<<This blog post is the product of the LWV-Salem Affordable Housing Working Group Subcommittee on the Salem Housing Authority and has been approved for posting by LWV-Salem’s Convener.>>
First, a note on some changes: for the time being, we are removing humor or sarcasm from these blog posts and moving to a dryer tone. We are also dividing each topic into factual observations of SHA board meetings, supplementary factual information, and analysis. Regardless of the change in tone, please note that the purpose of this blog series is to amplify tenant voices and to identify opportunities for all Salem folks to advocate for tenants and for open and effective government. These blog posts are not a summarized repetition of who said what at the SHA board meetings, but an attempt to bring serious, actionable issues at SHA to light. We identify those issues through the twin lenses of tenants’ rights and good government, in keeping with basic League principles.
Second, reportedly the next SHA board meeting will be on August 26 at 6:00 pm. (The regular meeting was postponed.) We urge members of the public to attend SHA board meetings in person or online. SHA is a government body, and deserves public attention, just like city council or the state legislature.
Now, here’s what we’ll cover in this post about the July 8, 2026 SHA board meeting: tenant comments, the ongoing issue of cancelled mediation sessions, follow-up on elevator problems, and the removal of emergency pull cords at Pioneer Terrace, a development for the elderly. You can watch the full meeting here on SATV. The board packet, including the annual plans, is found here.
Tenant Comments
Observations:
In addition to regular public comment, this meeting also included a public hearing on SHA’s annual plan for the state (that is, for EOHLC). Also, the board voted on SHA’s annual plan for the federal government (HUD). Three tenants spoke during the meeting. The Charter Street Tenant Association submitted written comments on the state annual plan, but those comments were not included in the board packet made available on the SHA website.
Tenant Gene Collins, Pioneer Terrace, spoke on a variety of topics:
The removal of emergency pull cords from apartments at Pioneer Terrace (covered in more depth below)
Lack of meaningful tenant participation in the development of the plans and in regular meetings (covered in more depth below)
The maintenance plan, property inspections, and licensing of SHA staff.
“It appears that you’re more concerned with promoting from within than taking care of the property you’re responsible for.”
He is concerned with more inspections being done in-house than in previous years when independent, outside inspectors were used.
“No one has any licenses”
Tenant William Cameron, Barton Square, spoke about:
Ongoing sidewalk and parking lot work. A ramp has been fixed, but the sidewalk was still tearing up the bottoms of cars as they pull into the parking lot.
Tenant Ann Friedgen, Bertram Terrace, spoke about:
Being gratified that Bertram Terrace was on the Capital Improvement Plan. She said Bertram has been begging for new kitchen cabinets for quite some time. Given that the whole development has always been non-accessible, she expressed a preference for having their kitchens replaced sooner rather than later. This is, don’t wait to do a bigger project that simultaneously upgrades the kitchens and makes the bathrooms handicapped-accessible.
Bertram Terrace not receiving adequate preventative maintenance. There are holes in the cement, for example.
Our last blog post. Although “elevators are a real problem no matter where you are,” the perspective in our last blog post was “one-sided.” As a tenant she has seen an appreciable improvement under Cathy Sheehan versus the previous executive director [who retired in 2019]. “Is everything happy, joyous, and free? No. But it’s a lot better than it was.”
How senior tenants have a different perspective than other tenants, such as non-senior families.
Supplementary Factual Information & Analysis:
Promotions: SHA’s state annual plan stated that “Three internal promotions enhanced leadership and morale, while two new hires increased capacity and response efficiency . . . The team has also emphasized communication, accountability, and customer service, resulting in more consistent service delivery and improved resident satisfaction.” The board chair has previously expressed support for internal promotions. Not only have there been internal promotions in recent years, but new positions have been created, such as Director of Finance and Director of Operations.
Analysis: The board should monitor resident satisfaction very carefully, including satisfaction with both maintenance and administrative services, to make sure the new organizational structure is delivering for tenants
Staff Licenses: A quick, very preliminary search indicates that SHA’s staff may include one licensed plumber and one licensed electrician, with the other maintenance staff having other certifications and qualifications.
Analysis: The board could obtain a list of staff members’ qualifications and an explanation of how maintenance and repair jobs are assigned to or supervised by different staff members. The board could discuss SHA’s staffing and procedures with tenants, including Mr. Collins, and move forward from there.
Elevators: Ms. Friedgen is one of two people who have mentioned to us, in one way or another, that elevators are problematic throughout the U.S., not just at Charter Street. You can watch this video on YouTube: North America’s Elevator Problem.
