Willington Housing Authority
40 Old Farms Road
June 8, 2009
Meeting Minutes
Members Present:
Robert Campbell
Wilbur Gangaway
Claudia D’Agata
Cindy Wilson
Tyler Millex
Also Present:
Dave Berto
R. Campbell called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM.
C. D’Agata made a motion to approve the May meeting minutes, T. Millex seconded the motion. All members voted in favor.
C. D’Agata presented the treasurers report; she stated that the balance as of 5/11/09 was $2463.10. The payroll expenses for May were $53.82 leaving a balance of $2409.28.
Old Business
Mr. Berto told the board that funding in the State of CT for affordable housing is in disarray at the moment. He stated that the head of DECD retired early and they are not sure who will be taking his place. Mr. Berto stated that he has been trying to get in touch with Mike Santoro who may be the interim director.
Mr. Berto went on to explain what the funding options are for the Willington Housing project. He said the three main funders are DECD, CHIF, and LISK. These three agencies all offer predevelopment funding, DECD offers at 0% interest and if the project fails they forgive the loan, the applications are not public so he has been trying to get a hold of someone at DECD to discuss the project to see if they can receive an application. Mr. Berto stated that the board needs to find out how they are going to pay the architect before they apply for any of the loans. Mr. Berto said CHIF is more bank like in their lending with interest rates and the need to put up collateral. He stated that CHIF does have one program where they will lend money that does not have to be paid back if
the project does not move forward but they must first approve the project.
LISK also loans money but required collateral from the town and the loan must be paid back with interest. T. Millex asked what other towns have used as collateral. Mr. Berto said that towns can use vacant land.
R. Campbell asked Mr. Berto if he spoke with Crosskey or Larry Wagner regarding the project. Mr. Berto said he has not because he has to know how the design funding will be set up before he can go for additional funding.
W. Gangaway asked if a cretin number of apartments need to be set aside for low income families. Mr. Berto said that he does not know now, but most likely about one third will be set aside for families who are 50% and below the median income.
Mr. Berto told the board that the water and town taxes need to be carefully laid out before building occurs. He stated that a written agreement should be developed beforehand. Mr. Berto went on to state that they need predevelopment funding to help the board iron out all the small details of the project.
Mr. Berto asked the board if anyone had heard about the grant he put in to Courtney’s office. He stated that he applied on behalf of the town, so the Selectman’s office should be the first to hear about it. The board stated that they had not heard anything. Mr. Berto said he would send Mr. Eldredge an email regarding the status of the grant.
R. Campbell told the board that he spoke with their insurance agent regarding insurance quotes and she will get back to him with pricing in the next few days.
New Business
R. Campbell asked Mr. Berto if he could put together a timeline for the project. Mr. Berto said he will do that and it will be a good thing to include in applications for additional funding to DECD.
The board discussed whether they should attend the annual Conn-NAHRO conference. They all agreed that they were too early on in the project for it to be beneficial.
The board decided not to meet in August.
W. Gangaway made a motion to adjourn at 6:40 PM. C. D’Agata seconded the motion.
Respectfully Submitted,
Melissa McDonough
Recording Clerk
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