Willington Housing Authority
40 Old Farms Road
November 09, 2009
Meeting Minutes
Members Present:
Robert Campbell
Claudia D’Agata
Wilbur Gangaway
Tyler Millix
Excused:
Cindy Wilson
Also present:
Dave Berto
R. Campbell called the Housing meeting to order at 6:03 PM.
Nomination of Officers
C. D’Agata made a motion to keep the existing officers in place, W. Gangaway seconded the motion. All members voted in favor.
Chairman- Robert Campbell
vice chair- Wilbur Gangaway
Treasurer- Claudia D’Agata
Secretary- Cindy Wilson
Minutes
W. Gangaway made a motion to approve September’s minutes. C. D’Agata seconded the motion. All members voted in favor.
Treasurers report
The balance as of 10/5/09 was $2309.28. Payroll expenses for two months were paid totaling $107.66 leaving a balance of $2201.62.
Correspondence
1. Conn. NAHRO membership drive information
2. Letter from L. Wagner & Associates Re: Legal reimbursement
3. Bill from Mayo Crowe
Old Business
R. Campbell stated that he would like to pay at least half the Mayo Crowe bill from the Housing Authorities budget, as the bill is not outstanding. All board members agreed.
R. Campbell said he would like to discuss the letter received from L. Wagner & Associates. He said the letter states that the housing authority needs to prove how they hired Mayo Crowe before they can be paid. R. Campbell stated that Mayo Crowe has been the Housing Authorizes lawyer for many years so they did not go through a bidding process to use them this last time. Mr. Berto asked how Mayo Crowe was originally hired by the Housing Authority. R. Campbell said he was referred to them. Mr. Berto suggested that the Housing Authority explain to Mr. Wagner that they have been working with this particular lawyer for many years and he charges hourly opposed to being on retainer. C. D’Agata pointed out that the letter says services need to go out to bid if they
are over $5000 and both outstanding bills that the Housing Authority has are under $5000.
R. Campbell discussed the process the Housing Authority went through when hiring a consultant for phase III of the senior housing. He discussed the other consultants that they met with and stated that Mr. Berto’s billing system worked best for the town. He stated that the architect for the project was selected before the grant was written, so they did not go through a bidding process to hire him.
R. Campbell said that he would like to have a meeting with Mr. Wagner and Mr. Berto. R. Campbell asked Mr. Berto to call Mr. Wagner and see what his schedule is and when he might be available to meet with them.
R. Campbell asked about the money that is left over from the ASHOW project. Mr. Berto explained that $176,000 has been but into the general fund, but a resolution has been written that states the money is to be used by the Housing Authority. Mr. Berto explained that part of the money was from a Federal grant and must be used according to the federal guidelines. He stated that part of the money is from the ASHOW water project and does not have any restrictions. C. D’Agata asked if they can pay the unpaid bills with the left over ASHOW money. R. Campbell said that they must receive permission from the board of selectman before using the money, per the town resolution. Mr. Berto suggested that they first meet with Mr. Wagner to discuss it and then meet with the
board of selectmen to see if the outstanding bills can be paid that way.
W. Gangaway asked if the town can use the left over money for other things. R. Campbell said that technically the town could take it and use it for whatever they wanted, as it is in the general fund, but it was originally given to the Housing Authority for completion of phase III of senior housing and the town created the resolution to support that. Mr. Berto stated that during their meeting with Mr. Wagner they need to point out that the $176,000 is not part of a federal grant.
Mr. Berto told everyone that the DECD grant was lost due to the land being in a conservation area. Mr. Berto went over the maps with everyone to explain the lines and where the area starts. R. Campbell asked Mr. Berto to meet with Susan Yorgensen from Planning and Zoning to see if she has any ideas as to what the next step would be in getting the state maps changed.
C. D’Agata asked R. Campbell if he has applied for insurance for the board. He said he has not as they do not have enough money in their budget to pay for it. T. Millix asked why they cannot be under the town’s insurance. R. Campbell asked C. D’Agata to call the insurance agent to see if she can get forms together. T. Millix asked if the Housing Authority is providing a governmental function. Mr. Berto said that they were put in place to better the community and are under the town charter to build affordable senior housing in town. The board discussed the possibility of being but under a town rider on their insurance policy. C. D’Agata read the guidelines from the State of CT regarding Housing Authorities. It suggested that the
town should include a rider on their policy to cover board members. W. Gangaway asked if they were ever covered. R. Campbell said he will look into his old records.
New Business
T. Millix informed the board that he will be resigning from the Housing Authority after this month as he has been elected as one of the town Selectmen. The board stated that they will look for a replacement for T. Millix.
C. D’Agata made a motion to adjourn. W. Gangaway seconded the motion.
Respectfully Submitted,
Melissa McDonough
Recording Clerk
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