Willington Housing Authority
MINUTES
September 8, 2014
60 Old Farms Road – Senior Center
Willington, CT
PRESENT – Chairman Robert Campbell, Vice Chairman Wilbur Gangaway, Secretary Don Berg, Member Laurel Millix, Treasurer Claudia D’Agata, Recording Secretary Brenda Sullivan. Absent: financial consultant Dave Berto.
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
R. Campbell reviewed a Sept. 8, 2014 emailed update from consultant David Berto. (*See transcript at end of minutes.)
R. Campbell said the contractor (Ladd) has begun site work with tree clearing, and said that because of additional funding from EDI, the contractor will be asked if he can add some other parts of the project.
R. Campbell said that he, C. D'Agata, W. Gangaway, D. Berg attended the contract signing with Ladd.
Regarding the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) loan, R. Campbell met with Putnam Bank to discuss contingency and escrow requirements.
He also said existing bills from Gardiner & Peterson and legal fees not paid for by the Town were submitted to Putnam Bank.
Regarding the Dept. of Housing/CHAMP 4 grant, WHA is waiting for updated pricing from Zlotnick Construction. R. Campbell said he spoke by phone with D. Berto, who said that should be available by the end of the week, at which time financial forms can be given to the WHA attorney and the process can move forward to a closing.
R. Campbell thanked D. Berg for his work on getting necessary signatures for permits and said he'd like to get an outline of what needs to be done for the permit process for the second phase of the project, the full building permit. He asked D. Berg to follow up and get the process to the point of paying fees. He also asked D. Berg to explore whether fees can be reduced.
D. Berg said zoning permit fees have been paid for the whole project, and that S. Yorgensen (Planning-Zoning/ Wetlands Agent) needs a set of building plans and a full set of site plans on paper, not in digital form. R. Campbell said he has the latest version of the building plans on his computer, downloaded from the architect's site.
R. Campbell said he told D. Berto he wants to have a groundbreaking ceremony in late September or early October, once permits are in place.
R. Campbell and D. Berg discussed the possibility of building permit fees being reduced or waived.
C. D'Agata said she has bills from Gardiner & Peterson and will email them to D. Berto.
Regarding the $20,000 initial loan from Putnam Bank, R. Campbell said D. Berto told him bills will be sent to Putnam Bank and they will pay vendors directly, so C. D'Agata will not be writing checks as previously discussed. He said he still needs to talk with the bank what the WHA's responsibility will be, i.e. does he need to sign anything?
R. Campbell reported on meeting with the appraiser. He said he sent the appraiser necessary documents, except a copy of the water agreement between the WHA and the Town. He also needs 12 months of ASHO building (senior housing) bills. He needs these records to determine how payments will be made.
R. Campbell asked C. D'Agata to follow up and email these records to him.
D. Berg reported that he believes Town funds have been moved into the WHA line item – fees of $700 that were paid to the Town for sets of maps for the bidders, which the WHA needs to reimburse Gardiner & Peterson for.
He said the WHA needs to submit an invoice to the Town with a copy of the G&P bill, and his understanding is the Town will cut a check payable to the WHA. R. Campbell said D. Berto's office has a copy of G&P's bill.
D. Berg noted a loose flap in the silt fencing at the construction site. R. Campbell questioned why a single row of trees were left along the upper access road. There was also discussion about making only one, not two, cuts across the road for water and sprinkler lines.
D. Berg reported he spoke with ACCESS about how they conduct tenant background checks. He said they do this through the State Police, so this is not a national background check. He noted that Rachel is retiring Sept. 30.
D. Berg discussed emails between him and CL&P and Acorn about the possibility of installing solar panels, and eligibility for ZEREC (zero emission renewable credits) funds to save on energy costs.
4. New Business – R. Campbell reported that D. Berg's term on the WHA has been extended to 2019.
D. Berg reported a gas company from Stafford contacted him regarding bidding for the Button Hill project. W. Gangaway said the company provides service for the Town and the Senior Center.
5. Approval of minutes –
There was a correction to line 57 of the August 18, 2014 minutes – changing the word “struts” to “trusses.” L. Millix moved to approve the minutes as corrected; W. Gangaway seconded the motion; motion passed unanimously.
6. Treasurer’s report –
C. D'Agata presented the Treasurer's Report – the balance as of Sept. 8, 2014 is $1,694.44, which includes secretarial costs of $69.97. (C. D'Agata left the meeting at 6:30 p.m.)
7. Correspondence – A request for release of funds from the DOH/DECD – R. Campbell took this document and said he will scan a copy to send to D. Berto. There also was confirmation from the Board of Selectmen regarding D. Berg's reappointment to the WHA.
8. Adjourn – The meeting adjourned at 7:50 p.m.
* Transcript of D. Berto's Sept. 8, 2014 email:
Infrastructure Work:
JM Ladd has been selected, the contract signed, and the work is underway. The work is scheduled to take 45 days.
We have some additional infrastructure funds because his pricing was good, so we have asked him to price some additional storm drainage and the installation of the electrical conduits all along the upper roadway. This may extend his time on site by a little bit.
FHLB:
We met with Putnam Bank and explained all of the other funding requirements. They are good with how we will handle reserves, escrows and contingency funds.
The Funding Agreement has been signed.
We have sent Putnam Bank our existing bills and they are getting ready to pay them from the $20,000 initial loan.
DOH:
We need final pricing from the main contractor, Zlotnick Construction, with wage rate costs and with the Infrastructure work removed. Zlotnick is completing this.
We will then provide revised financial forms to DOH. When they are OK with these, they will OK us to go to Initial Closing and they will provide their attorney to work with.
We are starting to assemble the DOH Initial Closing documents, but need the final construction pricing and revised financial forms to complete many of the documents.
Town Funds:
You can discuss if there is a resolution of the Housing Authority receiving the deposits that were made by the infrastructure contractors for the plans that they paid for at town hall.
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.
<paste body content here>
| 
