Housing - Item 2A - Minutes 08-28-07E
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MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING
ROSEMEAD HOUSING DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
August 28, 2007
President Tran called the regular meeting of the Rosemead Housing
Development Corporation to order at 6:03 p.m. in the Conference Room of City
Hall, at 8838 E. Valley Boulevard, Rosemead, California. Director Clark led the
pledge to the flag and Director Low led the invocation.
ROLL CALL OF OFFICERS:
Present: Directors Clark, Low, Taylor,
Vice-President Nunez, President Tran
Absent: None
1. PUBLIC COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE
Rosemead resident Juan Nunez requested and received clarification from staff
regarding HDC attorney rates.
Director Clark asked Agency Attorney Garcia why his rate had gone up from
$210 per hour to $275 per hour. Mr. Garcia responded the higher rate was
actually for the Burke Williams and Sorensen contract, not his.
2. CONSENT CALENDAR
A. Minutes
June 12, 2007 - Special Meeting
June 12, 2007 - Regular Meeting
June 26, 2007 - Regular Meeting
Director Taylor made a motion with a second by Director Low to approve the
minutes listed above. Vote resulted:
Yes: Clark, Low, Nunez, Taylor, Tran
No: None
Abstain: None
Absent: None
B. Housing Development Corporation Attorney Contract
Agreement
On April 3, 2007, the City Council hired Bonifacio "Bonny" Garcia of
Garcia, Calderon, and Ruiz (GCR) to serve as Rosemead's official
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legal counsel. Later, on May 8, 2007, the Housing Development
Corporation (HDC) approved a contract agreement with GCR to
perform legal counsel services for the City's housing authority.
At the August 14, 2007 Community Development Commission
(CDC) meeting, Burke, Williams, & Sorensen (BWS) was hired to
serve as both General Counsel to the CDC and also to provide
legal services with respect to matters concerning land use, housing,
and economic development.. Furthermore, the Commission
directed staff to negotiate a retainer agreement for BWS to provide
such services..
Under the new proposed contract with BWS, attorney fees will be
billed $275 per hour for partners, $225 per hour for associates, and
$150 per hour for paralegal and law clerk time for services
rendered for the HDC. In addition, it is important to note that under
the proposed agreement, the first 15 hours of attorney time charged
to the HDC each month will be billed at the associate rate of $225
per hour, regardless of whether the work is performed by an
associate or a partner.
Recommendation: That the Housing Development Corporation
take the following action:
Terminate the agreement for HDC Attorney services with
GCR.
Approve the agreement for HDC Attorney services with
BWS.
Vice-President Nunez made a motion with a second by Director Low to
approve the HDC attorney contract. Vote resulted:
Yes: Clark, Low, Nunez
No: Tran
Abstain: Taylor.
Absent: None
3. MATTERS FROM THE PRESIDENT & DIRECTORS - None
4. MATTERS FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & STAFF - None
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5. ADJOURNMENT
There being no further action the meeting adjourned at 6:08 p.m.
Respectfully submitted: APPROVED:
Nina Castruita John Tran
Corporation Secretary PRESIDENT
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