Willington Housing Authority
40 Old Farms Road
December 10, 2008
Meeting Minutes
Members Present:
Robert Campbell
Claudia D’Agata
Cindy Wilson
Wilbur Gangaway
Also present:
Dave Berto- housing consultant
Mike Eldredge- First Selectman
Mark Palmer-Selectman
Dave Cheret- Selectman
R. Campbell called the Housing Authority meeting to order at 6:00 PM. He asked to move present to speak to the beginning of the meeting as the Selectman were there to talk to the board.
R. Campbell passed out plans for the senior cottages to all the board members and the board of Selectman. He stated that he had spoke to First Selectman Eldredge before the meeting and decided it would be beneficial to show the Selectman the plans for the cottages and have Mr. Berto present to discuss the funding and a time line for the project. R. Campbell stated that Mr. Eldredge will be able to tell the board about possible funding that the town of Willington has to offer to the project.
R. Campbell asked the Selectman to look through the three plan options. He stated that option three is the most affordable and keeps with the original design for the property. He stated that option two is slightly different and in option one the buildings are built separate from one another. R. Campbell went on to explain that all options allow for emergency vehicles to get through the complex, but all options will need to go to Planning and Zoning for a special permit. He explained that they would like to have a mix of one and two bedroom apartments, but need the plans to specify that the two bedroom apartments are a bedroom and a den, and only designed for two people. Mr. Eldredge asked how the original design for the septic system differs from the current plans.
R. Campbell said that the current plan is over built for what they need so they will be fine no water what option they choose.
The board and Selectmen discussed the water capacity for the cottages. R. Campbell said that he thinks it was based on the number of residents that were originally intended for the site, which they are now building fewer cottages. He stated that there are two water sources one for potable water and one for fire emergency. The board discussed if the plan included bringing the water to the Town Office Building and to Center School. R. Campbell said there is enough capacity to extend the water.
Mr. Palmer asked what Planning and Zoning originally approved for the site. R. Campbell said that they approved twenty four units both one and two bedrooms. R. Campbell stated that PZC wanted everything on the originally site plan before the senior center was built so all phases were considered and thought out from the beginning. Mr. Palmer asked who will regulate the septic system. Mr. Berto said the DEP will.
Mr. Eldredge discussed the EDI grant that the town received for this project; he stated that it requires that all contractors are competitively bid. The group discussed the engineer bids. Mr. Eldredge said that he would like to use Hank Torcellini from Gardener & Peterson. He said he feels he knows the most about the project. Mr. Eldredge went on to explain that Larry Wagner will administer the grant. R. Campbell asked if this grant can be used for info structure. Mr. Eldredge said yes, it can be used for the access road, parking, drainage, bringing in water, electrical, individual septic tanks, or pump chambers.
R. Campbell stated that the architect and engineers need to be paid for designing the cottages and their systems, he asked how much of the grant can be used to pay for these services. Mr. Eldredge said he does not think that the money can be used to design building, but could be used to plot a foot print to locate where the buildings will be placed. He suggested asking Mr. Wagner about exactly how the money is allowed to be spent.
The board of Selectmen stated that the Housing Authority will need to put in a new application to PZC. R. Campbell discussed how the three options for the cottages meet PZC guidelines.
R. Campbell asked the board of Selectmen what their plan was for running the water system up to the town office building and to Center School. Mr. Palmer stated that they have a STEEP grant that will pay for the extension of the water system. He explained that they can have the grant pay to run the water line past the cottages so they can hook into the system. Mr. Eldredge discussed the route that he thought the water system should go. He stated that he would like to see it run to the upper access road. Mr. Palmer said that he thought it could run right through phase three then up to the town office building.
R. Campbell asked the board of Selectmen what was available to the housing authority from the original $176,000. Mr. Eledredge said that the housing authority would need to go to the board of finance to request re-appropriating the money to them. He stated that they would need to have a specific budget for what they money would be used for when they go to ask for the money. Mr. Eldredge said that right now he is considering that money emergency money for the town should they not get grants that they need and they need to find a pocket of money to keep the town running. C. Wilson asked if that money could be requested to be used for the architect. Mr. Eldredge said that they need to go to the board of finance and ask to have it re-appropriated. Mr. Palmer
stated that he felt the money was returned to the town for phase three, so they should be able to use it.
Mr. Eldredge encouraged the housing authority to apply for the next EDI grant when it comes out. The group discussed if the project would be considered “shovel ready”. Mr. Palmer said that the government is looking to put money into “shovel ready” projects. He stated that he feels this project is “shovel ready” as they already have plans drawn up and the majority of the infrastructure in place from phase one and two.
