Willington Housing Authority
60 Old Farms Road
Sept. 6, 2011 Meeting Minutes
Present: Chair Robert Campbell, Vice Chair Wilbur Gangaway, Treasurer Claudia D’Agata, members Laurel Millix and Don Berg, First Selectwoman Christina B. Mailhos, Selectman Tyler Millix, architect Bill Crosskey, engineer Eric Peterson (Gardener and Peterson), Recording Clerk Brenda Sullivan.
Agenda Item I - Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by Chair Robert Campbell at 6:04 p.m.
Agenda Item V - Present to Speak: Consultants E. Peterson and B. Crosskey
Engineering consultant E. Peterson updated the Housing Authority on the timeline for making an application to the Planning and Zoning Commission for the Willington senior housing project. In order for the P&Z to formally receive the application at its Sept. 20, 2011 meeting, it needs to be submitted by Sept. 14, he said.
First Selectwoman C. Mailhos asked if the Housing Authority should ask the Board of Selectmen to approve the application before it is submitted to P&Z.
Chair R. Campbell said the Town signs the application as owner of the property, but that he did not think the application requires formal approval by the Board of Selectmen.
Selectman T. Millix asked if the Board of Selectmen would need to approve the application precisely because the Town is the property owner. He also asked if once the new housing is complete, will the town will be responsible for any costs?
R. Campbell said the project is supposed to be self-supporting, although the Housing Authority might ask for some form of support from the Town.
T. Millix said that because town-owned assets are being committed to the project, his concern is that issues might come up in the future, i.e. someone may ask when the town decided to use taxpayer funds for plowing, and there should be some kind of documentation to answer these kinds of questions.
R. Campbell suggested that T. Millix speak with financial consultant David Berto about these questions.
C. Mailhos noted that technically, the Board of Selectmen did approve of this housing project because it previously decided it would be part of the overall plan for this site, together with Willington Woods and the Senior Center.
C. Mailhos said that the next Board of Selectmen’s meeting is Sept. 13, which would be before the Housing Authority’s deadline for submitting an application to P&Z (Sept. 14) if the Housing Authority wanted to make a presentation.
R. Campbell noted that the Housing Authority won’t know if the project will be built until they know whether it will be funded. He added that until it becomes a construction plan, what’s being discussed now is just a concept plan.
T. Millix asked if the project is approved (by the P&Z and Wetlands), will it bind the Town to build the housing? R. Campbell said it would not.
He added that if the project receives enough funding, the Housing Authority won’t need to ask the town for any support.
C. D’Agata referenced a memo sent by D. Berto to Housing Authority members, “Willington Senior Cottages Project Development Summary,” and said there are a number of items D. Berto needs “almost immediately,” such as a letter that documents the Town is donating the land at no charge and an appraisal of its value, as well as documentation about taxes – i.e. will they be reduced or waived by the Town.
She added that this means the Board of Selectmen does need to provide certain documentation.
D. Berg also noted that D. Berto is working on submitting the project’s loan application by Sept. 30, 2011.
W. Gangaway said he would like to keep the Board of Selectmen up to date on the project.
C. Mailhos said her concern is that the general public be kept informed about the project and understands the Town’s role.
R. Campbell asked C. Mailhos if a meeting with D. Berto and a representative of the Housing Authority could be scheduled with the Board of Selectmen in order to answer any questions. He asked C. Mailhos to let him know what documents she thinks the Board of Selectmen would want to see. He added that town residents also can ask questions of the Housing Authority directly.
C. Mailhos said she’d also like to be able to answer any questions the Board of Finance might ask of her.
E. Peterson said he will meet with C. Mailhos on Thursday morning (Sept 8) so she can sign the P&Z application as representative for the Town. B. Campbell signed it as chair of the Housing Authority/applicant.
E. Peterson said the P&Z will look at this concept plan in terms of health and safety issues and as to whether it fits within the prior zone change.
E. Peterson then reviewed landscaping plans developed by consultant John Alexopolous, a UConn professor, who did the landscaping for the Senior Center. He is known for using local species so that they create continuity on a site, and they keep maintenance costs low. Some of these plantings include Rugosa Rose, hydrangeas, shade trees, flowering pear trees, cherry trees, pink rose bushes and oak trees. Plantings will be placed along retaining walls (to hide them), in islands between the sidewalks, and in parking lot islands. He noted that trees cost less than a grouping of bushes and look better.
