Board of Directors Meeting - October 9, 2014

Agenda

1. Chair's Remarks

Action: Information

Pre-read: Verbal Report

Presenter: Chair, Board of Directors

2. Approval of Public Meeting Agenda and Review of Agenda Order

Action: Approval

Pre-read: Agenda

Presenter: Chair, Board of Directors

3. Chair’s Poll re: Conflict of Interest

Action: Declaration

Pre-read

• Agenda
• Conflict of Interest Policy

Presenter: Chair, Board of Directors

4. Interim President and CEO's Remarks

Action: Information

Pre-read: Verbal Report

Presenter: Interim President & CEO

5. Confirmation of Board of Directors’ Public Meeting Minutes of August 14, 2014

Action: Approval

Pre-read: Minutes

Presenter: Chair, Board of Directors

6. Business Arising from the Minutes and Committee Action Items Update

Action: Discussion

Pre-read: Action Item List

Presenter: Chair, Board of Directors

Presentations

Presentation from Context / Metropia for Lawrence Heights

Action: Information

Pre-read: Verbal Report (20 minutes)

Presenter: Howard Sokolowski, Context and Mr. Howard Cohen, Metropia

YOUTHWORX 2014

Action: Information

Pre-read: Verbal Report (15 minutes)

Presenter: Nadia Gouveia, Lisa Williams, Monique Forbes, Alesia Simpson, Arsenio Lulan, Shamal Haider & Wynnika Matthews

Reports from Resident Services Committee (RSC)

7. Resident Services Committee Chair’s Report

Action: Information

Pre-read: Verbal Report (5 minutes)

Presenter: Chair, RSC

8. 2014 Definition of Vulnerability

Action: Approval

Pre-read: TCHC:2014-51 (10 minutes)

Presenter: Chair, RSC

Reports from the Building and Investment Committee (BIC)

9. Building and Investment Committee Chair’s Report

Action: Information

Pre-read: Verbal Report (5 minutes)

Presenter: Chair, BIC

10. Regent Park Phase 3: Rental Block 28

Action: Approval

Pre-read: TCHC:2014-52 (5 minutes)

Presenter: Chair, BIC

14. Regent Park Phase 3: Regent Park Athletic Grounds

New Item

Action: Approval

Pre-read: TCHC:2014-56 (5 minutes)

Presenter: Chair, BIC

Reports from Management

15. Alexandra Park: Transfer of Development Blocks for Market Condominiums

New Item

Action: Approval

Pre-read: TCHC:2014-55 (5 minutes)

Presenter: Development Director

Report from Corporate Affairs and Audit Committee (CAAC)

11. Corporate Affairs and Audit Committee Chair’s Report

Action: Information

Pre-read: Verbal Report (5 minutes)

Presenter: Chair, CAAC

Reports from Governance, Risk and Human Resources Committee (GRHRC)

12. Governance, Risk and Human Resources Committee Chair’s Report

Action: Information

Pre-read: Verbal Report (5 minutes)

Presenter: Chair, GRHRC

13. BIC Membership - Resignation

Action: Approval

Pre-read: TCHC:2014-54 (5 minutes)

Presenter: Chair, GRHRC

TERMINATION

Minutes

The Board of Directors of the Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) held a public meeting on October 9, 2014 at 11:49 a.m. in the Main Floor Conference Room at 931 Yonge Street, Toronto.

Directors in Attendance:

Bud Purves (Chair)

Christian Buhagiar

Zahir Bhaidani

Brian Kwan

Karen Newman

Catherine Wilkinson

Jennifer Wood

Directors Absent:

Munira Abukar (on a leave of absence)

Councillor Ana Bailão

Councillor Maria Augimeri

Councillor Frances Nunziata

Councillor Cesar Palacio

Audrey Wubbenhorst

Management present:

Marta Asturi, Legal Counsel & Assistant Corporate Secretary

Leslie Gash, Director, Development

Jason Gorel, Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer

Nadia Gouveia, Manager, Economic Development and Resident Engagement

Heather Grey-Wolf, Director, Development

Greg Spearn, Interim President & Chief Executive Officer/ Chief Development Officer

Guests present:

Mr. Howard Sokolowski, Context for Lawrence Heights

Mr. Howard Cohen, Metropia for Lawrence Heights
     
Members of Youthworx 2014: Lisa Williams, Monique Forbes, Alesia Simpson,Arsenio Lulan, Shamal Haider and Wynnika Matthews

A quorum being present, the Chair called the meeting to order and Ms. Charmaine Zina served as recording secretary.

Item 1 - Chair's Remarks

The Chair welcomed everyone to today’s Board meeting. He announced that TCHC is making progress in its appeal to the provincial and federal governments for the balance of the funding needed by TCHC for our 10-year Capital Plan. The Chair further advised that TCHC continues to build strong relationships with the City.

