Willington Housing Authority Meeting
60 Old Farms Road
Nov. 14, 2011
Present: Chair Robert Campbell, Vice Chair Wilbur Gangaway, Treasurer Claudia D’Agata, members Laurel Millix and Don Berg, consultant Dave Berto, First Selectwoman Christina B. Mailhos.
Call to Order: 6:16 pm
New Business:
C. D’Agata made a motion to purchase second recorder for meetings, for $59.99 plus CT Tax, seconded by D. Berg – passed unanimously. R. Campbell signed a receipt.
Discussion followed concerning DECD (Dept. of Economic and Community Development) request that the Housing Authority return funding.
R. Campbell reported that a week and a half ago, the Housing Authority received a check from the DECD for $18,460. However, last week, on Thursday (Nov. 10), he said, he got the first of several emails; DECD is now asking the Housing Authority to give the $18,460 back so they can, in turn, give it to (Reich and Tang?). He noted the DECD check was already deposited and that now there will be a delay in accessing the funds because it needs to be processed by (Reich and Tang?).
R. Campbell said he believes the reason that the DECD asked for the funds to be returned is because they shouldn’t have issued the check directly. The DECD is severing its contract with (Reich and Tang) effective Dec. 1, 2011, but the DECD apparently “jumped the gun” and bypassed (Reich and Tang) prematurely.
R. Campbell said he is worried that because Dec. 1 is just weeks away, the $18,460 could get lost in the shuffle and meanwhile, the vendors are waiting to be paid. He noted that last time the Housing Authority had to wait for the DECD to deposit the funds in the (Reich and Tang account?), it took two to three weeks to clear.
R. Campbell said that after several emails to many people at DECD, he asked D. Berto’s assistant, Rose, to set a meeting with DECD and D. Berto and himself, and Jennifer Ponti’s boss Karen Santana. Jennifer is the junior and Karen is the senior (agent?). He said an email regarding the meeting was sent to the DECD Thursday afternoon. He said the DECD has not responded as of Monday. He said he understands that Friday was a holiday (Veterans Day) – but that Monday was a full business day and he expected a response. And since there was none, it might be necessary to contact someone else at the DECD.
R. Campbell said he planned to have a cashier’s check from Rockville Bank to return the funds to the (DECD) and that he would ask for a guarantee that the funds would be transferred to (Reich and Tang) while he was there. He said he is extremely upset about the delay in releasing funds needed to pay vendors.
R. Campbell said the Housing Authority has a couple of options. One is to cut the checks and pay the vendors and tell the DECD this was necessary because they didn’t get back to him, and let the DECD decide how to respond. He said B. Crosskey (architect) and E. Peterson (engineer) are waiting for this money and they shouldn’t have to wait another 30 days because of DECD. He said he intends to make another phone call and ask to speak to someone higher up. He said his only concern is that pushing the DECD on this issue might adversely affect the Housing Authority when it puts in an application with DECD for final funding.
C. D’Agata asked if (Reich and Tang) is dismantling or if it’s just that DECD isn’t going to be using them anymore. D. Berto said it’s his understanding that the DECD is ending its contract with the company.
D. Berto said the Housing Authority shouldn’t be worried about pressing the DECD to expedite funding, that being passive can mean risking losing one’s project. People who are relatively assertive – asking for reasonable performance – this should not hurt their relationship with DECD in the future, he said.
R. Campbell said that until the money is spent from the current payment requisition, the Housing Authority cannot submit the next one, which is now ready to submit.
C. D’Agata asked what the timeframe has been with DECD working with (Reich and Tang) to disburse funds.
R. Campbell said there has been a disparity between how long it was supposed to take and the time it really did take.
D. Berto said the way it was supposed to work is, he submits a requisition, the DECD processes it in a couple of days, approves it, sends it to the Office of Finance Administration – and he was told by the Office of Finance Administration a couple of days ago, because he also called them – that the (Reich and Tang) process puts the money into the account within two or three business days. He tried to tell them that this hasn’t happened but they would not listen to him. How it really works is that it takes them two weeks to process a requisition and then it takes at least a week to 10 days to get the money into the Housing Authority account.
R. Campbell said part of the problem is that DECD doesn’t have a standard requisition form so there usually are emails back and forth regarding questions about items on their requisition request.
