract will put larger pumps inside the existing pumphouse to pump the water up to the tank. Crie asked if there.were any. questions. There was no reply. Cris stated that the week after next he would be prepared to give a presentation at a Council meeting if it was requested. Cris noted that they needed a good soil study of the tank site, and had been waiting on the Housing Authority's site work to do part of the clearing. It is expected that the IHS first contract work will begin the middle of June, with completion the end of August. The second contract timing has not been figured out yet, and is dependent on getting the soils work done. SIHA funds for both projects will be re quested in one stage. In answer to a question by Art Bensell regar ding capacity of the lagoon for the sewer system, Cris stated that the lagoon is over capacity now, but they are contributing $75,000 to the City for them to make improvements on the lagoon by cor recting some infiltration problems; patching the City sewer mains will help correct water leaking into City sewers, resulting in a reduc tion in flow. The other holdup is the water-rate issue. Gregg stated that in absence of Cris he will be the contact person for us; Cris's replacement w on't arrive until probably mid-July. JOHN BARBER, OIP HUD. Stated they came out to see where we stand on the tw o projects and to see what's needed. As far as they can see, the first of the tw o projects will be ready to advertise by the end of next week. Advertising for the houses will be the same time as the advertising for the site construction contract; site work can begin by the beginning of May and done by August or September. It is also time to move ahead with the second project: The housing Authority will advertise for an architect to design the 15 homes, in mid-March, and select the architect mid-April. Adver tising for bids should be ready by the first of January 1988, which would allow the homes to be completed by December 1988. The 15 houses would be using part o f the same site that the 39 houses are going on. DON KLEIN, OIP HUD. Both projects are advertised at the same time so the Housing Authority knows if they both fit within their budget. Phase I, the site work, has the construction documents ready to build the project. Phase II, the houses, gets a proposal from the Turnkey developer, but it still takes several months to go from a perliminary design to a final design. QUESTIONS/ANSWWERS. Dee. When will the sewer/water project start? Cris. The first of June; finish the end of August. Dee. When will we advertise for builders? Jeff. Next week, for a 30-days period. Dee. Starting? Jeff. Scheduling to be worked out with the builder. Dee. How long will it take to complete? Jeff. 45 to 90 days for the site, after which the homebuilder can come in, tak ing six to nine months for that stage. Constructions sequence? Don. Usually the houses will be all framed in, then start on interior work. Lori. What type of contract w ill the people that are in the houses be under? John. A Mutual Help and Occupancy Agreement which spells out the homebuyer's responsibility to maintain the house, to make regular m onthly payments, the Housing Authority's responsi bility. Lori. W ill there be buyer redemption in the case o f default? John. Yes, there are provisions which will enable you to recoop some of your equity in the house if you are leaving. Dee. Where would that money go that you collect? Jeff, in a bank account. Dee. Then what? Jeff. W e invest it which goes towards paying the houses off. John Barber. This is a unique way of buying a house; it's not a mortgage, it's more like a Iease/purchase plan. The Housing Authority owns them until a family meets their obliga tion. There will be families who w ill be owners 25 years from now. You will have a minimum basic payment which is the requirement for the Housing Authority to administer the program — every family will have to pay that regardless of how high or low their payment is. Don. The minimum payment is basically what it cost to run the Housing Authority. Jeff. It is the administrative fee for the Housing Authority, and when we originally submitted, we figure it to be $87. Don. As that minimum fee decreases that allows families on a lower income to qualify. Lori. So if they have a larger payment every month, that just shortens their debt term. Answered. Yes. Dee. Do we put the monies on deposit, or invest? Jeff. We are re quired to invest and can purchase only HUD approved securities. Dee. Are there any houses paid for? John. There are whole projects that are paid o ff: The early Mutual Help houses. Dee. Where are they? John. Quinault, Yakima, Swinomish, Colville. Phil. W hat are the exceptions for over-the-income (over-the-maximum) criteria? John. Theoretically there are maximums, but I don't know how that is working now for initial occupancy. W e'll have to have someone who is more versed on it explain it (Jan). Don. The part that doesn't get paid by the Mutual Help Homeowners gets paid by the Annual Contributions Conttact to balance the debt every year. Dee. Isn't there a re-evaluation every year? John. Yes, the amount o f payment is re-evaluated/re- established every year. Dee. Do you allow the same kind of exclusions, unearned income that doesn't count? John. That gets a little complex. Jeff. Only the first tw o thousand dollars of per capita are excluded. Basically, the only exclusions that they do have is $480 per child, annual deductions; 3% of medical; if you're elderly, a $400 deduction; and, child care. Phil. The income guidelines we have came from HUD didn't it? Jeff. Yes, it did. John. It is a direct act of Congress, enacted that way to calculate the income. Lori. Are there policies, rules, that the homebuyers agree upon? John. Yes, you can have a committee