HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE TOWN OF GREENWICH Regular Meeting of the Board of Commissioners December 14, 2011 Minutes of the Meeting

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1 HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE TOWN OF GREENWICH Regular Meeting of the Board of Commissioners December 14, 2011 Minutes of the Meeting The Regular Meeting of the Board of Commissioners of the Housing Authority of the Town of Greenwich was held on Wednesday, December 14, 2011, in the community room at Agnes Morley Heights. The Chairman, George Yankowich, called the meeting to order in public session at 5:36 p.m. The Chairman declared that a quorum was present and directed the Assistant Secretary, Lisette Contreras, to act as secretary for the meeting. Commissioners Present: Staff Present: Legal Counsel: Public: George Yankowich, Abelardo Curdumi, Bernadette Settelmeyer Laura Murphy, and Sam Romeo Anthony Johnson, Terry Mardula, Bruno Lacaria, Penny Lore, Lisette Contreras, Patricia Muldoon and Sonia Stewart Louis Pittocco Joan Yankowski and Peter Alexander from Byram River Parks Foundation The Chairman asked for approval of the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Board on November 16, On a motion duly made and seconded, the Minutes, with revisions, were approved. The Chairman addressed the public and asked if there were any comments or concerns. Mr. Peter Alexander discussed the possibility of testing the river that passes through Armstrong Court at the site. Preliminary testing was already done and some substances came up, such as E. Coli and lead. Mr. Alexander noticed that on the property of Armstrong Court there is a preschool and a garden and he is concerned that the substances might cause a problem. The Chairman asked Mr. Alexander what is being asked of HATG. Mr. Alexander would like permission to enter the property to do testing and would like for HATG to support them in an application for federal funding. He would also like to list HATG as one of the potential beneficiaries of this study. The Chairman asked Mr. Alexander to supply HATG with their insurance information as well as a detailed letter of their intentions. Ms. Joan Yankowski stated that at their last Resident Council meeting the tenants expressed concern about tree branches in Quarry Knoll that need to be trimmed because they may fall. The Chairman would like the Executive Director to look into having the branches trimmed. The Executive Director stated that the trees were trimmed earlier in the year and will look into trimming them again. 1

2 Review of the Task List 1. PC Tax Credit The Executive Director signed the agreement with the lawyer last week. Edison Capital has to send the documents to HATG s lawyer. The Finance Director estimates that the buyout amount will be approximately $130,000, but could change. 2. THAC- HUD has to approve the transfer of the HAP agreement from THALP to THAC. This is the last step. We are awaiting their approval. TASK LIST 12/14/2011 Date of Request Request Person Responsible Anticipated Date 6/24/09 1. PC Tax Credit Tony Johnson, January Bruno Lacaria 2012 February 6/24/09 2. THAC Bruno Lacaria 2012 Comments Update Monthly Update Monthly Finance Committee Commissioner Curdumi reported that all the properties are operating at a surplus. CL&P has refunded a total of $98,000 to Agnes Morley Heights due to the application of a different (less costly) rate plan. Executive Director Report The Chairman stated that he asked for a property survey of Adams Garden. He would also like to meet with the OGRCC and District 12 of the RTM. Once HATG receives comments from the community, another meeting will take place with the residents of Adams Garden. Commissioner Romeo commented that District 6 should also be involved. Commissioner Settelmeyer asked about doing a media campaign. Commissioner Romeo believes it is too early for that. The Chairman will meet with the First Selectman after receiving comments from the community. The State (DECD and CHFA) will have to be informed of the expansion project. The Executive Director stated that HATG needs State approval first. The Finance Director informed that the State Statute does not have a procedure for adding units onto a property that the Authority owns with no loans. Mr. Lou Pittocco mentioned that he already ordered the title search. The Executive Director explained that DECD may have given HATG a loan for the property and they maintain oversight on the property forever even after the loan is paid for. The issue is how may the property be divided in a way so HATG can secure a mortgage. The Executive Director stated that there is a problem with the Wilbur Peck Court heating system. When the 2 nd converter was being planned, the engineer found several electrical code violations. The original design Engineer looked at the plates on the converters and the boiler and believed everything was three phase equipment and it was operating properly. However, there was no three phase service to the building. HATG is holding $60,000 from the contractor, which is ProGas. HATG will notify ProGas by letter itemizing the deficiencies and a time frame to correct them. 2

