Tenant and Community Services Committee (TCSC) Meeting - January 30, 2012

Public Agenda

Chair’s Poll re: Conflict of Interest

Confirmation of Tenant & Community Services Committee Public Minutes – November 24, 2011

Business Arising from the Minutes and Committee Action Item List

Approval of Agenda and Review of Agenda Order

Review of Agenda (all items not held will be voted together without discussion)

For Approval

1. Board Town Hall Meetings

For Information

2. Accessible Customer Service – Update
3. Tenant Communications Strategy – Update
4. Le Sage Report Update
5. Request re: 75 Dowling Avenue named after Dr. Anderson Abbott – for discussion

In Camera Agenda

A. Confirmation of Tenant & Community Services Committee In Camera Minutes – September 29, 2011

Business Arising from the In Camera Minutes and Committee Action Item List

For Approval

B. Board Town Hall Meetings

For Information

C. Confidential item respecting the business of the corporation

D. Confidential item respecting the business of the corporation

Public Meeting Minutes

The Tenant and Community Services Committee of Toronto Community Housing Corporation met on January 30, 2012, in the Main Floor Conference Room, 931 Yonge Street, commencing at 9:02 a.m.

Committee Directors present:

Councillor Cesar Palacio, Chair

Munira Abukar, Vice Chair

Councillor Frances Nunziata

Regrets:

none

Additional Directors present:

Ms. Catherine Wilkinson

Also present:

Marta Asturi, Assistant Corporate Secretary and Legal Counsel

Mary Boushel, Manager, Successful Tenancies

Steve Floros, Community Housing Director - Central

Nadia Gouveia, Social Investment Fund Coordinator

Michelle Haney-Kileeg, General Manager

Len Koroneos, Chief Executive Officer (Interim)

Brian Laur, Manager, Risk Management and Insurance

Councillor Cesar Palacio, the Chair, called the meeting to order and Mirela Bolentiru served as recording secretary.

Declaration of Conflict of Interest

The Chair requested members of the Tenant and Community Services Committee to indicate any agenda item in which they had a conflict of interest, together with the nature of the interest. None were declared.

Confirmation of Agenda

The Tenant and Community Services Committee approved the agenda as presented. All agenda items were held for discussion.

Deputations

The Committee Chair polled for any deputations to be heard at the meeting and explained the deputation process. He noted that a list of five deputants wishing to provide verbal deputations on agenda items 2 and 3 was received for the meeting.

Minutes – Confirmation of Tenant & Community Services Committee Public Minutes - November 24, 2011

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Councillor Palacio, seconded by Ms. Munira Abukar, the Tenant & Community Services Committee confirmed the above-captioned minutes and recommended they be forwarded to the Board of Directors for information.

Business arising from the minutes and committee action item list: there was a discussion about the importance of community safety and that the issue cannot be deferred to July as it is too late to be addressed.

Item 1 – Board Town Hall Meetings, TCSC:2012-01

The Tenant & Community Services Committee had before it the above-captioned report (TCSC:2012-01) from the Interim Chief Executive Officer.

The Committee discussed the proposal for “Board Town Hall Meetings”.

The Board wants to ensure that:

• tenants have opportunities to raise their concerns related to the Corporation and are exploring ways to engage tenants so that the Committee and the Board may consider adjusting the level of services, or prioritizing them; and
• to address the public perception that the Corporation is not the best landlord in the city and make changes to improve the quality of services offered to tenants.

The Committee Vice Chair suggested that the scope of the Board Town Hall meetings was too broad and it should be narrowed to focus on tenant issues only. She also suggested that police and City staff not be in attendance as the tenants may feel overwhelmed by their presence, in addition to the numerous issues they are already facing. In response, the Committee Chair explained that it is preferable to have staff members and municipal officials in attendance at those meetings, especially when addressing maintenance issues as they can provide appropriate answers to tenants’ questions. They will better address the issues for which the Committee and staff do not have the necessary expertise. The purpose of those meetings is to have meaningful discussions in order to inform the tenants in due time with respect to resources that are available to them.