(First Selectwoman Christina B. Mailhos joined the meeting at this point.)
R. Campbell said he was also thinking about asking Sen. Guglielmo to attend a meeting with the DECD. C. D’Agata suggested also inviting Rep. Hurlburt.
D. Berto advised that the Housing Authority do as requested and write a check giving the funds back to the DECD.
C. D’Agata said she has a copy of the $18,460 check from the DECD.
R. Campbell said he will give D. Berto a check to give to the DECD. And he expects a receipt from the DECD with someone’s name written legibly on it. D. Berto said he will have someone sign a copy of the check.
D. Berto said he thinks it’s appropriate for Campbell to request a meeting with the DECD.
Old Business
Discussion followed concerning the next night’s (Nov. 15) Planning & Zoning meeting.
D. Berto said he talked with B. Crosskey (architect) who said the next thing he wants to talk about is the mechanicals and HVAC and the component design, and he wasn’t ready to talk about these subjects at this evening’s Housing Authority meeting.
R. Campbell said E. Peterson (engineer) is out of town. He also noted that the P&Z public hearing is closed, so the P&Z cannot ask them any questions at this point. (P&Z decision is due by Dec. 6).
D. Berto said that if the project gets P&Z approval at the Nov. 15 meeting, the Housing Authority can move forward with construction drawings for the site work and construction drawings for the buildings, and then begin to compile a bid package for the site work.
D. Berto said the site work has to follow all the town procurement requirements, and he will work with Larry Wagner and his group on that. This can be done after E. Peterson has completed construction plans for the site work – which would come after P&Z approval, so Peterson knows about any changes he has to make.
D. Berto said the Housing Authority can be selecting a contractor in parallel with finishing the building details and putting through funding requests to DECD for the money to actually build the housing.
D. Berto said that after Dec. 1 2011, when DECD is no longer using (Reich and Tang)’s services, requisitions will go to DECD and after approval, DECD will wire the funds directly into the Housing Authority’s account, so the Housing Authority will be able to deal directly with the bank and know when the funds are there. So it will be, in theory, much easier and quicker to pay the vendors, he said.
D. Berto said he will write the checks to pay vendors, which he will bring to the Housing Authority to be authorized, so his office will need to be contacted by someone from the Housing Authority to let him know when the funds are available.
R. Campbell said the Housing Authority should set up electronic banking with Rockville Bank so they can check the balance online.
W. Gangaway asked where the DECD funding is coming from. D. Berto said it comes from state bonding that was approved a few years ago – a revolving loan for development projects.
D. Berto said the Housing Authority also needs to have discussion with the town (the Board of Selectmen) about finalizing specific details about the town’s contribution to the project so that the Housing Authority can include those in its presentations when it makes funding applications.
R. Campbell noted Housing Authority members have been working on a letter outlining its requests for support to be sent to the Board of Selectmen. D. Berto said the letter was drafted by C. Mailhos, D. Berg and himself. D. Berto said it was changed a little to present the contents as a list of things to be worked on collectively.
R. Campbell told C. Mailhos that he understands why she may feel it is best to hold a Town Meeting on the agreement. C. Mailhos said it’s important to be specific about the proposal so that townspeople know what they are voting “yes” or “no” on.
D. Berg made a motion to authorize R. Campbell to sign the final draft of the letter; it was seconded by C. D’Agata and the motion passed unanimously.
R. Campbell signed the letter and gave it to C. Mailhos, and said he will also mail a copy to the entire Board of Selectmen.
C. Mailhos said she will distribute copies of the letter to the Board, including newly elected members, and that there probably will be a special meeting of the Board of Selectmen or a workshop to discuss the agreement.
She also said that Board members may ask how these kinds of agreements have been handled in other towns. C. D’Agata said D. Berto will be able to answer that question if it arises.
R. Campbell said he’d like to see the Board of Selectmen move on the process as quickly as possible and noted that the prolonged power outages following the October Nor’eastern unexpectedly put everyone’s activities on hold for a while.
There was some discussion about how funding for this project differs from others, since there is no federal subsidy to help pay the bills when this housing is complete; all income will be generated by the tenants’ rent.
Approval of Minutes: Tabled until next meeting, Dec. 12.
Treasurer’s Report: None.
Adjournment: 7:06 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by Recording Secretary Brenda Sullivan.
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