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HACM staff outline VRF thermostat problems at Victory Manor, lighting and camera checks across portfolio
Summary
Construction and operations staff described ongoing work to educate residents on Victory Manor VRF thermostats, an older proposed Southport maintenance contract from 2023, a Hitachi system review estimate and resident concerns about lighting at Westlawn; public-safety reported weekly camera checks and a new complaint form.
Housing Authority construction and operations staff addressed several facilities and safety items on Feb. 12, including resident education and maintenance for Victory Manor’s VRF thermostat system, lighting complaints at Westlawn, and a new public-safety complaint process and camera-inspection routine.
Allison Wisnicki, the authority’s construction vice president, said Victory Manor’s VRF (variable refrigerant flow) systems have generated resident service calls; Southport previously proposed a preventative-maintenance contract in February 2023, quoted at roughly $35,440 per year, she said, but no ongoing contract is in place. Wisnicki said invoices in the file showed about $35,259 billed in the period reviewed, of which roughly $18,000 was preventative-maintenance activity and roughly $17,000 covered service calls, including refrigerant additions. She said the authority recorded nine service calls to the system in 2024.
Wisnicki said the authority’s maintenance staff lack specific VRF certifications that some vendors require for system work and that the agency will explore a new RFP if it seeks a standing vendor contract for preventative maintenance and training. She said Hitachi (the system manufacturer) can perform an assessment of existing configurations for approximately $5,000; that estimate would not cover local contractor labor to implement any reconfiguration.
Several commissioners and a resident leader reported recurring concerns about lighting at Westlawn and surrounding streets. Construction staff said city reviewers accepted the property’s photometric studies as meeting code during initial review; staff recommended periodic night inspections, reporting out-of-service street lights to DPW, and re-examining porch-light wiring that currently requires individual toggles rather than photocell control. Staff also proposed reaching out to DPW about newer, brighter fixtures where public street lights are the issue.
Chief Marlon Davis, public safety, described two operational items: a new online and drop-box complaint form for public safety service complaints (the form will route submissions to the public-safety leadership team and HR where appropriate, with an expectation that complaints will be logged within five days and dispositioned within 30 days) and a weekly camera-check routine. He said dispatchers review cameras on Wednesdays, generate maintenance tickets for any down systems and route those tickets to IT; chief Davis said his team will add property managers to ticket notifications to improve local coordination.
Staff said they will plan more resident training sessions on thermostat use — the most recent session drew eight attendees — and consider outreach incentives and repeated sessions to reach residents who missed earlier trainings. Staff also said they will work with procurement to test an RFP for VRF preventive-maintenance contracts and follow up on Hitachi assessment costs.
Commissioners directed staff to return with procurement or RFP plans, and staff said they will report back with data on service-call volumes, training attendance, and camera and lighting repair status.