The Chair advised that Management has been in contact with the City of Toronto Ombudsman concerning TCHC’s definition of vulnerability and that this item will be deferred a subsequent Board meeting. 

The Chair further advised that the Board is confident that TCHC is on track to deliver on its 2014 priorities, and that it is encouraged by Management’s efforts to position the company for success in 2015.

Deputations

The Chair polled for any deputations to be heard at the meeting. No deputations were received by the Secretary and none were declared.

Item 2 - Approval of Agenda and Review of Agenda Order

The revised agenda was approved with the following changes:

• Item 8 – Deferred to the December Board meeting.

The following items were not held for discussion: Item 13.

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Ms. Newman, seconded by Ms. Wilkinson and carried, the Board of Directors approved the agenda as amended, and approved the agenda item not held for discussion (Item 13).

Item 3 - Chair's Poll re: Conflict of Interest

The Chair requested members of the Board of Directors to indicate any agenda item in which they have a conflict of interest, together with the nature of the interest. No conflicts were declared.

Item 4 - Interim President & CEO Remarks

Mr. Spearn informed the Board of the following recent events at TCHC:

1. In September, Human Resources launched an Employee Engagement Survey. This Survey will assist Management to better understand employee concerns and areas where improvements may be needed to make TCHC a better company.
2. Also in September, employee Long-Service Awards were re-instated to recognize the contribution of TCHC’s long-serving employees. The Executive Leadership Team hosted three events that honoured a total of 513 employees.
3. Also in September, more than 600 employees took part in our That’s Who We Are event that took place at the Daniels Spectrum in Regent Park. It was intended as a forum where staff could connect, learn about other parts of the company, and celebrate our accomplishments together. This event included a barbeque to raise funds in support of TCHC’s 2014 United Way campaign.

Mr. Spearn further advised that the Compensation Review of non-union positions is on track, with the second phase of the project in progress being the completion of job information questionnaires for around 230 unique positions. Our external consultant will use both the job information questionnaires and the recently completed job descriptions to evaluate and rate each position according to industry benchmarks and supported by market data.

Mr. Spearn further advised that he met with the City of Toronto Ombudsman last week to update her Office on TCHC;s progress in implementing the recommendations from the Ombudsman’s 2013 investigation into TCHC’s management of the eviction process  for seniors facing eviction. Of the 20 remaining recommendations, TCHC has substantially completed 9 and is on track to have responded to all 20 recommendations by the end of November, 2014. 

In late August, Mr. Spearn and the Board Chair met with the federal Minister of Finance, the Honourable Joe Oliver, to discuss TCHC’s capital repair needs and its request for federal dollars to support TCHC’s 10 year Capital Plan. It was also an opportunity to provide additional information to the Minister on TCHC’s business and operations, the importance of social housing and why it makes good sense for the federal government to help our company and residents.

Mr. Spearn concluded by stating that he will continue to drive home this message as TCHC works to persuade Ottawa and Queens Park to invest in TCHC’s 10-year Capital Plan.

Item 5 - Confirmation of Board Public Meeting Minutes of August 14, 2014

The Board had before it the draft minutes of the August 14, 2014 public meeting.  The minutes were approved subject to the following amendment: “Item 14 – add motion indicating receipt of presentation.”

With respect to Item 16, Ms. Wilkinson requested that the Minutes include a request that Management include in its quarterly performance reports a “Top 10 List” of maintenance requests received in the Call Centre.

Deferred

The Board of Directors deferred confirmation of the above-captioned public minutes subject to clarifying whether this request should be added to the Minutes.

Item 6 - Business Arising from the Minutes and Committee Action Items Update

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Ms. Newman, seconded by Ms. Wilkinson and carried, the Board of Directors received the report for information, subject to the format of the action item list to be reviewed by the Governance, Risk and Human Resources Committee.

Presentation from Context/Metropia

Mr. Cohen presented on the Lawrence Heights Revitalization project and provided insight into the structure, business plan, timelines and layout of the revitalization plan, which will include a combination of rental units and market units. 

Mr. Cohen advised that condominium sales have been unprecedented as Building 1A was launched September 20, 2014 with 87% of units sold and Building 1B was launched September 27, 2014 with 76% of units sold. These are important percentages as financial institutions will only provide financing when 70% of units are sold.

Mr. Cohen then answered questions from the Board.

Presentation from YOUTHWORX2014

Ms. Gouveia, Manager, Economic Development and Resident Engagement at TCHC, informed the Board about the Youthworx summer employment program. Youthworx program was launched in July 2013 and expanded in 2014. The program focuses on hiring TCHC youth in the spring and summer to do light repair work such as sign painting, gardening and clean-up projects in communities across the City. Youthworx 2014 hired 24 youth in the spring and 102 youth in the summer as field workers, plus an additional 15 Building and Community Facilitators.

