June 20th Town Hall Minutes
Slovak Village Board of Directors and staff held a town hall meeting for all residents in the Mary Klas room on: Thursday, June 20th, 2024. Several tenants, staff and Board were in attendance.
During the meeting the following items were discussed:
- 1. Follow up from November 2023 Town Hall
- Full building pest control inspection was completed in January as well as follow up treatments.
Full building HVAC inspection and filter changes were completed earlier this year as well as any required repairs. Two cameras have been installed facing the parking lot. The parking lot dash pass program and parking policy were implemented earlier this year.
Enforcement is managed through by-law and once they get involved the matter is under their jurisdiction. There is no capacity at present for full-time on-site security or even 12 hour over night on site security; however, a dedicated security guard has been hired for the July long weekend. Security – we don’t’ have capacity for full-time on-site security or even 12 hours on-site security. EV charging station costs were investigated and at present there is no capacity to move forward but this will be revisited in the future. - 2. Strategic Plan (presented by the Board)
- Strategic plan presented by Tomas Cekan, President of the Board of Directors. The strategic plan shows the goals the board wishes to achieve as well as how they plan on reaching these goals. The Slovak Village Vision Statement, Mission Statement, Values, Objectives and Plan of Action were reviewed. The strategic plan is available on the Slovak Village website.
- 3. Website Updates
- The website has now been updated with a “News and Announcements” tab.
- 4. Tenant Insurance
- Every year, tenants in our communities lose belongings and/or are displaced due to an unexpected event like a fire or flood. The purpose of tenant insurance is to protect yourself and your family from unexpected costs. Insurance will help pay to replace damaged contents and pay for temporary housing while repairs are completed. Visit tenant.hscorp.ca for more information.
- 5. Complaint process
- Complaints must be in writing, staff cannot accept verbal complaints. You can contact the Superintendents for a complaint form during business hours; write the complaint on a piece of paper; or email it to the Property Manager, nmurray@brantford.ca.
Written complaints are very important if cameras need to be checked.
Important-if the complaint is regarding illegal activity such as suspected drugs, theft or threats, please call Brantford Police at 519-756-7050 or Crime Stoppers 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Staff cannot determine if an action is illegal.
All complaints must include the date and time of incident, details of the incident, how it impacted you, and if police were called we need the incident # and officer name.
If staff determines the incident is in violation of the lease, we will follow-up with the tenant to cease and desist. If the behaviour continues the PM may Issue a Form N5 and file an application with the LTB. Staff cannot share what is being done as this is confidential. - 6. Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) Process
- Below are some of the LTB forms the landlord may use:
N4 – nonpayment of rent
N5 – interfering with the reasonable enjoyment of other tenants and staff
N6 – illegal activity such as drug dealing, stealing, human trafficking – Police must be involved, the landlord cannot determine if an act is illegal
N7 – causing serious problems: Seriously impairing the safety of another person in the complex; or willfully damaging the residential unit or complex - All acts must happen on the property, if there is an incident off site, the landlord has no authority to issue a legal notice (e.g. bullying at school).
- It is important to note that it takes 6-8 months to get a hearing date from the LTB, then 1-3 months for an order (decision).
NOTE: We as a landlord do not evict, this is a decision made by the LTB and a Sheriff is the only body that can enforce an eviction. - 7. Pest Control
- There has been an increase of ant reports within the unit.
Ant activity is possible all year around, especially in the colder months. Removing access to food and water is the easiest way to avoid pest problems in your unit. If you think you have ants or any other pests, please fill out a work order. We will send a pest control company to inspect your unit. Should it be determined that treatment is necessary we ask that you cooperate and prepare your unit for the treatment plan. Proper prep work is needed to ensure successful results. It is important to put in a maintenance request form if you have, or think you have pests in your unit. Poor sanitation can cause ant infestations. Leaving dirty dishes in the sink, food residue on countertops, crumbs on the floor, and garbage provide food sources for ants. Ants leave an invisible chemical trail which attracts other ants to follow once they locate the food source, so an infestation can develop quickly. - If you have concerns, please enter submit a maintenance request found outside the Slovak Office.
- 8. Upcoming Projects
- Common Area Flooring
The carpet in the hallways is being replaced with vinyl planks. The project will be completed in 2024. Some of the flooring was lifting in certain areas requiring them to be redone. Notice will go out to tenants when we have dates - Retaining Wall
Retaining wall repairs are to be completed in 2024. - 9. Tenant Concerns:
- Garbage being left in chute: If you notice please let us know date and time and we can follow up.
Pets and muzzling: This is not covered under the Residential Tenancies Act therefore Landlord can’t enforce muzzling. By-law must be contacted first but please also notify housing so we are aware.
Painting in the hallways: There is no capacity to do this every year. Paint will continue to be touched up as needed throughout the year.Guests: Reminder not to let people follow you in. Don’t approach unidentified guests. Encourage your guests to use the intercom. Tenants are responsible for their guests at all times. If guests cause damage, it can affect the individual’s tenancy.
Paint vouchers: Can be provided upon request and are available for tenants every 5 years.
Back to school event: no funding or volunteer base available this year
Community activities: These are no run though Slovak but community providers are welcome to run programs at the building.Internal Transfers: Tenants cannot apply to transfer of out Slovak building; however, tenants can apply to transfer internally within the building. If a tenant wishes to move out of the Slovak building, they must apply to the centralized waitlist.
Lobby Channel: No longer available as we switched to analog and this is not available through analog. - 10. Additional Questions/Comments
- Q) Can a gate be installed at the side of the building closest to the school to stop the through traffic?
A) If you see trespassers document it, take pictures of license plates and write down what you see and when you see it and hand it into housing. We have also spoken to the school to speak about issues we have been having. City bus plan is also being reviewed for this area so bus stops may change in the future.
Q) Can we have “Slovak Village” removed from the parking tag? There is a concern that when tenants are parking off-site having the tag in their window can make them a target for vehicle theft.
A) Remove the tag when off the site. We will discuss this matter internally and get back to the tenants with any decisions made.
Q) People parking in visitor parking overnight do not have parking tags. Do people in visitor parking need a parking pass?
A) People who are not tenants or occupants will not be issued parking tags.
Q) People from the four-plex’s next to the building are parking in the Slovak parking lot. What can be done about this?
A) The parking policy is new and we are doing out best to manage the lot. We will look into this further.
Q) Concern that if tenant parks in a location that is not covered by a camera their vehicle may get broken into. One camera may be obscured by a tree.
A) Superintendents confirmed that all parking spots are visible; however, if there is an area being blocked by trees, we will have this trimmed. Vehicle theft is a serious problem for the entire Province right now.
Q) Can we do something about dog waste?
A) Let superintendents or PM know in writing any time you see this happening and we can get by-law involved if necessary.
Q) Can we get another dog station put at the other end of the building near the fence?
A) We will look into this.
Q) Is the playground being revamped this year?
A) Nothing currently being planned.
Q) Can the laundry room be locked at night?
A) We will discuss internally and see what we can implement in the future. We do have this at some of our other sites. Have to see if this will work for all tenants in the building as some people work nights.
Q) Can we have a food pantry or food bank implemented?
A) Not something we do right now. Who will manage it (what is allowed, what is not, Can’t have anything in common areas due to fire hazards. We can look into programs for individual tenants but there is food liability and safety issues involved around this.
Q) Are sprinklers on lawn working?
A) Supers have not been running sprinkles over past few years as they are not pointing in the proper direction and not getting the entirety of the grass. We are also being more water conscious.
Reminder: tenants are responsible for their children, pets and guests, and can receive an LTB form should we receive a complaint about something they did.
