Neighborhood and Affordable Housing Advisory Board Meeting - August 11, 2026
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Neighborhood and Affordable Housing Advisory Board Meeting - August 11, 2026
The Neighborhood and Affordable Housing Advisory Board (NAHAB) met on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, at 9:00 AM in the Clearwater Main Library Council Chambers. The meeting was called to order by Chair Robin Field. Key topics included public comments regarding the Hampton housing authority's handling of a recent air conditioning outage and a discussion on a proposed amendment to the board's documentation review process for future nonprofit funding cycles. No formal votes were taken; the board decided not to pursue the proposed amendment at this time.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Kevin R. T. Lachlan, Chairman of the Marine Advisory Board, addressed the board regarding conditions at the Hampton, a senior housing facility operated by the housing authority. He reported that residents endured over two and a half weeks without air conditioning in June and July, with temperatures reaching 88 degrees in apartments. One 100-year-old resident was evacuated to a hospital and never returned. The housing authority proposed a 25% rent rebate and seven food vouchers as compensation, which Lachlan deemed unworthy. He also noted that the housing authority has taken over three or four apartments on the second floor for office space, reducing available housing for seniors. He expressed concern that the housing authority's waiting list has been closed for months and its website shows no available units. He urged the board to investigate these issues.
Discussion Items
- Board Member Memorandum – Notice of Intent to Introduce Board Documentation Policy Amendment: Dylan Mayo, Housing Manager, presented the item for discussion only. The memorandum, submitted by former board member Linda Byers, proposed that NAHAB voting members receive a complete evaluation package 5–7 days prior to making funding recommendations. The package would include: (1) the comprehensive grant application, (2) IRS Form 990, (3) most recent independent CPA audit, (4) current year-to-date financials (balance sheet and income statement), and (5) the department's internal scoring and compliance matrix. Staff noted they currently do not collect Form 990 and that the current process already provides the scoring matrix and a synopsis of the application. Board members discussed that the comprehensive grant application and scoring matrix are already provided, and staff evaluates financial capacity. The board concluded that additional information, such as Form 990, may not be necessary because audited financials serve a similar purpose. Chair Robin Field and other members indicated they were satisfied with the current process and saw no need to adopt the proposed changes. No motion was made.
Key Outcomes
- The board did not adopt any changes to the documentation review process. Staff will continue to provide the comprehensive grant application and scoring matrix to board members in advance of funding recommendation meetings. No formal vote was required.
- The next NAHAB meeting is scheduled for September 8, 2026.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning. Back to school, yay. Oh, that's graphic. Thank you. We'll let him give the document for you. Good morning. Yeah, this is what I was ready to start. Today's meeting of the neighborhood and affordable housing advisory board is called to order on August eleventh, twenty twenty-six. Welcome everybody. Agendas of today's meeting hopefully are on the wall at the entrance to the chambers. I'm going to start to my left. Sorry. And I'm Robin Field, the board chair, and I represent the lending industry as it reflects relates to affordable housing. The first order of business is to approve the minutes of the board's July seventh twenty twenty-six meeting. Make a motion. And second. Second. All in favor? All right. Any opposed? Minutes are approved. Is there anyone here to speak on items not on today's agenda? If so, please step to the podium and state your name and spell your last name for the record. You will have three minutes to speak on a subject that is not on today's agenda. Hi, my name's Kevin R. T. Lachlan. Do you need me to spell it? I'm chairman of the Marine Advisory Board, so we've met before. The beginning of the month, I had the opportunity to attend the housing authority meeting at the Hampton. At the Hampton, they discussed compensation for the residents there for what they went through in June and July. A little over two and a half weeks without air conditioning. Many of them had to flee. One woman, and I have her name if you would like it, but it's not necessary. 100 years old, who not only had to be evacuated but evacuated the hospital and she never came back. I don't want to say it's because of the heat, but they did remove her because she couldn't bear up to the heat. During that meeting, the board proposed a 25% rebate to the residents for missing over half of a month. Many of them could not even live there. Temperatures in the apartments reaching 88 degrees. And I felt this was unworthy. Seven food vouchers and 25% of the rent back when many of them weren't even there for over half the month. On top of that, we were meeting on the second floor in what used to be a gathering room for the place. But it was my understanding that they've taken that over as their boardroom. That led to me speaking to a gentleman, a doctor who was there speaking for his mother, speaking that he did not feel this compensation was right. His mother Betty is a 96-year-old resident there. And we came to discover that several of the apartments in this building have been taken over by the housing authority. That they're using, they have moved their offices under the second floor of what should be an independent living facility for our seniors. No one could explain. We went back the next day and did a little filming and tried to talk to the manager, and we were told that we should leave that it was private property, that we had no right to be there or to be filming there. We do have an ad for my campaign coming out about that very thing, but I thought it was something that should be brought to everybody's attention.
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