R. Campbell read the minutes from the town meeting where a decision was made regarding the $176,000. The group discussed how they interpreted the decision. R. Campbell asked if the housing authority could take engineer fees or consultant fees out of the $176,000. Mr. Eldredge said he thought that some could come from that and that there was a line item of $18,000 in the EDI grant that could be used for engineering or consulting. He also suggested having Karl Asomovic the town engineer sub contract with Gardner and Peterson.
The group discussed paying scale wages and the time schedule of having two projects going on at once with the water system and the start to the building of phase three. They stated that they need to make sure that they don’t have two jobs going on at once where one job is being paid scale wages and the other is not.
Mr. Berto asked when the town water line will be in place. The board of Selectmen thought they would be able to start the project by June. He asked how long they felt the project would take to move out of the area of phase three. The board said they should only be in that area for a few days.
R. Campbell referred the group back to the three options for phase three. He stated that he though option three was the best for construction but the hardest to perform maintenance. Mr. Palmer stated that he thought options one and two would create a traffic problem flowing into the senior center parking lot.
Mr. Eldredge asked if they could have a mix of low and moderate incomes so they could get 202 funding. R. Campbell stated that they want the cottages to be for moderate and at rate. Mr. Eldredge asked what other grants are available to the Housing Authority for this project. Mr. Berto said that they can apply for a USDA grant, DPUC among others.
R. Campbell stated that he feels it is important that all parties involved stay in connect and keep each other up to date of the progress of all projects concerning phase three and the water system.
R. Campbell told the board of Selectmen that the Housing Authority is looking to make this a green project. Mr. Eldredge said that they need to be very careful of the wells and should contact the DPUC regarding them. Mr. Palmer said that the community water system needs to be looked into as well to see if it can handle a green project.
R. Campbell asked the Board of Selectmen what they thought the Housing Authority needed to do as their first step to get moving on the project. Mr. Eledredge said that they need to get a quote for the architect and engineer and then go to the board of finance and ask for the money to be re-appropriated. R. Campbell asked if the board of Selectmen will go with them to finance
to support them on this project. The Selectmen said that they would support them.
R. Campbell said that he would like to get on the agenda as soon as possible for the board of finance. He stated that he would like the water line plan to include going to the cottages before heading to the town office building or to Center School. R. Campbell said he will try to get on the agenda for the first meeting in January.
New Business
R. Campbell asked Mr. Berto to put together a preliminary budget that they would be able to present to the board of finance. C. D’Agata asked about the cost for Crosskey and Gardner & Peterson. Mr. Berto said that he had some concerns over the high costs of both firms.
R. Campbell signed Dave Bertos contract to be the consultant for the phase three of the senior housing project.
R. Campbell asked Mr. Berto if he thought the Housing Authority could hire Gardner & Peterson seperatly instead of having the architect hire him. Mr. Berto said that a separate contract could be written up.
The Housing Authority discussed Crosskey’s contract. They stated that Crosskey wants all the money for the first three phases of the project up front, which would total $176,000. R. Campbell said that the
Housing Authority does not have enough money to pay him up front. He suggested proposing to Crosskey that they will pay him his asking price, but Crosskey will need to wait for funding to come in to get all of his costs paid. R. Campbell suggested having a lawyer look at Crosskey’s contract. Mr. Berto said that he felt it was a standard contract and felt comfortable having the board sign it. Mr. Berto said that he will talk to Crosskey about changing the language of the contract to allow for payment after funding comes in. Mr. Berto said he will also ask Crosskey not to charge them for LED certification or printing.
The board went over the other contracts as well. They stated that Hank Torcellini’s contract needs to be changed to state they are building one bedroom apartments and one bedroom with dens. They also stated that Gardener & Peterson’s contract needs to have the amount that they are liable for changed.
Mr. Berto said that he will work with Mr. Wagner to figure out how they can set up the engineering work through the EDI grant. C. D’Agata asked who will handle the money from the grant. Mr. Berto explained that Mr. Wagner will need to approve all expenditures and then the finance department will be asked to cut a check from a line item set up in the Housing Authorities account.
C. D’Agata asked if they need to decide which building option they are going to use so the cost can be determined. R. Campbell said that all three options will cost the same to design.
The board set their regular meetings for 2009. They decided to change their meeting date to the second Monday of the month at 6:00 PM.
R. Campbell said that he would like to have Crosskey at their next regular meeting.
Old Business
None
Minutes
C. Wilson made a motion to approve Novembers meeting minutes, C. D’Agata seconded the motion. All members were in favor.
Treasures Report
Correspondence
1.CONN Nahro minutes from 11/20/08
2. Memo from state of CT from Animal population control program. Vouchers available for section 8 renters to spay or neuter their pets
3. Invitation to annual CONN Nahro holiday party.
C. Wilson made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:15 PM, C. D’Agata seconded the motion. All members were in favor.
Respectfully Submitted,
Melissa McDonough
Recording Clerk
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