Willington Housing Authority
MINUTES
August 18, 2014
60 Old Farms Road – Senior Center
Willington, CT
PRESENT – Vice Chairman Wilbur Gangaway, Secretary Don Berg, Member Laurel Millix, Treasurer Claudia D’Agata, Financial Consultant David Berto, Recording Secretary Brenda Sullivan. Chairman Robert Campbell joined part of the meeting via phone (indicated in minutes).
1. Call to order – The meeting was called to order at 6:05 p.m.
2. Present to speak – No member of the public present to speak.
3. Old Business – Button Hill senior housing project
D. Berto reported that J.M. Ladd Co., of Somers, CT, was selected as the low bidder for phase one and was determined to be qualified for the work. Their bid was $268,234. He said this is enough under-budget to add Alternate 2 (water lines) with an estimated cost of $28,000, and still come in under budget.
D. Berto said he has been working with the company and L. Wagner to assemble the necessary documents. The main contract was completed on Sunday and they are working on other forms required by the Town and for EDI funding. The contract is scheduled to be signed this week, which triggers the start date for this phase of the project, which is then scheduled to be completed within 45 days. A WHA officer will be needed to sign the contract. D. Berto said Gardiner & Peterson will send J.M. Ladd copies of the plans.
D. Berto gave an update on pricing for the second phase of the project to bring it in line with required wage rates. He said he met with Zlotnick Construction to discuss reducing costs. He said that now that the WHA has J.M. Ladd's scope of work outlined, Zlotnick knows which work to remove from its scope of work. He said once the WHA receives final figures from Zlotnick, then updated pricing information can be submitted to the Department of Housing (DOH) and Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB), and the DOH can do its paperwork for the closing.
D. Berto said he and R. Campbell met with Putnam Bank to talk about the terms of agreement the bank requested that are not allowed under DOH rules, such as a 10 percent contingency to be deposited with Putnam Bank.
R. Campbell joined the meeting via phone.
R. Campbell said W. Gangaway or D. Berg can sign the J.M. Ladd contract, or he could do so on Friday. He also said he plans to meet with the Putnam Bank assessor. D. Berto repeated his information about talking to Zlotnick Construction about their updated pricing. R. Campbell left the meeting.
Returning to his update on talks with Putnam Bank and its request for a contingency fund, D. Berto said he explained to them how the DOH handles a reserve. He said the bank also provided a signed assistance agreement, and that the $20,000 loan has been signed. The FHLB agreement also has been signed, he said, so now the WHA can submit bills. He said his office will prepare letters requesting funds to cover bills as they occur and then will give C. D'Agata checks for payments.
D. Berto also said surveyors are scheduled to be on site this week and construction may also get underway this week.
D. Berg asked if there is extra funds, can some of his requested items be added back to the project, such as sheathing, insulated panels on the north side, and design of struts for future installation of solar panels. D. Berg also noted that new legislation is being considered that would permit sub-metering for solar power. If that passes, this might require some alterations to the project's wiring plans, he said.
D. Berg said he might also like to revisit the heating system plans because some equipment didn't qualify for rebates. D. Berto said that because the technology has been changing, that may be possible.
W. Gangaway asked if J.M. Ladd is a large contractor that can handle a project like Button Hill. D. Berg said he will call the building official in Somers to get more information about the company.
D. Berg asked D. Berto to email WHA members all the bids that were submitted.
Referring to minutes from the July meeting, C. D'Agata asked if anything had been done to move funds that were paid to the town by potential bidders for maps that were created by Gardiner & Peterson back to the WHA's account. D. Berg said he would call the First Selectman about this.
W. Gangaway asked again whether the Button Hill project could use some extra surveillance cameras that are part of a contracted service for the senior center. D. Berg said part of the problem of using surveillance cameras is that there is no office area or similar space for viewing/storing such tapes in the Button Hill project's plans.
4. New Business – None.
5. Approval of minutes – C. D'Agata moved to accept the July 14, 2014 minutes; L. Millix seconded; D. Berg abstained from voting because he didn't attend the July meeting; the motion passed.
6. Treasurer’s report – C. D'Agata presented the Treasurer's Report – the balance as of August 17, 2014 is $1,764.41, which includes secretarial costs and an addition of $1,500 in funds from the Town. L. Millix moved to accept the report; D. Berg seconded; motion passed unanimously.
7. Correspondence – None.
8. Adjourn – The meeting adjourned at 7 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by Recording Secretary Brenda Sullivan. Please note that minutes are posted prior to being officially approved – changes/corrections are indicated in the subsequent month’s meeting minutes.
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