Analysis: Given that it is well-known that it is often hard to get timely and affordable elevator maintenance and repairs, and given that Charter Street is a 12-story building for the elderly and/or disabled, we stand by our last blog post. No one from SHA has stepped forward to say that the board or tenants were involved in designing the invitation for bids, including the required response times or list of parts the maintenance company is required to have on hand. It is unclear if any attempt was made to decrease the response time and to require more parts to be kept in stock. Please see more elevator follow-up below.
Tenant Participation and the Mediation/Training Issue
In this section of the blog post, we’re starting with supplementary facts and analysis, so readers can see how the comments we report on fit together. (You can also refer to our previous blog post for background.)
Supplementary Facts & Analysis:
Over two years ago, five staff members filed “hostile workplace” complaints against the board’s tenant representative, Commissioner Veronica Miranda. A major point of the complaints was that a hostile workplace was created when the tenant rep, then the chair of the board, allowed tenants to speak negatively during meetings without allowing the staff to immediately rebut comments that they found inaccurate or upsetting. Staff members interrupted tenants during the tenants’ public comments, at least once going as far as to say the tenants were lying.
The board commissioned an investigation (June 2024), which found that there was no hostile workplace in the usual sense (August 2024). In follow-up to the investigation report and voluminous public comment, the board contracted for mediation sessions and board relationship- and trust-building sessions (May 2025). After one mediation session (August 2025), the remaining mediation sessions were cancelled without notifying the tenant representative (October 2025). The tenant rep and public found out about the cancellation of the mediation sessions in March 2026. Current Chairman Aaron Paternoster has stated that there was an inadvertent open meetings violation with respect to the cancellation. He tasked the tenant rep with preparing a proposal for the rest of the board on how she wants the board to resolve the situation.
At the July 8 meeting, the board was unable to discuss the mediation sessions, or some kind of resolution to the situation, because Chairman Paternoster had not put that topic on the agenda. Such a discussion would have violated open meeting law.
Observations:
1. During public comment tenant Gene Collins directed the board’s attention to Massachusetts state regulations (760 CMR 6.09) requiring that tenant organizations and individual residents have “a reasonable opportunity . . . to be heard on agenda items so long as the agenda items directly bear on common rights, duties or interests of Tenants and/or Household Members and are not subject to the Grievance procedures established pursuant to 760 CMR 6.08.” He also directed the board to EOHLC’s Public Housing Notice 2024-25, “Guidance Related to Local Tenant Organizations (LTOs) and Tenant Participation Under 760 CMR 6.09.”
Mr. Collins expressed dissatisfaction with SHA’s implementation of these regulations and the guidance. He stated that he believed the board did not know what its responsibilities are. He said he would bring suggestions for positive board actions to the next board meeting.
2. Salem resident (non-tenant) Rosa Ordaz gave the following statement:
So I want to talk today about an agenda item that I believe should have reappeared tonight . . . I really hope that the mediation that was previously voted upon by this board and this body returns to your agenda and the discontinuance of that mediation.
This board is composed of five members, including one tenant representative, and if this board is committed to inclusion and tenant representation and feedback, whether or not it's a violation of open meeting or not, it's certainly disingenuous for this body to vote to discontinue the mediation process put in place to preserve the tenant representation on this board.
It's also disingenuous to cancel the contract privately, and without notifying the tenant representative this action would take place. To cancel it after one mediation session, after all of the funds that were put into the very investigation that recommended this very mediation was disappointing.
As a resident of the city of Salem, a city that prides itself on inclusion and being a welcoming city, this feels very wrong to me. The community is talking about this and has been over the last year or so, plus. But, as is common with many board and commission meetings, people don't show up. Facebook comments are not formal commentary. And so I'm here to bring this to your attention, and I thank you again for letting me speak on this matter, even though I didn't sign up properly.
But I want to encourage you to demonstrate your commitment to inclusion and to tenant representation further (which I assume you all want to do, considering you serve on this board that oversees such a diverse range of residents within Salem's public housing) and really include additional trainings, as also recommended by the investigation report, if you want to encourage other residents in the future to consider filling Miss Miranda's tenant representative seat. This is an opportunity to do so, taking an action like this. Thank you.
