Coronavirus Pandemic:
Continuity of Operations Plan
Version 12 | Updated: December 18, 2020
Appendix A - Property Signage
Appendix B - Facemask Guidlines
Appendix C - Services Guidelines
Appendix D - Social Visiting Restrictions
Appendix E - Workplace Safety Checklist
OBJECTIVE: Since the threat to an organization’s continuity of operations is high during a pandemic outbreak; it is important for the Tacoma Housing Authority (THA) to have a Coronavirus Continuity of Operations plan in place to ensure we can carry out our essential functions and services. While we may be forced to suspend some operations due to the severity of a pandemic outbreak, an effective Continuity of Operations Plan can assist us in our efforts to remain operational, with the emphasis of maintaining our mission.
A. The plan objectives include:
- Reduce the spread of disease among staff and customers.
- Protect people at higher risk for complications. This includes staff and customers.
- Maintain essential business operations.
- Minimize financial impact on staff that could result from office and school closures.
- Minimize stress of rent payments and evictions among our portfolio and tenant-based customers, and support our landlord partners.
- Provide crisis management supports for our customers.
- Where possible, coordinate food services on our sites for students and elderly customers who would have otherwise accessed food at schools or senior centers.
- Comply with directives from the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department and civil authorities.
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- Payroll
- Pay Rent to Landlords
- ID Cards
- VO Initial Inspections: PM
- Initial Inspections: RA
- Leasing PM
- Unit Turns
- Payment of Contractors
- Wage Interviews
- PM Move Ins
- Emergency Work Orders
- Urgent Work Orders
- Sanitizing common areas in high rise buildings
- Trash pickup
- Human Resources
- Mail Processing at 902
- EOC Staffing and Communications
- Interims
- Accounts Payable
- Rent Collection
- Public Reception/ Phone Answering from 8 am to 4 pm Monday-Friday
- Fax Solutions
- IT Support
- Open Door Support
- Security/Tenant Support at Portfolios
- CSE Crisis Management
- Lock replacement at Arlington
- Programming Electronic Locks
- Server Maintenance
- Installing IT Equipment at The Rise at 19th
- Printing letters that must go out to Tenants
- Coordinating food delivery for THA tenants where this can be done safely
As more information develops about the Coronavirus emergency and more restrictions are placed on (or removed from) the general population, Tacoma Housing Authority’s list of essential functions may change and the list of designated “essential” staff may change.
C. Current Plan, completed actions, pending actions
Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic will require the Tacoma Housing Authority to be flexible and to move quickly. To help us do that, the Tacoma Housing Authority Board, on March 18, 2020, passed emergency resolution No. 2020-3-18(1) stating: “Tacoma Housing Executive Director (or designee) is authorized to take any or all of the following emergency actions as may, in his judgment, be needed to protect Agency operations and the health, safety and well-being of agency employees, clients, vendors and the public as a whole.” This authorization will be useful throughout this plan.
On June 22, 2020 THA adopted its ‘Workplace Safety Plan.” This plan is a companion to this Continuity of Operations Plan and attempts to outline the staged approach THA will use to resume more of its non-essential daily operations. The Workplace Safety Plan is referenced in this document and is available as an appendix.
This Plan is divided into five (5) sections: staff, customers, properties, funding, and “other” actions.
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Topic
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Completed & Pending Actions
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1. Staff
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1.1.
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Assess Workplace Exposure and Risk
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We have identified the following exposure risks to our staff and customers:
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1.2.
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Review Workplace Policies
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We have reviewed internal, State and Federal policies as they relate to:
We implemented the new federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
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1.3.
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Adjust essential operations, where possible, to mitigate workplace exposures and risks
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All essential meetings will be held virtually or, when held in person, in meeting spaces that allow for a six-foot distance between participants by appointment only, as long as Pierce County is in Phase Two and THA is in Stage Two or beyond.
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1.4.
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Apply Infection Control Measures:
We will create a constant culture of wellness.
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We have and will continue to do the following:
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1.5.
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Prepare for Social Distancing and Accommodate Personal Challenges as a Result of the Pandemic:
Social distancing is an intervention to increase the physical distance between people and in an effort to decrease the spread of disease. the Health Departments asks all organizations:
● to consider what policies and procedures they can implement to accomplish working remote.
● prepare for employee absences resulting from personal illness, caring for ill family members, and dismissal of early childhood programs and K-12 schools.
● be ready to adapt business practices to maintain critical operations.
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Effective March 13th, operations were scaled back to essential operations, which are shown on the list on page 1 of this document. This was necessary to protect staff and begin implementing telework and staggered shift plans.
Effective June 17, 2020 we directed that:
Staff resources about working remote are on our website. We did this so that staff can easily access them offsite: www.tacomahousing.net/coronavirus-info-for-staff
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1.6.