This innovative program creates an initiative for youth, future opportunities, a chance to make friends within TCHC communities, and most importantly leadership and professional development training at George Brown College. 

Several members of the Youthworx program spoke to their experiences in the Youthworx program.

Item 7 - Resident Services Committee Chair’s Report

Ms. Wilkinson presented the Board with a verbal update on the Resident Services Committee (RSC) meeting held September 16, 2014.

She advised that, among other items, Management advised RSC on the implementation of the revised arrears collection process to improve the management of arrears files and address recommendations from the Ombudsman’s Housing at Risk report.

Ms. Wilkinson further spoke to the Office of the Commissioner of Housing Equity’s (OCHE) First Quarterly Performance Report for the period April 1 to August 27, 2014.  She noted, in particular, that the OCHE has advised that 53% of the OCHE’s resolutions were achieved by entering into repayment agreements.  Ms. Wilkinson expressed concern that the OCHE has not received loss of subsidy files relating to tenants in contract managed buildings.  Mr. Leah advised that Management is working to resolve the issues relating to the electronic transfer of these files to the OCHE.

Item 8 - 2014 Definition of Vulnerability, TCHC:2014-51

Agenda Item deferred to a subsequent Board meeting.

Item 9 - Building and Investment Committee Chair’s Report

No report or comments from the Chair of the Building and Investment Committee (BIC) were received at this time.

Item 10 - Regent Park Phase 3: Rental Block 28, TCHC:2014-52

The Board had before it the above-captioned report from the BIC.

The Board and Management discussed the report. The Board requested that certain amendments be made to the recommendations in the above-mentioned report as noted below. 

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Mr. Kwan, seconded by Ms. Newman and carried, the Board of Directors unanimously approved the recommendations in the report, subject to the following amendments [as bolded]:

• Approve the implementation of the Phase 3 Rental Block 28 Anchor Business Plan (ABP) provided the total project budget does not exceed 5% of the projected $7.3 million anchor budget, inclusive of TCHC’s internal costs, as outlined in the report.

Replace: “remains within” with “does not exceed”.

• Authorize the Interim President and Chief Executive Officer or his designate to take the necessary action, incur capital commitments, and execute any and all documents as may be necessary in connection with the continued development and construction of Rental Block 28. Development partners must use the procurement protocol approved by TCHC. Such commitments shall be made in accordance with the contractual arrangements between TCH and the Daniels Corporation and shall include, but not be limited to, additional consulting contracts, construction contracts, planning documents and other ancillary contracts and permits required to give effect to the above recommendation.

Add: “Development partners must use procurement protocol approved by TCHC.”  

Item 14 - Regent Park Phase 3: Regent Park Athletic Grounds, TCHC:2014-56

The Board had before it the above-captioned report from the BIC Chair. 

The Board and Management discussed the report.

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Mr. Kwan, seconded by Ms. Wilkinson and carried, the Board of Directors unanimously approved the recommendations in the report.

Item 15 - Alexandra Park: Transfer of Development Blocks for Market Condominiums, TCHC:2014-55

The Board had before it the above-captioned report from the Interim President and Chief Executive Officer. 

The Board and Management discussed the report.  The Board requested that certain amendments be made to the recommendations in the above-mentioned report as noted below.

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Mr. Kwan, seconded by Ms. Newman and carried, the Board of Directors unanimously approved the recommendations in the report, with the following amendments:

1. Authorize the transfer of Blocks 1 and 4 shown in red on the draft Plan of Subdivision dated September 3, 2014, as may be amended and prepared by Fernando DeLuca, Ontario Land Surveyor  (the “Subdivision Plan”), from Toronto Community Housing Corporation (“TCHC”) to Alexandra Park Phase I Partnership by way of its  the agent/nominee, Alexandra Park Condominium Residences Inc.; 

Add: “by way of its agent/nominee Alexandra Park Condominium Residences Inc.”

Item 11 - Corporate Affairs and Audit Committee Chair’s Report

No report or comments from the Chair of the Corporate Affairs and Audit Committee were received at this time.

Item 12 - Governance, Risk and Human Resources Committee Chair’s Report

No report or comments from the Chair of the Governance, Risk and Human Resources Committee (GRHRC) were received at this time.

Item 13 - BIC Membership - Resignation

The Board had before it the above-captioned report from the GRHRC.

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Ms. Newman, seconded by Ms.Wilkinson and carried, the Board of Directors unanimously approved the recommendations in the report.

TERMINATION

The public meeting terminated at 1:38 p.m.