East Windsor Housing Authority
Special Meeting – March 26, 2007
Minutes
CALL TO ORDER AND ATTENDANCE
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Chairman Karen Boutin. Commissioners LaMay, Legassie, Mezzetti and Percoski were in attendance, along with Gil Hayes our liaison to the Board of Selectman.
ADDED AGENDA ITEMS
There were no added agenda items.
MEETING MINUTES OF:
Regular Meeting – February 20, 2007
The minutes of the regular meeting of February 20, 2007 were reviewed by all Commissioners present. A motion was made by Commissioner LaMay, seconded by Commissioner Percoski to accept the minutes of the regular meeting of February 20, 2007 as presented.
LaMay/Percoski Unanimous
PUBLIC COMMENTS
Elizabeth Lamb, Apt. 61 questioned Commissioner Legassie regarding the article that was in the Hartford Courant, and her generalization that the mentally challenged should not be living with the elderly. Ms. Lamb stated that she is one of the people mentioned in the article as she is bi-polar and takes medications every day.
Commissioner Legassie responded to this by saying that she feels that the “mentally challenged” individuals who need to have their medications monitored so that they will take them should not be living in an elderly complex. Commissioner Mezzetti also responded to this by saying most everybody is bi-polar to some extent and that the individuals discussed in the article are those that suffer from schizophrenia who can be extremely dangerous if they do not take the proper medications.
Ms. Lamb reiterated that she is bi-polar, has been for over 30 years and takes medications on a daily basis.
There followed a lengthy discussion regarding the issue of the mentally challenged living among the Senior populations with no resolution.
Brenda Boland spoke at this point by saying that she felt the article put the Park Hill residents at risk by portraying them as helpless. She also said that the only way to solve this problem was to follow the chain of command all the way to the President if necessary; since it was a President that signed the order forming Social Security Disability – it would take a President to reform Social Security Disability.
Marie DeSousa, a resident of the Town of East Windsor who was present at the February 20, 2007 meeting, chose this time to speak. She stated that she had a rebuttal to the minutes of the February 20th meeting but that it was a moot point since the minutes had already been approved.
Ms. DeSousa stated that she had questioned the PILOT payment and had conferred with Mary Szabo, the Town Treasurer, and that all of her questions had been answered.
Ms. DeSouza once again touched on the subject of the snow removal from the storm of February 14th by bringing up the Town Ordinance regarding snow removal from sidewalks and parking lots after a storm. The Chairman, Karen Boutin, responded to this by stating that everyone, including the Highway Dept. had a very difficult time cleaning up after that particular storm due to the amount of ice that had fallen as well as the snow. Ms. Boutin went on further to say that we do the best we can to make the parking lots and sidewalks as safe as possible for our residents.
BILLS AND COMMUNICATIONS
Check Register – February 21 – March 21, 2007
The check register for February 21 – March 21, 2007 was reviewed by all commissioners present and all questions answered. A motion was made by Commissioner Percoski, seconded by Commissioner Mezzetti to accept the check register of February 21 – March 21, 2007 as presented.
Percoski/Mezzetti Unanimous
Bank Reconciliation February, 2007
The Bank Reconciliation of February, 2007 was reviewed by all Commissioners present.
REPORTS OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Apartments
We have three apartments vacant as this time. We have people to go into them as soon as they are ready.
Our remediation for mold and mildew with the new chemical treatment has been successful to date. Only time will tell.
Our waiting list is still closed and probably will not be opened until mid-summer.
Auditor
Our new auditor will be James Lagana of Lagana & Company from Enfield. He has been given the option of conducting the audit every year or every two years as required by the State.
There was an error in the reporting last month of the cost of the audit from Bardaglio, Hart and Shuman. The cost for the audit was $4,000/yr making a total of $8,000 for the 2 years, not $6,000 as previously stated.
We will also begin setting up our bookkeeping with QuickBooks Pro. We are waiting to be contacted by Ms. Lee Ann Doherty, a consultant for QuickBooks, who will be setting up all the necessary data files, construction and customization for us.
Vacations
I will be out of the office, on vacation from April 6 through April 22.
Tractor, mower, snow plow
Our tractor broke down again and we had to repair it to the tune of $204.00. This time it was the replacement of the head gasket on the engine, a battery and electrical wiring that had burned out.
The office was contacted by Mary Szabo, Treasurer for the Town of East Windsor, inquiring if it would be alright for them to have contact with our auditor regarding the PILOT payment which was correct at the current audit. Ms. Szabo informed me that the request had come from Marie DeSousa, but she was led to believe that it was a consensus of the Board of Finance to make this request; there are no irregularities with the PILOT payment. This is the second time that a request has been made for copies of our audit – in January of 2004 Noreen Farmer asked for copies.
A letter was received from Rep. Ted Graziani thanking several of our residents for the letter regarding the high cost of electricity here at Park Hill. In the letter Rep. Graziani explained that there are several bills that the House Democrats are currently pushing which would help reduce electricity costs. He also suggested writing to Rep. Steve Fontana and Sen. John Fonfara with concerns over the electric rates; writing letters maybe the only way things will change. Along these lines, I am looking into an upgrade of the electrical in the apartments. The electrical hasn’t been upgraded since these apartments were built; maybe it is time to change the meters or some other type of measure to help our people out.
REPORTS OF COMMITTEES
There were no Reports of Committees
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
There was no Unfinished Business
NEW BUSINESS
There was no New Business
POLICY AND PROCEDURES
There were no new Policies and procedures.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
A motion was made by Commissioner Percoski, seconded by Commissioner Legassie to go into Executive Session at 7:50 p.m. for the purpose of discussion of Employee Performance, to include the Executive Director and Administrative Assistant as needed.
Percoski/Legassie Unanimous
A motion was made by Commissioner Mezzetti, seconded by Commissioner Legassie to come out of Executive Session at 8:10 p.m.
Mezzetti/Legassie Unanimous
ACTION TAKEN: A motion was made by Commissioner Percoski, seconded by Commissioner Mezzetti to accept the employee evaluations as presented.
Percoski/Mezzetti Unanimous
ADJOURNMENT
A motion was made by Commissioner Percoski, seconded by Commissioner Mezzetti to adjourn the regular meeting of the East Windsor Housing Authority at 8:15.m.
Percoski/Mezzetti Unanimous
Respectfully submitted,
Steven D. Knibloe
Executive Director
Darlene H. Kelly
Recording Secretary
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