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Plan to Separate Sick Employees and Employees Confirmed with Coronavirus:
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1. We will separate the following staff from others and send them home for 14 days to quarantine (even if they test negative) before returning to the worksite:
2. We have ensured that:
3. If an employee is confirmed to have Coronavirus, we will:
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1.7.
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Encourage Personal Preparedness:
We encouraged employees to take standard steps to prepare for staying at home if needed.
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We continue to email staff and post to social media information about personal preparedness steps like:
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1.8
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Prepare for operations under the Safe Start Plan directive from the government: We have determined that, under the Governor’s orders, the Tacoma Housing Authority is an essential business and exempt from closure. Accordingly, staff essential to THA’s business are themselves exempt. Staff who report to work will still be governed by state and THA expectations for social distancing and other precautions. On May 29, 2020 Governor. Inslee announced an updated 4-phase, county-by-county “Safe Start” reopening plan. During the Stay Home Stay Healthy order March 25, 2020 – May 31, 2020 Tacoma Housing Authority continued its operations in a limited capacity as it is considered an essential business. THA’s Stages are outlined in Appendix E. THA is currently in Stage 1. Each Stage will be based on THA’s ability to meet the guidance and requirements outlined in THA’s Workplace Safety Plan and as long as Pierce County has been approved to move to each aligned phase by the state. THA’s movement through its four stage will not be faster than Pierce County’s movement through its four phases. However, THA’s movement may be slower than the county’s. |
We will continue to fulfill our essential functions. During the Safe Start Plan we will begin to reopen and resume our operations and services in a staged approach as outlined in THA Workplace Safety Plan.
THA’s Reopen Team presented the following plans and proposals to the EOC for approval during June 2020:
Proposal for Non-Client Facing Employees
COVID Safety Plan for Public Facing Staff
COVID Safety Plan for Community Spaces
COVID Safety Plan for Staff Interacting with Clients
The Continuity of Operations Plan Appendix B – Face Coverings was also revised to require face coverings for all employees and visitors.
As we work through the reopen stages staff will continue to be responsible for these functions, or their backup, to report to our offices/sites as required. All non-client facing staff will be asked to complete work from home. The type and amount of work will be determined by the supervisor and may include work in support of the EOC.
Should we need to reduce essential functions, we will be prepared to modify the list of essential functions. This reduced list of functions will still include:
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2. Customers, Clients and Partners
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2.1.
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Prepare for Tenants and Landlords to be Challenged About Rent Payments Residents on fixed incomes will also experience financial impacts due to increased expenses that have resulted from few social services being offered. |
We have developed a policy to allow for a more lenient hardship and interim rent adjustment policies. Beginning March 25th, we asked clients to start reporting any financial hardships they are experiencing due to the pandemic. Based on the information received, we will reduce tenant rent payments through a Coronavirus-specific hardship rent policy. We have also made it easy for clients to request these adjustments by reducing the paperwork we usually require, e.g, allowing self-certification of income loss. We have also communicated with our landlord partners about the policy change. We coordinated our response with the rental assistance programs that the City of Tacoma is developing with its newly enhanced federal and state money. We suspended until December 1, 2021 the expiration of all-time limits on the duration of THA’s rental assistance. June 29, 2020 we issued Executive Emergency Action 12: Superseding Prior Actions re: Residential and Commercial Tenant Rents, Rent Adjustments & Program Documentation, and Time Limits. The purpose of Executive Action 12 is to update THA’s policies to comply with state proclamations and to account for federal requirements detailed in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The authorizations granted in this Executive Action supersede the following previous Executive Actions:
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2.2.
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Plan to Offer Moratorium Evictions for Non-Payment On October 14, 2020 (20-19.4 – COVID-19 Moratorium on Evictions) Governor Inslee extended the moratorium of March 18, 2020 (20-19 – COVID-19 Moratorium on Evictions) that was expanded and extended on April 16, 2020 (20-19.1 – COVID-19 Moratorium on Evictions), June 2, 2020 (20-19.2 – COVID-19 Moratorium on Evictions) and July 24, 2020 (20-19.3 – COVID-19 Moratorium on Evictions). This order prohibits issuing or serving the following notices until December 31, 2020:
On September 4, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) published an agency order titled “Temporary Halt in Residential Evictions to Prevent the Further Spread of COVID-19” (the “CDC Eviction Moratorium” or the “Moratorium”). The CDC Eviction Moratorium is effective September 4, 2020, through December 31, 2020. |
For both our residential and commercial tenants, we will not issue notices for non-payment of rent for the months of April 2020 through December 2020. Additionally, we will waive late fees. Through December 30, 2020, we will not issue any notices for non-payment of rent nor any notice to terminate a tenancy for other reasons necessary to respond to a significant and immediate risk to the health, safety, or property of others created by the resident. In such a case, the notice must attach an affidavit attesting to this necessity. Staff will confer with THA’s attorneys to discuss and prepare such a notice and affidavit. We will also not file any rent-related judicial actions for the months of April through December 2020. Effective April 16, 2020, we will not increase any contracts rent while the governor’s moratorium is in effect. Rent increase notices that were sent prior to April 16, will remain effective for the date stated on the notice. Additionally, we will allow for repayment plans for unpaid rents amongst our commercial tenants |
2.3.