E. Peterson also indicated the location of windows on the plans and said that the architect added a utility room with a hatchway.
Discussion of septic system hookup followed and R. Campbell said connecting with the Senior Center, as required by the DEEP, is something that needs to be discussed with the Board of Selectmen. The cost of the hookup would be paid by the Housing Authority project, which would save the town more than $5,000, he said.
D. Berg said this is important to point out if the Housing Authority does ask the Town for tax abatements. E. Peterson added that the fact that there will be 80 extra parking spaces for the Senior Center also should be pointed out.
E. Peterson said that it has been the intention “since day one” that the system would be connected. He added that it needs to be shown in the plan or the DEEP will not approve the plan.
E. Peterson talked about exterior lighting. He said he asked the firm that designed the exterior lighting for Willington Woods senior housing and the Senior Center to develop a plan for the new housing. The same fixtures would be used.
B. Crosskey said the lights fixtures are “full cut off,” meaning they provide good lighting but the bulbs aren’t visible. E. Petersen said the new lighting won’t be any brighter than what is there now for existing structures at the complex.
W. Gangaway said there have been problems with lighting outages at the complex and he hopes that wouldn’t be the case with this lighting equipment.
E. Peterson said the entire driveway will be lit, as well as the mail kiosks. He showed members a photo of the style of kiosks, which will be a grouping of locked individual mailboxes, locked boxes for package deliveries and a slot for outgoing mail. He said the Post Office told him they will deliver to only two kiosks.
Discussion of the project’s recreation area followed.
Petersen said there is currently a 32,000-square-foot recreation area from the previous building projects and that the new housing will require setting aside an additional 24,000 square feet of “active” recreational area, because requirements are 1,000 feet per unit and the Housing Authority project has 24 units.
What is considered “active” recreation isn’t specified, he said, but it could include walking trails. For Willington Woods senior housing, the uses are horseshoe pits, planters and a landscape.
R. Campbell said it might be possible that extending the existing walking path-loop would meet the requirement for additional recreation area, if the path is calculated in terms of its linear feet and its width.
E. Peterson outlined the existing recreational area on the plans and indicated an abutting area that could be logged to create a contiguous recreational space. He recommended maintaining a wooded strip between the recreational area and the pond/detention basin for safety reasons. R. Campbell noted that the “pond” is usually very low or even empty.
D. Berg noted that there would be some excavation for pipes in that area, anyway.
R. Campbell said the size of the new recreation area might be reduced if the extended walking trail is included in the calculation. He recommended that the plan should not included specific uses for the recreation area.
E. Peterson said he would research how many people are using the existing walking trail now so that he will have that information when there’s a public hearing.
W. Gangaway said it’s likely residents of the new housing would make use of the walking trail because of its proximity.
E. Peterson said he spoke with Planning & Zoning/Wetlands Agent Susan Yorgensen recently and she said the original intent was to create a path from the Senior Center/Senior Housing site to the Town Hall property.
R. Campbell said that path isn’t on the new project’s site, but connecting the path to the Town Hall property could be done, depending on any financial concessions from the town (i.e. reduced or waived taxes) and that it could cost as much as $5,000.
E. Peterson said he believe the P&Z could request this connection as part of their plan, because the Town is the applicant, but noted that because it’s an “offsite improvement,” the P&Z probably cannot make it a requirement.
B. Crosskey asked if the completed path was part of a previous approval. R. Campbell said it was not.
E. Peterson said that S. Yorgensen told him the P&Z sees the Senior Center, Willington Woods and the new senior housing as one project, so the Housing Authority should expect this subject to come up.
E. Peterson then talked about some aspects of the parking area. He said there will not be a continuous curb so there is no “step up” and all parking spots will be handicap accessible. Instead of a curb, concrete stops will be installed at the head of the parking spaces.
A concrete sidewalk will also border the parking area and connect with other sidewalks so that the whole site is accessible, except between the upper and lower levels. L. Millix asked if this might be an issue. R. Campbell said it would not be, because residents can drive from one level to the other.
A discussion of water supply followed.
E. Petersen said this project will tie into existing water lines.
R. Campbell said there are two lines, one for fire suppression and one for drinking water.
Discussion of septic tanks followed.
E. Peterson said there will be two 4,000-gal. tanks, one for each 12 units (or two buildings) and they will be located in the drive aisle instead of the planted parking lot green areas, because this will be healthier for the trees planted there.
He said the tanks will tie into an existing force main and will use gravity flow.