3 The Executive Director reported that the low bidder for the Armstrong Court lighting is Lippolis Electric, which also did the lighting upgrade at Wilbur Peck Court. Lippolis will work on the emergency lights and hall lights at the property. HATG will have to select a fixture that is activated by a sensor because there are no switches to turn lights on/off and no opportunity to run new wiring. The Executive Director stated that the process of removing the oil from the oil tank at McKinney Terrace has not been completed. The oil is too thick. Commissioner Settelmeyer recommended heating up the oil in order to remove it. The Executive Director stated that a contractor responded on the Town Hall Annex roof and fascia painting. The contract will be signed in the next few days. The Executive Director explained that HUD wants HATG to prove that the families from the 17 units at Greenwich Close will be able to pay the rent. The Executive Director does not know how he should answer that question. HUD also wanted to know how many bathrooms and kitchens need to be updated. HATG responded to HUD with three different levels of upgrading; old, new, and newer. HUD responded saying that they want all the units updated. The Chairman asked if HATG is keeping a folder with the information on the units as well as pictures to know which units were the most updated. The Deputy Director stated that HATG was tracking the 17 subsidized units as they were being vacated throughout the year. The Executive Director informed that there is $177,000 worth of critical repairs that have to be fixed before closing. HATG must certify that the repairs were completed. The Executive Director informed that the energy audit has started this week. All the properties will be audited. Some properties could qualify for ESCO energy savings. With this program, the company will replace the item that needs replacing and HATG will continue paying the current rate before the item was replaced. Cost will not increase. Staff Reports Commissioner Curdumi asked how the patrolling of Armstrong Court was going. The Deputy Director stated that police officers patrolled the property the last two Fridays. The officers reported that not many kids were hanging out on the property and they comply when the officers asked them to move. The Deputy Director reported that Agnes Morley Heights received a good score of 94 on the REAC inspection. The inspector inspected 23 apartments and did not find one failing smoke detector. The Chairman asked if the smoke detectors in Agnes Morley were converted to CO2. The Deputy Director responded that they have not. He informed that the smoke detectors are hard wired with battery backup. Quarry Knoll I was inspected today. No major issues were found. The Chairman stated that he would like staff to receive safety training and for a safety plan to be in place that includes the residents of the complexes. The Deputy Director explained that the Town has an evacuation plan in place for the tenants. Staff should know how to evacuate the 3

4 tenants. The Chairman would like for the Fire Department, GEMS, and/or OSHA to explain the evacuation plan to the staff. Other/New Business Commissioner Settelmeyer asked that the Executive Director assemble a 2011 annual report of HATG s accomplishments to send to the Town Executives and the public by publishing it on the website. She also asked that the Board and the Executive Director create a list of objectives for Commissioner Curdumi explained that the Greenwich Close refinancing is not in the budgets and if the refinancing is accomplished, the budgets will have to be amended. The Finance Director explained that the public housing budgets for Agnes Morley Heights, Wilbur Peck Court, Quarry Knoll I, and Greenwich Close need to be approved in accordance with HUD regulations. After discussion, upon motion duly made and seconded, resolution #367 was unanimously adopted. The Finance Director has prepared the budgets for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2012 which include the budgets for State Elderly, State Moderate Rental and Town Hall Annex (referred to by CHFA as the Management Plans of such facilities). After review of such Management Plans, upon motion duly made and seconded, resolution #368 was unanimously adopted. Commissioner Romeo motioned to discuss resolution #369. The Chairman explained that everyone on the Board had to approve the acknowledgement of transfer of the reasonable accommodation policy instead of just the chairman signing it. The Chairman expressed his concern with the language that HUD uses in reference to HATG. The Executive Director has prepared the Acknowledgement of Transfer of Reasonable Accommodation. After discussion of such Acknowledgement of Transfer of Reasonable Accommodation, upon a motion duly made and seconded, resolution #369, as revised, was unanimously adopted. Motion to go into Executive Session at 7:30 p.m. Motion to come out of Executive Session at 9:00 p.m. There being no further business to come before the Board, upon a motion duly made and seconded, the meeting was adjourned at 9:01 p.m. Respectfully submitted by, Lisette E. Contreras 4

5 RESOLUTION #367 RESOLVED, that the budgets for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2012, for the public housing facilities, Agnes Morley Heights, Wilbur Peck Court, Quarry Knoll I, and Greenwich Close, in the form submitted to the Board for review, be and they hereby are approved, and the Finance Director is directed to maintain such budgets in accordance with HUD regulations in the form submitted to the meeting and the Secretary is directed to file a copy thereof with the Minutes of the Meeting. RESOLUTION #368 RESOLVED, that the Board approves the Management Plans for the State Elderly, State Moderate Rental and Town Hall Annex, and the Finance Director is directed to submit such Management Plans to Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA). RESOLUTION #369 RESOLVED, that the Board approves the Acknowledgement of Transfer of Reasonable Accommodation. 5