** SPECIAL MEETING **
Rescheduled from Regular February 8, 2016 Meeting
DUE TO SNOWSTORM
MINUTES
Willington Housing Authority
Monday, February 15, 2016 – 6 p.m.
60 Old Farms Road – Senior Center
Willington, CT
PRESENT – Chairman Robert Campbell, Vice Chairman Wilbur Gangaway, Secretary Don Berg, Treasurer Claudia D'Agata; ABSENT - Member Laurel Millix, Housing Consultant David Berto
1. Call to Order – The meeting was called to order at 6:05 p.m.
2. Present to speak – No members of the public present to speak.
3. Old Business – Button Hill senior housing project
R. Campbell reported that the closing has been completed with the Department of Housing and with Putnam Bank. The closing packet for DOH has been executed and is now at the Attorney General's office, and should be approved this week, which means funding will be released.
In a written memo, D. Berto states that once Atty. Jim Scaramozza has all of the final signed papers, he will record them at Town Hall and the closings will be official.
R. Campbell said the next step is to meet with Zlotnick Construction and set a date for beginning construction. In his memo, D. Berto states that once construction start and end dates are established, the interest rate with the FHLB can be locked in for the permanent loan that will initiate at the end of construction and when units are occupied.
W. Gangaway asked if existing bills for Gardiner & Peterson can now be paid in full. R. Campbell said the firm can be paid with the first round of funding.
D. Berto's memo states that when the DOH closing is final, the first requisition can be sent to DOH and that it is currently being prepared. It will include DOH legal costs, the payback of the DOH Predevelopment Loan (from DOH to DOH), and any other bills in the DOH budget column.
D. Berto's memo also states that Putnam Bank has already released some of the construction loan funds, to pay back the initial loan from them, and to pay the costs associated with their closing. Monthly bills will be submitted to Putnam Bank, and the initial billing will be for current unpaid bills that are in the Putnam Bank budget column. This will include the Building Permit fee paid to the Town. Between the DOH and Putnam Bank, funds will be released to pay all current bills.
D. Berto states that after construction begins, the WHA can submit a requisition to Putnam Bank for the $500,000 FHLB grant, and his office will prepare all billings for the Button Hill Senior Housing project costs, keep track of all transactions, and provide instructions on which checks to prepare.
R. Campbell said D. Berto also will be paid once it's determined which funding his services should be billed to.
Regarding a groundbreaking ceremony, R. Campbell said he'd prefer to hold this event later in the spring when the weather is nice, so the public will be more likely to attend.
R. Campbell reported that Putnam Bank has renamed the WHA checking account to reflect the combination of Housing and Flex funding. It has changed from “Willington Housing Authority” to “Willington Housing Authority Development Expenditures Button Hill Senior Housing No. HM1416001”. W. Gangaway and D. Berg signed the documents approving this change.
There was discussion about D. Berg and W. Gangaway attending regular job meetings once construction begins, and the kinds of changes that will be discussed with Zlotnick Construction concerning value engineering, such as the type of siding, window materials, vinyl flooring in place of tiles in some areas, etc. R. Campbell said money saved through value engineering will become part of the construction contingency fund.
4. New Business
D. Berg noted that an expiration date is approaching concerning a performance assurance contract signed by the WHA regarding solar power for the Button Hill Senior Housing project. Revised plans now make it unclear whether the project will eventually include solar power. D. Berg said that contract expires on April 1, 2016. D. Berg said the committee paid about $1,300. He said the committee can pay those assurance monies again and the contract will be good for another six months, or the committee can reapply – there's a two-week window to do so.
R. Campbell said he doesn't want the WHA to go through the application process again. He said the committee will have a better understanding by the end of March whether it's possible to find funding for solar power. He estimates a cost of about $700,000 to lease and install the equipment, including construction. D. Berg said it would cost much less because current plans don't include using solar for heating.
R. Campbell said D. Berto attended a workshop where he was told the solar power ZRECs no longer matter, that the contractor receives any profits and the benefit to the project is that the energy rate is locked in for a certain time period.
5. Correspondence
Correspondence included insurance bills, insurance binders, Zlotnick's bonding binder, and a Gardiner & Peterson bill.
6. Approval of minutes
Concerning the minutes of the January 11, 2016 meeting minutes, which contained a resolution authorizing various funding for the project, R. Campbell noted L. Millix and C. D'Agata (who were absent from that meeting) subsequently also signed those documents.
D. Berg moved to approve the January minutes as written; W. Gangaway seconded the motion; C. D'Agata abstained from the vote; all others voted in favor.
There also was discussion about comments made at the January meeting, about D. Berg's role in researching solar power options for the Button Hill project and possible conflict of interest. The committee asked that Recording Secretary B. Sullivan transcribe those comments, for discussion at the March meeting, and subsequently officially amend the January minutes on file with the Town Clerk's office.
7. Treasurer’s report
C. D'Agata presented a report for two months because she was absent from the January meeting. The beginning balance was $792.74. Deducting two payments for secretarial expenses of $139.94, the balance is now $652.80.
8. Adjourn
Meeting adjourned at 6:52 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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