AGENDA - San Antonio Housing Authority

SAN ANTONIO HOUSING AUTHORITY May 16, 2013MEMORANDUMTo:From:Presented by:Operations and Human Resources CommitteeLourdes Castro Ramirez, President and CEOKathy McCormick, Development and Neighborhood Revitalization OfficerSantiago Garcia, Special ProjectsSubject:Update and discussion regarding Strategy for Reinvestment in the FiveNeighborhoods that were Part of the HOPE VI Mirasol Project____________________________________________________________________________SUMMARYThis report provides a summary of recent activities and next steps in the strategy to reinvest inthe five neighborhoods that were part of the HOPE VI Mirasol Project.1. GOAL: ASSESS HOMES AND NEIGHBORHOODS INDIVIDUALLYa. A Request for Proposals (RFP) process is underway to expand the number of firms thatare contracted with the San Antonio Housing Authority to provide General Architecturaland Engineering Services. From the expanded list of contracted firms, one or more willbe selected to conduct assessments of the 85 homes that will be placed on the marketfor sale, and the 87 single-family public housing units located in the Mirasol subdivision.The timeline for this activity is: Operations and Human Resources Committee May 16, 2013 Board of Commissioners Approval June 6, 2013 Execution of Contract for Services June 14, 2013 Meeting with Consultant on Scope of Work June 21, 2013 Assessment of Structures Begins June 28, 2013 Final Presentation of Material to SAHA August 30, 2013b. Pending approval of the focus area boundaries, the Assisted Housing ProgramsDepartment will perform an assessment of the Housing Quality Standards of the Section8 units located within the areas surrounding the five neighborhoods. This assessmentwill complement recent “windshield inspections” of the units adjacent to the subjectneighborhoods.2. GOAL: REHAB, REBUILD, AND RENOVATE HOMESa. The architecture and engineering team will conduct assessments of each house, andcreate a scope of work and cost estimate for each house by September 2013.3. GOAL: UTILIZE AN EFFECTIVE HOMEOWNERSHIP PROGRAMa. A meeting was held to discuss the current state of SAHA’s Public HousingHomeownership Program and how the program can be strengthened. Topics discussedincluded clarification of the program’s purpose, pre- and post-sale education, current andpotential partnerships, and assessing who the program serves.b. A second meeting to further discuss the Program’s goals will be held in May.c. A plan to strengthen the Program, to better identify, prepare, and qualify potentialhomeowners, will be finalized in May.