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San Antonio Housing Authority September 5, 2013
MEMORANDUM
TO:
FROM:
SUBJECT:
Board of Commissioners
Yolanda Hotman, Chair, Resident Services Committee
Update regarding the August 8, 2013 Resident Services Committee
A Resident Services Committee meeting was held on August 8, 2013, at Villa Tranchese, 307
Marshall. Attendees included Chair Yolanda Hotman, Commissioner Stella Molina,
Commissioner Richard Gambitta, Board Counsel Doug Poneck, SAHA staff, and approximately
31 residents.
Villa Tranchese, an elderly/disabled community, was built in 1967, and consists of 201 units
housed in an 11-story building. The common areas and community room have recently been
refurbished, utilizing American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds.
The Resident Services Committee focuses on matters affecting the residents of the agency’s
Public Housing and Mixed- Income properties. The following topics were discussed at the
committee meeting:
Affordable Healthcare Act
In March 2010, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA),
into law. SAHA staff has met with several organizations that have interest in working with SAHA
to begin an outreach and education campaign for SAHA residents.
Community Development Initiatives Events
SAHA’s Community Development Initiatives department hosted several recent events in support
of the Agency’s priority to empower and equip families to improve their quality of life and
achieve economic stability. Those events include the 2013 Father’s Day event, the Jobs-Plus
luncheon, and the Education Investment Foundation (EIF) Education Summit.
Enhanced make readies and work orders
To reduce turnover of units, the Public Housing Department is working to make the units as
attractive as private market units. Staff is working with paint color choices, light fixtures, blinds,
cabinet knobs, and ceramic tile.
In June, the responsibility for taking all work order requests from residents was assigned to
Calls Plus. Calls Plus has been handling work orders at night and on weekends. In June it
began 24/7 coverage. Calls Plus is a Louisiana-based firm that serves the public health, social
service, transportation, and housing industries. The operators were also trained to enter only
one task per work order, to aid SAHA management in analyzing work order trends and costs, to
better organize manpower and project needs.
Update on the on-line applications
SAHA’s consultant for this activity, Cindi Herrera, met with staff for a full day, meticulously
documenting and understanding every step of application procedures. Besides recommending
different procedures for processing applications, Herrera recommended that SAHA consider