CITY OF DANBURY
Danbury Housing Partnership
155 Deer Hill Avenue
Danbury, Connecticut 06810

Minutes of the July 5, 2007 Meeting

Attendance: Barrows, Budnik, Elpern, Lemme, Lima, Nolan, Payton, Schierloh, Shepperd, Sistrunk, Valeri, Yamin

Absent: Coelho, Finaldi, McLachlan, Pitts, Scalzo, Zaborowski

(One vacancy due to resignation of Baughman)

The meeting of the Danbury Housing Partnership was held in Danbury City Hall on July 5, 2007. The meeting was called to order by Chairman Mark Nolan at 3:05 PM.

Mr. Nolan noted with regret that Tim Baughman had resigned from the Partnership because he was moving to Pennsylvania. Mr. Nolan shared an email from Aimee Budnik indicating that the Continuum of Care was hosting a meeting with John O’Brien, Regional Coordinator of the United State Interagency Council on Homelessness on July 26, 2007 at 10:30 am in City Hall to discuss participation in National Project Homeless Connect. The Continuum has voted to organize a “Connect Day” in Danbury sometime during the week of December 3-7, 2007. Ms. Budnik will attend the meeting and the matter will be brought up for consideration by the Partnership at the August meeting.

A motion to approve the minutes of the June 7, 2007 meeting was made by Wayne Shepperd, seconded by Rev. Wanda Payton and passed unanimously.

Assistant Corporation Counsel Eric L. Gottschalk made a presentation on the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act and its applicability to the Partnership. The act seeks to ensure open government in two ways: first, by giving the public the right to inspect and copy public records and, second; by giving the public the right to attend but not necessarily participate in public meetings. Except for limited exceptions spelled out in the act, all records are public and copies must be provided to the public promptly upon request. Attorney Gottschalk summarized the three types of meetings allowed under the law (regular, special and emergency) and the notice requirements for each. The public has the right to attend all meetings, with limited exceptions for items qualifying for executive sessions. A record of all votes must be taken and made available in the office of the organization within two business days of the meeting. Minutes must be available within seven days, excluding weekends and holidays. Attorney Gottschalk indicated that since the Partnership is a City agency he is available to provide advice and counsel. Mr. Nolan confirmed that the Health, Housing & Welfare Department is serving as the office of the Partnership.

A power-point presentation on the proposed “Mt Pleasant Arms” congregate senior housing project was made by Alex Williams, Blake McCarley and Reverend Roderick. The project is a 26-32 unit complex to be built on Rowan Street on several lots adjacent to Mt. Pleasant AME Zion Church. A 501(c)(3) corporation is being formed to accomplish the development which seeks to provide affordable rental units with assisted living services to seniors who wish to avoid the cost and physical demands of maintaining their own homes. Mr. Williams indicated that the units will be efficiency style and approximately 350 square feet in size, but the complex will have large common areas. The project is estimated to cost 5.2 million dollars with most of that anticipated to come from Federal sources. The timetable presented called for construction to begin in March of 2008. Mr. Williams invited the Partnership’s input and advice with respect to the proposal.

Several comments and questions about the proposal were posed by members, with Mr. Nolan and Ms. Barrows expressing concern over the size of the units and suggesting a mix of one-bedroom units. Ms. Valeri noted the need for this type of housing and the services to be provided to the residents. Mr. Elpern suggested a preliminary site plan be prepared and presented to the Planning Department for comment as soon as possible. Mr. Williams thanked the Partnership for the opportunity to make the presentation and looked forward to any further comments or suggestions.

Vice Chair Carolyn Sistrunk indicated that the Mission Statement is still being worked on and would be presented for approval at the August meeting.

Ms. Sistrunk noted that draft by-laws had been distributed and asked members to review them. She indicated that she would appreciate any comments or suggestions. The by-laws will be discussed and acted upon at the next Partnership meeting.

Mr. Nolan informed the Partnership that he had discussed the matter of additional members with Mayor Boughton and that the Mayor indicated that he is reviewing and working on the suggestions forwarded to him. Mr. Nolan noted that the vacancy due to Mr. Baughman’s resignation would also have to be filled and that Mr. Baughman had suggested in his letter to the Mayor that David Deschenes of the United Way be appointed as his replacement.

Under Committee Reports, Mr. Nolan noted that two of the four standing committees held organizational meetings this month.

The Committee on Housing and Community Development: Ms. Sistrunk reported that she attended the June 28 meeting and that Paul Scalzo agreed to serve as chair. The committee elected Mr. Finaldi, Jr. as vice-chair and Ms. Zaborowski as secretary. The committee will hold regular meetings at 2:00 pm on the first Thursday of every month in the Planning and Zoning Department conference room at City Hall. Ms. Sistrunk reported that the meeting was well-attended and productive. The committee’s first tasks will be to assess actions needed to meet the housing goals in the Ten-Year Plan as well as well as to investigate what strategies and resources will be needed to address affordable housing and senior housing needs in accordance with the Partnership’s charge.

Mr. Schierloh reported that the Social and Supportive Services Committee had not been able to meet and suggested that the election of vice-chairs would help expedite the scheduling of the organizational meeting. Mr. Schierloh moved to elect Judge Yamin and Rev. Payton as temporary vice-chairs of the Social and Supportive Services Committee. The motion was seconded by Ms. Sistrunk and passed unanimously.

Public Relations, Marketing and Education Committee: Mr. Shepperd reported that he had been elected vice-chair at the June 28 committee meeting and that the committee had agreed to hold regular meetings at 2:00 pm on the first Thursday of every month in Room 3C at City Hall. The first objective of the committee will be to develop the Partnership webpage. Melissa Adams from the City has been invited to the next meeting to begin this process. The committee will also place priority on utilizing the City’s 311 system and the non-profit 211 system.

Ms. Sistrunk indicated that she had updated the 10-Year Plan Progress Report to include the recommendations for years three through ten. She and Mr. Nolan had also assigned a lead committee to accomplish each recommendation. It was determined to proceed by distributing copies of the document to the committee chairs so that each committee could review it at their next meeting. Ms. Sistrunk noted that the objective of the update report was to provide current and on-going information to the public, to form the basis of the annual report to the Common Council and to keep original Taskforce members informed of the progress being made. Judge Yamin applauded the effort to provide constant updates on the progress being made and was particularly pleased with the plan to keep prior Taskforce members informed given how much time and effort they contributed to the creation of the Ten-Year Plan.

Ms. Sistrunk reported that Dream Homes continues to proceed and is still providing monthly reports to the Common Council. She announced that Dream Homes recently had their first client achieve homeownership with two more likely purchasers in the pipeline. She said it was also her understanding that Mayor Boughton has continued to follow-up to finalize arrangements for payments in support of Dream Homes from the eight area towns that have so far agreed to contribute in the regional effort.

Motion to adjourn made by Mr. Elpern, seconded by Ms. Budnik and passed unanimously.