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Coordinate Resources to Come On Site
We will attempt to coordinate on-site resources as we learn of population-level challenges. To date the widespread challenge that has been identified is food resources, medication, and medical supplies for our elderly/disabled clients, and students home due to school closures. We expect that if households run out of toilet paper, they will use other material that will damage building pipes.
Arranging these deliveries can serve several purposes:
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Under the Safe Start plan, senior and disabled residents are considered high-risk and are asked to continue to shelter in place through Phase Four. We continue to coordinate with local organizations to deliver food (prepared, boxed and fresh) to all seven elderly/disabled high rise buildings in our portfolio. We also worked with Tacoma Farmers market to connect residents with fresh food tickets that can be redeemed at the mobile farmers market and sites. Additionally, we are working with other partners to bring food to Arlington Drive and Bergerson Terrace.
We are also working with Korean Women’s Association to reach out to our tenants in elderly/disabled buildings to find out medication needs and help them get refills by mail. We will work to identify how to get residents needed toiletries and other items. We shop for bulk purchases. We have partnered with KCTC to provide meals to students at Salishan, Hillside Terrace and Bergerson Terrace. We have partnered with the Salishan Association and St Leos Food Bank to provide summer lunches at Salishan. Nourish Mobile Food Bank is also at Salishan every Friday. Tacoma Public Schools (TPS) is providing free lunch to all children under 18 through the 2020-21 school year. We have produced a document further outlining how we will serve our customers during this time. It has been incorporated as Attachment C to this document. |
2.4.
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Communication About Other Offsite Resources
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We continue to compile a list of available resources and host them on our website at: www.tacomahousing.net/coronavirus-resources
We will include a link to this website in our communication with tenants and Rental Assistance Participants. We will also post this information to our social media accounts.
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2.5.
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Communication About Coronavirus
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We communicate regularly with staff, clients, customers, and partners about our response to the COVID pandemic in the following ways:
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2.6.
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Prepare for how we will respond if a tenant is confirmed with Coronavirus
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Should we become aware that a tenant is displaying symptoms of Coronavirus, we will:
o Do you feel well? Are you experiencing any of these symptoms: shortness of breath, cough, fever?
o Have you seen a doctor?
o If the answer is NO ask:
Do you need support?
Multicare offers free e-visits for people who show symptoms of coronavirus. Offer to send them the link to the Multicare Virtual screening or offer to help them complete it over the phone: multicare.org/virtualcare
o If the answer is YES:
Did the doc test for COVID?
Are you following doctor’s orders?
Do you need support?
Should we become aware that a tenant in a high-rise building (and other THA properties with shared entrances) has been tested for Coronavirus because they have shown symptoms of the virus, we will:
If we get notified by TPCHD or by tenant that tenant has a confirmed case of Coronavirus. We will:
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2.7.
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Limit Staff Entry into Apartments. Phase in unit entry for routine repairs, inspections, and case workers through THA Stages.
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THA Stage One:
Maintenance staff and inspectors will not enter any apartment except in an urgent or an emergency. Staff will be trained as follows before entering even on those occasions:
Senior and Disabled Buildings will continue to stay in THA Stage One for emergency staff entry through THA Stage Four. PPE protocol and pre-entry questionnaire will be followed at all times through Stages One – Four for all properties.
THA Stage Two:
Family Properties Only - Maintenance will begin scheduling in coordination with the HQS inspectors to plan routine work orders in advance of beginning HQS inspections in THA Stage Three. Property Managers will begin annual housekeeping inspections in coordination with Annual HQS inspections. Property Management will communicate with residents of these inspections. If a CSE caseworker is unable to engage the clients over the phone or virtually, then case worker will knock on client’s door (knock and talk) using PPE protocol. If the resident is at home, maintain social distance, and not enter the unit.
THA Stage Three:
Family Properties Only - Maintenance will continue to complete work orders, HQS inspectors will resume all Inspections, Property Managers will continue Annual Unit Inspections and case worker will knock and talk as necessary.
THA Stage Four:
Maintenance, Inspectors, Property Management and Case Workers will resume normal operations at all properties using PPE protocol and pre-entry questionnaire.
