At a glance
The Hudson Housing Authority board heard a clean audit for the year ending June 30, 2025, with one significant deficiency in tenant files and no material weaknesses. Developer Mountco said the Zoning Board of Appeals approved variances for the townhouse site on September 9 and that it hopes the Planning Board votes on the Bliss Towers site plan at its October meeting. The board tabled an extension of its 2023 agreement with Mountco so new commissioners can read it, and passed a resolution certifying its Section 8 self-assessment. A new commissioner appointed by the mayor that day joined the development committee. The video was posted September 28, twelve days after the meeting.
Roll call, a new commissioner, minutes and bills
The meeting opened at 5:03 p.m. A new commissioner, Ben, appointed by the mayor that day, joined the board.
Key points
- The board does not meet in August, so the July minutes were approved.
- Accounts payable for July and August 2026 were approved.
- The meeting started at 5 p.m. instead of the usual 6 p.m. in case the Zoning Board of Appeals needed the Housing Authority that night; it will go back to 6 p.m.
The captions give the new commissioner's surname several different ways, so only his first name is used here.
A clean audit, with one finding
The auditor, Aprio, presented the audit for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025. It gave an unmodified, or clean, opinion on the financial statements and on the Section 8 program.
Key points
- There were no material weaknesses. There was one significant deficiency: items missing from tenant files, which the auditor said would not affect the agency or its risk rating.
- The authority spent $1.3 million in federal awards, all under Section 8, the only program large enough to be tested.
- The auditor said a going-concern issue from the prior year is now considered alleviated.
- Cash is almost $500,000. Total revenues were $1.9 million, and the change in net position was $61,000, which the auditor said was an increase of $173,000 from the prior year.
- A commissioner called it the most thorough audit report seen in the commissioner's six years on the board.
Executive director's report
The executive director reported on the audit finding, a redone naming vote, a new accountant, the elevator and heating season.
Key points
- The audit finding was attributed to staff turnover; a corrective action plan is in place.
- A resident vote to name the new development will be held again because repeated, identical ballots were submitted for one name. This time the office will hand out and check off ballots.
- The authority has engaged a new fee accountant, CLA, and financial reports are back in the board package.
- The small elevator is repaired and back in service.
- The boilers failed last heating season. The authority is servicing them and buying a replacement pump, aiming to start this heating season with all of them working.
- A water leak near the meeting room is contained, and use of the community room is restricted.
Bliss Towers redevelopment: approvals and financing
John from Mountco, the developer, reported three steps forward: a zoning approval, the closed Planning Board hearing, and interest from tax credit investors.
Key points
- On September 9 the Zoning Board of Appeals approved the variances (he said five or six) for the townhouse site on Columbia Street.
- On September 8 the Planning Board closed its public hearing, which had been kept open for about three meetings, and asked for more material by September 23.
- He said the Planning Board sent 14 pages of questions and Mountco answered with 44 pages.
- He does not expect a vote at the September 30 special meeting and hopes for one at the October meeting, which he believed is October 13.
- Construction plans are about 75% complete and should reach 85% by the end of September. The city is close to hiring an outside consultant, paid by the development team, to review them.
- Two firms have shown strong interest in buying the project's tax credits. Choosing one could take about a month, and closing could take 90 days or more after that.
- He named three reasons for a funding gap: low rents set under the federal RAD program, brownfield cleanup costs, and clay soil that requires piles.
The Planning Board's September 8 meeting and the September 30 special meeting are on the archive.
Mountco agreement extension tabled
The board tabled Resolution 562, which would let the executive director renegotiate and extend the 2023 memorandum of understanding with Mountco.
Key points
- The memorandum was approved September 18, 2023, and its time frames have passed. The resolution says significant progress has been made and more time is needed.
- A commissioner asked what timeline would apply; the last one was three years.
- Newer commissioners asked to read the agreement first. Members discussed two more years.
- The executive director will consult counsel and bring it back to the next meeting.
Section 8 self-assessment certified
The board passed Resolution 561 by roll call, authorizing the executive director to certify the Section 8 Management Assessment Program indicators.
Key points
- The authority is currently rated a high performer. The executive director expects a standard rating this year because of the audit finding.
- The assessment covers 14 areas and is a self-assessment submitted every year.
- Commissioners asked for a list of the acronyms the authority uses.
Both waiting lists are closed
The executive director confirmed that both the Section 8 and public housing waiting lists are closed, and explained why vouchers cannot move to other areas right now.
Key points
- Congress passed a continuing resolution funding programs until December, with Section 8 funding level with last year.
- Level funding does not keep up with inflation, so there is a shortfall, and agencies nationwide are not issuing or accepting vouchers.
- Moving a voucher to another area (porting) would require the receiving agency to pay, and agencies in shortfall will decline.
Development committee and a hacked email
The board named the new commissioner to the development committee in place of Claire, who has left the board and now serves on the Common Council.
Key points
- The motion carried. The committee also discussed moving its meeting day.
- A commissioner said both a work email account and a Housing Authority email account had been hacked, and asked others to be wary of messages that appear to come from that account.
Commissioners' time: trips, tickets and a foundation
Commissioners talked about paying for resident trips and outings, since the authority's budget has no money for them.
Key points
- Spark of Hudson donated 50 fair tickets, and said this would be its last year sponsoring them. This was the first year the tickets ran out.
- Commissioners discussed creating a foundation, along the lines of a friends group, to raise grants and donations for trips and other resident needs.
- A commissioner asked to put a timeline for the foundation on the next agenda.
What "right to return" means here
A commissioner asked about the phrase "right to return," which has come up at Planning Board meetings.
Key points
- The answer given in the room was that the phrase comes from the federal Uniform Relocation Act and applies when residents are moved out before buildings are demolished.
- The authority designed this project to build first, move residents, and then demolish, so it does not apply here.
- The same speaker said some people confuse it with a right of return for people who used to live in Hudson, which is not what it means.
- The meeting then adjourned.
About this page
FUTURE HUDSON is an experiment in civic engagement: every public meeting of the City of Hudson since January 2026, transcribed and made readable, so any resident can follow what the city is deciding without attending every meeting. This page covers one meeting; see the full archive.
How it was made
The meeting video was transcribed automatically; the transcript was then organized into sections and summarized. The raw transcript is above, every claim can be checked against it.
What to be skeptical of
The transcript is automated and contains speech-recognition errors; names and numbers may be wrong. This page has not been reviewed by a human. Nothing here is an official record, the city's official minutes are authoritative.
About coverage of this body
Meetings of the Housing Authority are uploaded to the city YouTube channel by members on a best-effort basis (not by the city audiovisual coordinator, who posts only the Common Council family, Planning Board, and HCDPA). If a meeting of this body is missing from the archive, it usually means the recording was not uploaded. See the archive index for the full coverage note.