Willington Housing Authority
40 Old Farms Road
December 14, 2009
Meeting Minutes
Members Present:
Robert Campbell
Claudia D’Agata
Wilbur Gangaway
Also present:
Dave Berto- housing consultant
Christina Mailhos- First Selectman
R. Campbell called the Housing Authority meeting to order at 6:00 PM. R. Campbell said that he spoke with Don Berg who had been on the Housing Authority in the past and was interested in joining again.
W. Gangaway made a motion to approve November’s minutes. C. D’Agata seconded the motion. All members voted in favor.
C. D’Agata presented the treasurers report she stated that the balance as of 11/9/09 was $2201.62. Payroll expenses paid were $53.82 and legal expenses paid were $937.32 leaving a balance of $1210.30.
The Housing authority members went over the list of suggested dates to meet for next year. W. Gangaway made a motion to approve the proposed dates. C. D’Agata seconded the motion, all members voted in favor.
First Selectperson Christina Mailhos arrived at the meeting to discuss the vacancy on the board as well as money that is in the general fund earmarked for the housing authority. R. Campbell said that Don Berg is interested in rejoining the board. Ms. Mailhos said she will contact him to discuss being appointed to the board.
R. Campbell said he would also like to discuss the money that was left over from the water and sewer construction at the HUD senior housing. The money was from an EDI grant that has been closed out so it no longer falls under EDI requirements. R. Campbell went on to explain that the town made a resolution regarding the money and moved it from the Housing Authorities line item to the general fund. The money is still set aside for the Housing Authority but when they want to use it, it must be approved by Larry Wagner. This has become a problem because he has asked for documentation of how contractors such as the architect have been hired. The Housing Authority feels they should not have to provide this documentation as this money does not have EDI requirements. Ms. Mailhos asked why the money was moved in the first place. The Housing Authority said that they do not know, they suspect because there was the possibility of the general funding being short that year and the board
of selectmen wanted to make sure there was not a short fall. Ms. Mailhos said she needs to look into the situation call Mr. Eldredge and Larry Wagner so she can better understand the situation. Then she will make a decision and let the Housing Authority know. Ms. Mailhos asked how much money the Housing Authority has now. R. Campbell said only $1210.30 which is not enough to cover outstanding bills.
The board told Ms. Mailhos that they would like to get directors and officers insurance. They said that they had always thought that they were covered by the town insurance but recently learned that they are not. The previous first selectman told them that they must get their own insurance and cannot be covered by a town rider. R. Campbell said he feels it will be less expensive to be covered by the town’s insurance than on their own. As they do not have enough funds in their own account now they will need to request that the insurance be covered by the town as well. C. D’Agata read the State of CT Housing Authority insurance policy which stated that town’s should cover housing boards.
Ms. Mailhos asked if they Housing Authority is able to move forward without more money. R. Campbell said no. All contractors are hired but have not been paid so the board is unable to move forward at this time. Mr. Berto said that it is important that they move quickly as they are trying to get an application into the state to get more funding.
Mr. Berto told the housing authority that he needs to know when they have money from the town for pre-development. R. Campbell asked Mr. Berto to call Larry Wagner’s office to discuss what is going on. Mr. Berto discussed the area of conservation that is mapped on the OPM map which caused the DECD grant to be denied. Mr. Berto said that Susan Yorgensen called WINCOG and asked them to call OPM who inturn will call DECD and request that they look at the map and see if the area can be moved to resemble the actual area of conservation. Mr. Berto said they should hear back from WINCOG in a few days. Mr. Berto explained that several different things could happen, DECD can say that they are unable to do anything about the map or they may admit that they made a mistake and
change it or they may say that the town needs to go through a procedure to change the map which requires a legislative hearing.
The Housing Authority discussed other funding that might be available once they have matching funds. Mr. Berto suggested speaking to DECD regarding the denied application explaining the situation with the inaccurate map to see if they can resubmit the application once the map has been changed. Mr. Berto suggested having Susan Yorgensen and an elected official call as well.
Correspondence
1. Letter from Don Berg RE: request to join Housing Authority
2. Bill from Mayo Crow
W. Gangaway made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:00 PM, C. D’Agata seconded the motion. All members were in favor.
Respectfully Submitted,
Melissa McDonough
Recording Clerk
| 