The Committee Vice Chair suggested that the Board Town Hall meetings should start with questions and answers from tenants instead of brief statements by police, City staff and other officials, followed by comments from municipal officials as relevant to the tenants’ concerns raised.

Councillor Frances Nunziata agreed with the scope of the Board Town Hall meetings as they are proof that the Board members and staff are serious about what they are doing. She further informed the Committee that in the buildings within her ward, this type of meeting is held regularly and the constituents expressed their desire of having third party people in attendance to update them on the main issues.

It was suggested that bed bugs and pest control issues should be added to the scope or agenda of the meetings. Communications with tenants with respect to the Board Town Halls meetings need to be clear about the purpose of the meetings and the objective(s) intended to be accomplished. It was further suggested that seniors should be in attendance at the meetings and that the meetings should not be held late in the evening. In response, the Committee Chair informed the Committee that the Board of Directors discussed this topic and there was agreement with respect to holding these meetings with the Chief Executive Officer (Interim) and the Chief Financial Officer in attendance.

The Vice Chair recommended that each meeting should focus on a specific issue in order to avoid overwhelming tenants. The Committee Chair further recommended that the number of issues for discussion and the number of questions asked cannot be restricted.

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Councillor Frances Nunziata, seconded by Councillor Cesar Palacio, the Tenant and Community Services Committee unanimously adopted the report and recommended to forward the report to the Board of Directors at its February 23, 2012 meeting to approve:

• an external facilitator to conduct these meetings to be funded by Toronto Community Housing; and
• that staff document any concerns voiced at the meetings and follow-up with a report to the Committee and subsequently to the full Board.

Item 2 – Accessible Customer Service – Update, TCSC:2012-02

The Tenant and Community Services Committee had before it the above-captioned report (TCSC:2012-02) from the Interim Chief Executive Officer.

Robert Fredericson provided a verbal deputation in relation to this item.

The Committee discussed two main issues raised at the meeting:

• Interruptions after hours and during weekends when there is no staff on site; and
• Tenants with disabilities be able to provide their feedback directly, or through their support person.

Mr. Steve Floros informed the Committee that there is a crew on duty 24/7 that intervenes in any major disruption such as elevators out of service, people trapped in elevators, malfunctioning of boilers, etc. In every building, there is a phone number displayed in an accessible common area where tenants may call for assistance in case of a major disruption after hours.

Ms. Mary Boushel informed the Committee that staff accepts any feedback from tenants with disabilities directly from them or through their support persons. Frequently asked questions and answers in this respect are posted on the Corporation’s public web site and the Guidelines to the Accessible Customer Service Policy have already been rolled out.

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Councillor Frances Nunziata, seconded by Councillor Cesar Palacio, the Tenant and Community Services Committee unanimously received the report for information.

Item 3 – Tenant Communications Strategy - Update, TCSC:2012-03

Motion carried

The Tenant and Community Services Committee had before it the above-captioned report (TCSC:2012-03) from the Interim Chief Executive Officer.

Robert Nykor, Dolores Pian, Robert Fredericson, Peter MacLeod and Susan Gapka provided verbal deputations in relation to this item.

It was suggested that staff consult with the Tenant Engagement Reference Committee (TERC), tenant representatives and leaders who are invaluable resources regarding how the Corporation communicates with tenants. Councillor Cesar Palacio explained to the Committee that effective communication with tenants is required and that the strategy should be more transparent by having City elected, as well as Community Councillors, in attendance at the meetings. Councillor Cesar Palacio emphasized the importance of the safety issues and proposed an amendment to recommendation 6 of the Six Tenant “Must-haves” in the Tenant Communications Strategy Report by adding “in conjunction with members of Council in the respective communities” after the word “…representatives”.

Councillor Frances Nunziata agreed with the amendment proposed to recommendation 6. She also recommended that at the monthly meetings in each building, TCHC’s staff, City officials and tenants should be in attendance. Councillor Frances Nunziata noticed that there is no clear follow up process in place to ensure that all the complaints are addressed. All the tenants’ complaints have to be compiled and then staff should follow up on them until all the issues are resolved.

