MINUTES
Willington Housing Authority
Monday, March 14, 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, Member Laurel Millix; Housing Consultant David Berto; Recording Secretary Brenda Sullivan.
1. Call to Order – The meeting was called to order at 6:03 p.m.
2. Present to speak – No members of the public present to speak.
3. Old Business – Button Hill senior housing project
D. Berto reported that the WHA has now closed with funders and so, construction can now begin.
He said a first billing was submitted to Putnam Bank, and the bank has released the money. All outstanding bills have been paid, except for those that are to be drawn from the Department of Housing funds.
This includes the DOH attorney. D. Berto said $15,000 was budgeted for this cost, based on what has been billed in the past, but this attorney billed for $23,000. D. Berto said the attorney submitted an itemized, 7-page bill.
D. Berto said the contractor, Zlotnick Construction, also hasn't been paid for the bond premium, which also comes out of the DOH funds. He said his office is now working with the DOH to get those funds released.
In addition, there will be a billing for the building permit, also to be paid from the DOH funds.
D. Berto said the delay in the release of the DOH funds is because of a disagreement with that agency over 19 cents, which his office is working to resolve.
R. Campbell said construction shouldn't begin without the building permit paid.
There was discussion about maintaining a minimum balance in the Putnam Bank account so there are lower or no bank fees to be paid. D. Berto said funds can be transferred to the Putnam Bank account in order to accomplish that.
There was discussion about an email R. Campbell received concerning an expiration date for the Federal Home Loan Bank award. D. Berto said the alert was generated because the WHA hasn't drawn down the $500,000 yet.
R. Campbell noted that Zlotnick Construction needs to submit a drawing of the construction sign for DOH review. D. Berto said the DOH has specific rules about what's on the sign. For example, the names of other funders probably cannot be included on the DOH sign. R. Campbell said that means there will need to be a second sign for those funders.
D. Berto said the construction team is scheduled to meet on Friday. Discussion will include the scope of work, Zlotnick's timetable, placement of the trailer, an update on the permit and a schedule of future meetings. D. Berg asked if value engineering also will be discussed at this meeting. D. Berto said yes.
R. Campbell said a press release from the Department of Housing is needed. D. Berto said a good time to issue a press release would be once the building permit is paid. He said his office will draft the release. D. Berg asked if he could submit this release to the Senior Center newsletter. D. Berto said yes.
There was discussion about whether the DOH or Putnam Bank will send a project inspector. R. Campbell asked D. Berto to find out if one inspector can report to both the DOH and Putnam Bank.
There was discussion about the Eversource contract concerning ZRECs. The contract cost $1,270. D. Berg said Eversource suggested it would be more efficient to notify them now if the WHA wants to cancel that contract versus letting it expire. D. Berg said the WHA would need to pay another assurance fee to receive another six-month extension. Alternatively, the WHA could reapply when there's a funding source for solar equipment and installation. D. Berg also said there are new rules, but the Button Hill project would still have a good chance of being approved for these rebates if the Housing Authority wants to apply at a later date.
R. Campbell said he supports the use of solar power for this project, but only if there's a funding source for the majority of the costs. D. Berto said the WHA may want to pursue a loan or a power-purchase agreement from the Green Bank (formerly the Clean Energy Fund). D. Berto suggested that he and D. Berg meet again with Green Bank to discuss funding options.
R. Campbell said he'd like to discuss a change order that would include laying a conduit under the road now, with the option of being able to use it later, thus avoiding the need to tear up the new road at some point in the future to install a conduit.
D. Berto left the meeting at 6:50 p.m.
There was discussion about what the electrical rate would be for Button Hill. D. Berg asked if it would it be the same as Willington Woods, which he believes is Rate 30. D. Berg said that based on new information, the rate for Button Hill may be Rate 1.
4. New Business
There was discussion about the waiting list for those interested in living at Button Hill. C. D'Agata said she has 18 names on the list at this time.
5. Correspondence – None.
6. Approval of minutes
There was discussion about adding a paragraph to the January 11, 2016 meeting minutes concerning a question raised at that meeting by W. Gangaway about possible conflict of interest when D. Berg researched solar power options for the Button Hill project. The Housing Authority directed the Recording Secretary to include the following summary of that discussion into the minutes that were previously submitted to the Town Clerk's office and posted on the Town website:
W. Gangaway reported that he's been asked by members of the public whether there is a possible conflict of interest concerning D. Berg's research into solar power options. W. Gangaway asked D. Berg if there was an affiliation between him and the contractor and if he had requested an estimate from the company. D. Berg replied he had severed the tie and didn't think an estimate had been received. R. Campbell said D. Berg's work was limited to researching costs of materials, rental agreements, possible energy rebates and other information familiar to D. Berg as part of his area of expertise.
Approval of the February 15, 2016 meeting minutes was tabled until the next meeting.
7. Treasurer’s report
C. D'Agata reported a balance of $652.80 and asked why the Recording Secretary hadn't been paid. B. Sullivan explained that the payroll sheet was submitted after the cut-off date for the last payroll, and that she was told by Amanda Palotti she will be paid this week.
8. Adjourn
The meeting adjourned at 7:02 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by Recording Secretary Brenda Sullivan. Please note that minutes are posted prior to being officially approved – changes/corrections are normally indicated in the subsequent month’s meeting minutes.
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