3. Commissioner Veronica Miranda said she was withholding some comments she had prepared regarding mediation (which was not on the agenda), but she shared part of a proposal she had prepared regarding training for the board and staff (which fell under the agenda item of the report of the tenant representative). She stated the following:
So one of [my proposals] was the board developing a plan for governance training, conflict resolution, cultural humility, and anti-bias training for board members and executive leadership consistent with the recommendations that were contained in the investigative report. That's one of them. And then connected . . . [bring in] an independent third party with expertise in public housing, governance, tenant engagement, board oversight and development, organizational development to provide governance training.
Commissioner Miranda mentioned the Massachusetts Union of Public Housing Tenants and the Mel King Institute as two organizations that could perhaps help design and provide the training. She also mentioned that such training could be done on an annual basis.
Wrap-Up Analysis:
The board spent a considerable sum on a hostile workplace investigation, apparently to demonstrate that it took staff complaints seriously. The board voted for the investigation at the June 2024 meeting where staff members disrupted the meeting, accused tenants of lying, and reiterated their opposition to tenants being allowed to speak at public comment without immediate correction from the staff. (Video. Transcript.)
The board committed to having mediation sessions between the tenant representative board member and the executive director and staff in response to the recommendations in the investigative report and in response to testimony from members of the public.
As of now, the board has not followed through on its commitment to mediation.
We members of the subcommittee writing this blogpost do not know if the tenant rep will ask for a new contract for mediation sessions, but we think it is obvious that the board needs more training, on an annual basis, regarding its responsibilities (including fostering resident participation as per regulations) and on having difficult conversations. If you believe the board could benefit from additional training, please share your ideas with the board.
Elevator Issues
Observations:
At the July 8 meeting, the executive director reported that flyers explaining potential causes for elevator shut-downs had been posted at Charter Street. She said that the Charter Street Tenant Association president said the informational campaign had already made a positive difference. She reported that there were fewer instances of moving companies “probably unintentionally vandalizing” the elevators by holding the doors open, etc.
The new elevator report starting on p. 196 in the July 8 board packet noted an approximately four-day outage of one elevator at Charter Street, beginning June 11, due to an electrical surge which necessitated the replacement of an independent selector module.
Analysis:
We are left with some unresolved questions. Why did the situation at Charter Street get to the point where the tenants called in the media (WGBH, Salem News)? Could the informational flyers not have been distributed earlier, if indeed they have been impactful of late?
Also regarding Charter Street, the causes of the length of two recent elevator outages remain unclear. The first is the reported three-day outage over the Memorial Day weekend of one of the two elevators and the second is the approximately four-day outage beginning June 11 of one of the two elevators. It is unclear whether the multi-day outages were due to waiting for parts, or waiting for an inspector, or waiting for a repair person, or something else. The details of these outages should be obtained by the board in writing. We note that the contracts with Delta Beckwith, past and present, require a quarterly itemized list of work performed, including regular and emergency callbacks, which details the date and time of call, the building, a description of shutdown and corrective measures taken, class of work (routine maintenance or call back services), time elevator returned to service, and all extra charges to the contract. The board should obtain these lists and make them public.
Removal of Emergency Pull Cords at Pioneer Terrace
Observations:
At the July 8 meeting, Tenant Gene Collins complained that emergency pull cords had been removed from units at Pioneer Terrace, a development for the elderly. Staff present at the meeting cited Public Housing Notice (PHN) 2017-03, “Emergency Pull Cords/Light Systems,” as justification for removal of the emergency pull cords.
Additional Facts & Analysis:
PHN 2017-03 was followed up by PHN 2017-10, “Clarifications to PHN 2017-03 on Emergency Pull-Cord Notification Systems,” which recommended that housing authorities not remove emergency pull cords from inhabited units unless tenants had consented in writing to the removal of non-functioning cords. (Please read both PHNs for yourself.)
In response to our request for public records, SHA produced a highly-concerning memo dated July 15, 2026, which states that EOHLC “mandated” removal of the emergency pull cords via PHN 2017-03. This does not seem to be correct.
We members of the subcommittee writing this blog post plan to bring the situation at Pioneer Terrace to the attention of the Salem Disabilities Commission and Council on Aging, to try to ensure that tenants are fully informed of their rights by experts in the field.
Please note that we have read both PHNs are aware of the potential problems with emergency pull cords, including tenants possibly not understanding what the pull cords do, and thinking they link to emergency services (“911”). Notwithstanding the pros and cons of the old pull cord system, and there are cons, tenants have rights that must be respected by the housing authority. If you have expertise in this area, we urge you to come forward to the board.