B. Crosskey asked what happens if there’s a power failure.
R. Campbell said that if there’s no power, there’s no water. He said Willington Woods has a generator but it doesn’t have a lot of capacity.
B. Crosskey said they might consider installing a generator. R. Campbell said this might be possible if they are using propane for heat.
E. Peterson said he hasn’t looked into how the units will be heated, but that this isn’t a P&Z issue. However, this decision would need to be made for construction.
E. Peterson said he will plan to attend the Sept. 20 P&Z meeting, but that he anticipates they will just formally receive the application and then set a public hearing, possibly for Oct. 4, 2011. He doesn’t expect to make a presentation at the Sept. 20 meeting.
B. Crosskey then presented illustrations that showed the configuration of the units, location of windows, the utility room and its hatchway, the project’s elevations, location of the two retaining walls and grading.
He explained the differences between the larger and smaller units. Larger units have a “projection” accommodating a den. On the upper level, the “projection” would be in the opposite direction of the lower level. The upper level will have a frost wall that follows the line of the projections. The mechanical room will be in the lower level to service the whole building.
A discussion of drains followed.
B. Crosskey said there will be a perimeter drain along the lower part of the building at footing level. He added that they may need to do some soil borings.
D. Berg said that without a lot of ventilation in the units, they want to be sure there are no water issues.
C. D’Agata asked if there will be central air-conditioning. B. Crosskey said they will talk about this at the next meeting and he will bring a mechanical engineer from his firm to talk about options.
L. Millix asked what the materials are for the outside of the buildings. B. Crosskey said it is hardy plank siding.
There was some discussion about what color the doors would be, and B. Crosskey said they could be different colors.
Discussion about interest in the new housing followed.
W. Gangaway said he’s already hearing from people who would like to live in the new apartments. R. Campbell said once it’s clear the project is going to be built, there can be some outreach to those who might be interested in living there.
Agenda item II – Approval of Minutes:
C. D’Agata moved to accept the minutes of the July 11, 2011 meeting. D. Berg seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
L. Millix moved to accept the minutes of the Aug. 15, 2011 meeting as corrected. D. Berg seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Corrections include:
Line 24 – replace the words (Willington Cottages) with “the project.”
Line 45 – remove question mark from (walking?) path.
Line 50 – remove words (for the site)
Line 75 – remove words (or closer than 200 feet from the property line?)
Lines 89, 90 – remove parenthesis and question mark from (at least 200 feet of the property line?)
Line 156 – change “H20 rated” to “H-20 rated.”
Lines 159-161 – remove all words after “Discussion of fuel tanks followed.”
Line 264 – Should be Item 3, Treasurer’s Report
Agenda item III – Treasurer’s Report:
Treasurer C. D’Agata reported that as of Aug. 12, 2011, there was a balance of $6,016.11. Payroll and payroll taxes amounted to $53.83, leaving a balance of $5,962.28. She also handed out copies of the disbursement report.
Agenda item IV – Correspondence:
- An Aug. 22, 2011 letter to W. Gangaway from First Selectwoman C. Mailhos documenting that at the Aug. 1, 2011 Board of Selectmen’s meeting, he was appointed as a regular member of the Willington Housing Authority with a term of Aug. 1, 2011 to Aug. 1, 2016.
- “Willington Senior Cottages Project Development Summary,” a memo from consultant David Berto regarding predevelopment funding and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston Affordable Housing Program (FHLBB AHP) application.
Agenda item VI – Old business: none
Agenda item VII – New business: W. Gangaway moved to empower R. Campbell to complete the FHLBB AHP application, with D. Berto. The motion was seconded by C. D’Agata. It passed unanimously.
There was discussion of selection of a property manager, which needs to be part of the FHLBB AHP application per D. Berto’s memo. R. Campbell said it doesn’t have to be an onsite property manager but should be someone close enough to respond to an emergency. He said he would talk to D. Berto about using DeMarco. He also said their choice at this time would not be binding.
Scheduling of the next Housing Authority meeting was discussed and R. Campbell said it should be determined by the date the P&Z sets for a public hearing, i.e. if the hearing is on Oct. 4, the Housing Authority could meet on Monday, Oct. 3.
Agenda item VIII – Adjournment: C. D’Agata moved and L. Millix seconded the motion to adjourn, which passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 8:07 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Brenda Sullivan, Recording Clerk
Sept. 8, 2011
| 
