Eagle Pass Housing Authority Board approves 2014 Annual Plan and Capital Fund Five-Year Action Plan
By: Jose G. Landa, Copyright 2014, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc.
The Eagle Pass Housing Authority Board of Commissioners held a special meeting on Tuesday, April 8, 2014, at 12 Noon at the Community Room of El Centenario High Rise, located at 2095 East Main Street, Eagle Pass, Texas, approving the local Housing Authority’s Annual Plan for fiscal year 2014 and the 2014 Capital Grant Amendment to the Consolidated Contract and Capital Fund Five-Year Action Plan.
The first item on the short special meeting Agenda was the “consideration and possible approval of a Resolution approving the Eagle Pass Housing Authority Annual Plan for fiscal year 2014. During discussion, Board of Commissioner Ricardo Calderon asked Executive Director Maria D. Velasquez to explain what were the revisions to the 2014 Annual Plan regarding the Financial Resources and the Fiscal Year Audit. Velasquez replied that the Public Housing Capital Fund for 2014 had been decreased to $531,352 and that the 2012 Audit had been submitted to HUD and there were not any findings in that audit. Commissioner Calderon noted that the 2014 Eagle Pass Housing Authority Annual Plan does not mention any collaboration and work between the Housing Authority and the Ryan White HIV Program of the Maverick County Hospital District and questioned if this means that there is no such collaboration between the two programs. Velasquez stated that since she has been at the EPHA as Executive Director during the past four months she has not seen anything regarding the Ryan White HIV Program, but would check and get back to him. After discussion, the EPHA Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the Resolution and the EPHA 2014 Annual Plan.
The last item on the Agenda was the “consideration and possible approval of a Resolution approving the 2014 Capital Fund Grant Amendment to the Consolidated Annual Contributions Contract and Capital Fund Five Year Action Plan. During discussion, Commissioner Calderon advised the Board of Commissioners that he was very concerned that the EPHA Board had not had any regular monthly meetings during the past two months of February and March 2014 and asked Board Chairperson Ana M. Gonzalez if the Board planned to hold a regular meeting in April 2014 because the EPHA had never gone so long without holding regular board meetings. Chairperson Gonzalez replied that the EPHA Administration had been very busy these past few months and been unable to prepare for the monthly regular meetings. Calderon noted that the EPHA Board had never gone two months without regular board meetings. Calderon noted that there had been two special board meetings at 12 Noon which he had been unable to attend due to professional and personal scheduling conflicts but that they were not regular board meetings. Chairperson Gonzalez stated that the Board would probably hold a regular meeting this month in April 2014 and noted that Mayor Ramsey English Cantu was making new appointments to the Board of Commissioners which would probably be installed at the April regular meeting. Chairperson Gonzalez advised the Board that Vice-President Jose G. Gonzalez had been contacted if he would be interested in being re-appointed by the Mayor but that he had declined the opportunity to be re-appointed. Commissioner Calderon asked EPHA Executive Director Mary Velasquez who had assisted her in filling-out the Five Year Capital Fund Action Plan and Velasquez replied that EPHA Consultant Nelson Rodriguez of Nelrod, Inc. and her department heads and staff. Velasquez noted that the Five Year Capital Fund Five Year Action Plan development team did not include newly hired Capital Fund Coordinator Luis Sandoval as he had not yet been hired. After discussion, the Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the Resolution, the 2014 Capital Fund Grant Amendment to the Consolidated Annual Contributions Contract, and the Capital Fund Five-Year Action Plan.