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2.8.
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Addressing Isolation and Stress of Residents
We should expect that our clients will suffer from isolation and stress during the pandemic. Our senior and disabled clients may be more likely to suffer this.
We will attempt to ease this distress.
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Our case workers are in regular communication with THA’s residents and connecting them to resources, as needed.
We have delivered bag of side-walk chalk to all THA family properties. Each bag contained a flyer inviting children, and others, to use the chalk to spread color throughout their neighborhood on sidewalks, walkways, and play yards. To every apartment in our senior buildings, we delivered a bottle of bubbles, with a flyer inviting them to blow bubbles. Each flyer also had a reminder about social distancing and hand washing.
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2.9.
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Continue to encourage limited Social Visiting
Senior and Disabled residents are considered high-risk populations and are asked to continue to shelter in place through Phase Four of the State’s Safe Start Plan.
We will attempt to encourage limiting unnecessary visits.
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We have discontinued the security guards monitoring the entrances of the seven high rise buildings that we placed there to discourage visiting by anyone not exempted by the Governor’s Stay Home order.
The full detail on these restrictions can be found in Appendix D of this document.
We will continue to encourage residents of the Senior and Disabled buildings to limit social visiting.
We will check in regularly with the TRAC board
We will monitor security reports
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2.10.
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Required Face Covering
The Governor’s Proclamation of June 2, 2020 requires all persons in the state to wear face coverings when out in public, with limited exceptions and requires all businesses to limit entry to their premises to persons who are complying with the directive.
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THA will explore its ability to deliver face masks to all its residents and rental assistance clients, along with a written reminder of the Governor’s order. July 15, 2020 THS received 12,500 washable face masks from Pierce County that were distributed to tenants and clients (including special programs and shadow portfolio properties).
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3. Properties
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3.1.
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Maintain Sanitary Common Spaces in our Residential Properties
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Effective March 13th, all community rooms and computer labs were closed in our residential buildings. We also discontinued meeting with tenants in our offices located in residential buildings.
We posted signs at elevators and benches to discourage congregating.
We installed temporary fencing to make play structures inaccessible, with explanatory signage.
We posted signs on benches limiting their use to one person at a time.
We posted signs on elevators limiting them to two person per ride.
We will begin to open community rooms at Family properties during THA’s Stage Three with limited capacity, in accordance with the state’s Safe Start Plan. We will not open community rooms at Senior and Disabled buildings until Stage Four. We will ensure the spaces are cleaned before and after each use.
We will begin to open the computer labs at the family properties during THA’s Stage Two with limited capacity. Use will be by appointment only and the property management staff will monitor and clean between each use.
We will continue to monitor Metro Park’s plan for reopening their playgrounds and parks and apply any restrictions within our portfolio, if necessary.
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3.2.
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Continue to Make our Properties Safe and Sanitary for Residents
While Tacoma and the nation is in a state of heightened social distancing to curb Coronavirus, we still have an obligation to maintain the health and safety of our residents.
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Elevators, hallways, and entrances will continue to be used in our high-rise buildings. In these buildings, we will regularly sanitize all high touch areas twice daily during weekdays. Our maintenance crew will thoroughly address each common area and sanitize areas such as but not limited to door handles, elevator buttons, handrails, counter tops, and common area bathrooms. This sanitization will be in addition to our normal schedule of janitorial work in these locations.
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4. Funding
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4.1.
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Search for funding for Coronavirus related expenditures
We have not budgeted for the costs associated with this crisis. We will search for funds to reimburse the agency for its costs. We will determine which funding source is the best fit for each expense so that we can utilize available resources to the maximum benefit.
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We created a code CV19 in the “Type” dimension in our financial system. As much as possible, we will code all coronavirus expenses, included payroll to this code.
These expenses could include:
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4.2.
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Review Insurance Coverage
Some of our losses and expenses may be covered by our insurance policies.
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Potential sources of funding include:
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5. Other
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5.1.
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Holding Open Public Meetings While in Emergency Status
While in this emergency status, we might still need to hold regular meetings that are subject to the Open Public Meetings Act, Chap. 42.30 RCW. We will comply with these requirements while practicing safe practices as provided by the TPCHD.
On March 24, 2020, Governor Inslee issued Proclamation BY the Governor 20-28 order allowing public entities to hold meetings remotely and waive the requirement to provide in-person settings.
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5.2.
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Housing Under Construction
We have three buildings (two at Arlington Drive and The Rise on 19th) of affordable housing under construction that is scheduled to be completed in 2020. Our financing sources for this construction impose deadlines for getting them built and occupied. This is especially the case for Low Income Housing Tax Credit financing and the governing federal rules. Missing those deadlines will mean THA loses financing.
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