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Councillor Cesar Palacio, seconded by Councillor Frances Nunziata, the Tenant an Community Services Committee resolved to amend recommendation 6 of The Six Tenant “Must-haves”, on page 27 of the Tenant Communications Strategy, as follows:

“6. We recommend that Health Promotion Officers and tenant representatives, in conjunction with members of Council in the respective communities, host monthly building meetings and take a proactive approach to working together to plan and communicate events to tenants in their building.”

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Councillor Cesar Palacio, seconded by Councillor Frances Nunziata, the Tenant and Community Services Committee unanimously received the report for information.

Item 4 – Le Sage Report Update, TCSC:2012-04

The Tenant and Community Services Committee had before it the above-captioned report (TCSC:2012-04) from the Interim Chief Executive Officer.

Susan Gapka provided a verbal deputation in relation to this item.

The Committee Chair noted that the Strategic/Directional Plan was submitted to the Board for approval and the Board approved the strategy and approach. The Board then directed staff to report back with a more specific work plan and asked staff to report back on progress at every meeting. The action plan was focused on the capital repair issues, advocating for funding and external partners.

The LeSage report has made a huge impact on the Corporation. The status of the report is presented to the Board of Directors for information on a quarterly basis.

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Councillor Cesar Palacio, seconded by Councillor Frances Nunziata, the Tenant and Community Services Committee unanimously received the report for information.

Item 5 – 75 Dowling Avenue, TCSC:2012-05

The Tenant & Community Services Committee had before it the above-captioned report (TCSC:2012-05) from the Interim Chief Executive Officer.

Councillor Frances Nunziata introduced the report, including the following highlights:

• In 1994, the Board of the City of Toronto Non-Profit Housing Corporation passed a resolution put forward by the councillor at that time, Chris Korwin-Kuczynski. With respect to renaming of a then CityHome building, 75 Dowling Avenue, the resolution was:
  • to consult with residents 75 Dowling Avenue to rename the building after Anderson Abbott
  • staff proceed with renaming if residents consent.

Councillor Frances Nunziata brought this item forward in August 2011, requesting that this be revisited at a future Toronto Community Housing Board meeting, after being approached by the former City Councillor who made this proposal in 1994.

In response to a question raised by the Committee Chair with respect to what was approved in 1994, Mr. Steve Floros suggested that a tenant meeting be held where staff will provide tenants with background information, review the facts from 1994 and move forward from there.

It was suggested that more tenants should be involved in re-naming/naming in communities.

The Committee agreed that, in future, any similar requests for re-naming/naming in the communities will be addressed by tenants and brought forward to the Tenant and Community Services Committee for review and approval.

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Councillor Frances Nunziata, seconded by Councillor Cesar Palacio, the Tenant and Community Services Committee adopted the report and resolved to approve the following next steps as proposed by staff:

1. Consult with Councillor Gordon Perks (as the building is now in his ward) for feedback and approval (provide the Councillor with background information).
2. After Councillor Perks’ approval, consult with tenants (provide tenants with background information and facilitate the voting process).
3. After tenant consultation and decision, report back to TCSC/BIC.
4. After Board Committees’ approval, proceed with renaming or leave it as is.

In Camera Proceedings

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Councillor Frances Nunziata, seconded by Ms. Munira Abukar, the Tenant and Community Services Committee resolved to meet in camera at 10:38 a.m. to consider items A, B, C and D.

Public Proceedings

Motion carried

At 11:07 a.m. the Chair announced the resumption of the public proceedings and the public meeting reconvened at that time.

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Ms. Munira Abukar, seconded by Councillor Cesar Palacio, the Tenant and Community Services Committee ratified the actions authorized during the in camera meeting.

Adjournment

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Ms. Munira Abukar, seconded by Councillor Frances Nunziata, the meeting of the Tenant and Community Services Committee was adjourned at 11:07 a.m.