HRA Nov 12 2024 meeting

Meeting of the Housing & Redevelopment Authority of Ely (HRA) held at the Pioneer Apartments on November 12, 2024. The agenda and packet are not posted online. HRA meetings are broadcast/streamed. Minutes of this meeting will eventually be submitted to Ely City Council. Check for them in a Council Packet posted online at www.ely.mn.us/2024-meetings.

Scroll down for the 29-minute YouTube video clip of this meeting.

Disclosure/disclaimer: Citizens for Transparency did NOT consult or conspire with any HRA Board Members or any Ely Council Members in the production of this video or in the analysis of this meeting. We are independent thinkers. Please do not displace anger against them for what is written here.

As you watch the 29 minute video, it is apparent that the HRA building complexes and Executive Director cannot totally operate independently from the world. They are not like a for profit business or corporation that has the money and ability to independently act, pick and choose. Many HRA issues require figuring out what the City of Ely is responsible for in terms of costs and services — which speeds up or delays decisions and actions. This is also Ely, a rural area in NE Minnesota where contractors, City consultants, etc. are already stretched out with so many projects and appointments on their books. As you listen to the whole video, you hear that HRA strives to build good relationship with its tenants, the Ely community, its Board, the City of Ely, and its suppliers of materials and services. None of this is simple or easy.

At some point, however, maybe the Executive Director and long-serving HRA Board can sit down and talk honestly, openly and objectively about single source contracting vs. competitive bidding, not just for pricing, but also in terms of (1) Response time after call or request. (2) Reasonable expectations for turnaround times for COMPLETION of essential work and/or materials. (3) Expected quality of work and possible impacts on other appliances, structures, tenants, etc. (4) Turnaround times for COMPLETION of repairs if original work didn’t meet expectations; (5) Alternatives to purchasing of essential items that would require months of waiting time for new parts.

In this video of the November 12th HRA meeting and also the video of the October 8th HRA meeting https://elyminnesota.com/blog/hra-oct-8-2024-meeting/, it is pointed out that some of the original design work, original construction, original installation, choice of items, and improper repairs have lead to current and reoccurring problems. At some point, maybe the Executive Director and HRA Board can sit down, make a list of should-look-for preventable issues, and then make sure any new HRA housing decisions (development, construction and management) include proactive measures to reduce problems.

Time marker 8:27 into video – HRA Board Member expresses in one sentence what tenants, the newly hired Executive Director, and everyone else feels. However, it’s not enough to just say, “To me, it’s like it’s dragging out forever.” Do something systemically and proactively as a group. Don’t just do things in a reactive only manner.

Time marker 8:40 into video – Discussion of waiting lists and newly adopted rules that were designed to reduce problems with long lists and special requests of those on waiting list. The overarching problem: There is not enough housing in Ely, especially not enough affordable housing. Different lists of housing requests for one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments were recently combined into one list. The new procedure, simply put: If you are at the top of the newly combined waiting list and an available one-bedroom apartment is offered to you — even though you need a two-bedroom apartment — if you say “no” to the one-bedroom apartment, you go to the bottom of the newly combined waiting list. If you don’t want to go to the bottom of the combined list, you need to say “yes” to the one-bedroom, move into the one-bedroom, and then somehow you have a better chance of transferring to a two-bedroom apartment when it becomes available. The same process would apparently apply if you were at the top of the waiting list and wanted a one-bed: Go to the bottom of the list or take the two-bedroom apartment. Before you decide on acting against this process, read the next paragraph.

City Hall and City Council have not ACTIVELY promoted or established ADEQUATE and EQUITABLE means for ALL citizens to provide direct input BEFORE decisions are made on issues that impact them. This is not HRA’s problem, it is a problem of Ely’s political culture. HRA meetings are not recorded, so the public cannot see who actually said what during the HRA meetings leading up to the combined list. Hearsay can be inaccurate. Minutes are not transcripts, nor should they be. We all make mistakes (humans, anyway). At those previous HRA meetings — and Council meetings for that matter — who asked about input from those on the waiting list? Who asked about the effects and if those effects were reasonable and fair? Humans make mistakes. Humans can refine, revise or retract decisions. Who on the HRA Board or Council will step up and speak? Government and changes in general should be about “Let’s do better now from this moment on. Let’s admit and correct our mistakes.”

Time marker 12:10 into the video: Original wait time for parts for handicapped door was 2-4 weeks. A tenant spoke about concerns at the end of today’s meeting. FM note: Door problem and wait time was mentioned at last Oct 8th HRA meeting https://elyminnesota.com/blog/hra-oct-8-2024-meeting/ What can long-serving HRA Board Members recommend to the new Executive Director, so essential repairs don’t take so long? How could delivery of parts have been sped up? Did HRA purchase expensive door(s) that are prone to long wait times for parts? What are priorities for working doors?