that works with your board to establish policies. Don. If anyone wanted to build a garage on their site, add a room, etc. — the/requirement is that it has to be the same design as the house, the same detailing, the same quality of materials. There's rules for fencing off, things of that type, just so the house looks neat. John. The Housing Authority Board need to regulate any additions to the house, so they need to approve these plans. Lori. You have to pay something back to HUD after 25 years? John. Yes. Dee. Is there still room for a playground or recreation area? Phil. There ae three or four spots where that is possible. Jeff. The Housing Authority can't spend money on that. >PhiL?Buf jypy.must havp.p place /<y t ( j $ k i ^ t o pla.v, ,. Don. We used to have enough funds to put in parks and playgrounds, but under "cost containment" that was eliminated; but we wish that wasn't the case. Jeff. I am wanting to approach the Council on how to get a bike path from Judd Road to the Community Center. Phil. What will happen with any leftover money? Don. The first priority would be build more houses. Cris Kinney. Gregg and I thought this would be a good time to talk about ordinances for the water and sewer, which will also have to be drawn up by the Housing Authority. Gregg. This goes beyond "rates", in conveyance and ordinances, how to control unwanted growth in your subdivision, but also add misuse of water which costs the homeowner extra cost in utilities. IHS is available for technical assistance in developing codes and or dinances relating to water, sewer, and sanitation. Don. It would be up to the BIA or the Tribe to maintain the streets. There are all kinds of ways of doing that. We have one where the BIA, County, and the State maintain the road system and they share it, just to keep their equipment in one area. Fire protection is the same way. You might just pay for that service, rather than try to maintain your own system. Street maintenance might be the same way — you might contract with the county to sweep the street, patch holes, or whatever, for a set fee. Jeff. They agreed to accept the road up to the subdivision. Cris. Who will maintain thé water and sewer system? Gregg. The Housing Authority will collect the money and contract with the Tribe to do the work? Phil. It will probably end up being a Tribal government's water district. Manual Rilatos. Can there be a storage area for things not allowed in the front of your house? Jeff. The Tribe would have the rights and controls of what condi tion that area is in, and that would be a Council decision. Don. RV's couldn't be stored on the site. But, if there is anything like that you don't want the people to do, you need some kind of regulations for it: as for derelict cars, repairing cars in front of their houses, dressing out deer on their front porch. Gregg. You also need to address how you are going to enforce the codes you enact: what you are going to do if people continually violate them. Jeff. You don't want the regulations so strict that they are hard to live by. Don. There can be clean-up programs, prizes for who has the best decorations at Christmas, who has the nicest yard. Cris Kinney. We usually plan on providing for clorination and floridation just to the subdivision water. It is three years from the in itial floridation until you can actually see a benefit in the children, and it does help adults. There is a Floride incentive Program. Phil. W hat about the lease agreement. Jeff. I need to talk to the Council about the area identified for (ease, whether to lease the whole 50 acres, or else we could just lease the portion the lots are sitting in. Phil. How many more acres will it take for the additional 15? Jeff. About five to seven acres. Twenty to twenty-three for the 39. A portion of the 50 acres is unusable property. The area usable is the field of seven or eight acres, and the northern portion is five to seven acres. Judy, There were questions as to ownership of the land once the houses were paid off. Jeff. The land will always belong to the Tribe and will be part of our Reservation. Dee. I suggest that the Council members walk thru the property before we make a decision on how much land will be leased, to see what land there is and how it w ill be used; otherwise, w e'll get into a real long discussion resulting in wanting to look at the land. Phil. You can't see much, only about 15 acres — the rest is all brush. Jeff. We are going to conserve everything we possibly can, leaving greenways to isolate houses from each other, even leaving brush and trees on property lines as much as we can. Dee. When will the HUD people be down again for another meeting. Don. We should be down in July for a Coordination for 35-2 to organize the schematic design conference, and also a Pre- Construction meeting for 35-1. The meeting adjourned at 7:40 p.m. More New Homes To Be Constructed The Siletz Indian Housing Authority (SIHA) has received approval of funding to construct an additional 15 new homes in the Siletz area. If you feel that you missed out on the first 39 new homes, now is the chance to apply for one of the additional 15 new homes. Qualifications will be simlar to the ones published in the July 1986 Tribal Newsletter. The selection process is quite simple, you qualify or you don’t. There is special circumstance (housing need, large family, etc.) which may give a family an edge, but, for the most part, selec tion is done by date of receiving application.-Income and other factors, to confirm if a family qualifies or not, must be verified. Additional information and application will be sent upon request to the SIHA office. Write to: Jeff Williams, Executive Director, SIHA, P.O. Box 549, Siletz, Oregon 97380, or call (503) 444-2532, or, Toll Free in Oregon 1-800-922-1399.
