Senior Housing Projects

There has been a lot of information recently about the Senior Housing Project and I thought I would try to highlight some salient points. Four years ago, the project was divided into three phases to accomplish the construction of Senior Housing.

Phase I: The first phase was the construction of the Senior center because it was best solution to bring the infrastructure needed to the proposed housing area and improve chances of a HUD grant. The town received over $1,000,000 in grant funding for the senior center and it was built in 2003 - 2004.

Phase II: The second phase was the contruction of the senior housing apartments. In 2004, the ACCESS Agency of Willimantic (at the time, I was Chairman of the Board)applied for and received a HUD 202 grant for 4.6 million dollars of which apporximately $4 million was for construction. The Access agancy formed a development corporation called Access Senior Housing of Willington (ASHOW) to oversee the construction and management of the apartments. Ground breaking for this is expected it May 2006.

Phase III: This phase was for the development of six 4-unit cottages for moderate and above income limit. The Willington Housing Authority is currently working on this with no time table at this time.

Town Commitments: The town agreed to construct a water system to help with Phase II and III of this project. After the HUD 202 contract was awarded in November 2004, an aggresive schedule was developed for construction of the water system. That was the last anyone saw of the schedule. After emergency Board of Finance meetings in January of 2005 to call a town meeting for funds to develop the necessary wells, contract award and drilling did not begin until 5 months later. During the last year, multiple and vocal requests for schedules, finances and project meetings were denied. We were assured by the First Selectman that everything was okay. In summer of 2005, a meeting was finally called to discuss the status of the projects. It was there that multiple questions were raised about time lines, responsibilites and funding. In January of 2006, after threats of refusing to apply for grants, the First Selectman called another meeting to discuss the project status. It was at this meeting that the Selectmen and the project engineers first saw that there was no measureable progress by the Town since the summer and the project deadline was Febraury 1, 2007. At the point we are at, it will take us fourteen months to complete the project - if everything goes right. We will also need to identify and commit anywhere from $300,00 to $600,000 in additional town funding between now and March 31, 2006. Despite the continued assurances of the First Selectman, this project and the $4 million dollar funding are in jeopardy. We may be able to pull this off but it will take skilled project management to do it. That is where we are today.

Willington Election 2005

This years election is over except for the shouting.  The First Selectman retained his seat and Jack Lewis and I round out the Board of Selectmen.  The cross-endorsement seemed to do the trick with all of the cross-endorsed (Republican/Democrat) candidates victorious and the few Republican/Democrat candidates left on their own being defeated by the Sentinel candidates.  The part more difficult than campaigning has begun and that is tending to the affairs of the Town.  I look forward to the challenges ahead and hope that our elected officials work together to deal with them.  A meeting of the Boards is in order in the near future to discuss what issues we have in common and also to discuss how we all can help implement the final recommendations of the Plan of Conservation and Development.  The recommendations will require a tremendous amount of effort so we can implement the vision of the Townspeople as set forth in that document.

Thank you to all of you who participated in the election.  The election results can be seen at this link - 2005 Election Results
    

Board of Education asks for better communication

In an October 11th, 2005 letter to the Board of Selectmen, the Board of Education Chair Shannon Bourbeau inquired about creating a town committee comprised of representatives of the Boards of Selectmen, Finance and Education. The Board felt such a committe is pertinent because it would help facilitate communications between the members and to better serve the Town. I am pleasantly surprised by the letter but I don't know what the reception will be at the Board of Selectmen because we discussed this same issue about a year ago and the motion was talked down at a meeting. This is an excerpt from the August 16th, 2004 Selectmen's minutes.

"RE-ESTABLISHING CONSOLIDATION COMMITTEE

Selectman Patton commented that this can be a tool for the Town to have the Board of Finance, the Board of Education and the Board of Selectmen, along with staff, meet periodically to discuss different issues and problems. We can all offer solutions and ideas in terms of good relations, not us vs. them. We have different budgets but the money comes out of the same pocket. It worked well when we consolidated finances and went on to technology issues. It is a good planning tool. It is an avenue for all factions of the Town to talk, discuss problems, look at today and the future. Selectman Blessington asked what decision making power does it have? If you create a commission that does not have authority, people from the Board of Finance, Board of Education,Board of Selectmen and staff, they have to go back to their Board. It seems like creating a commission without real power is just for show.
Selectman Patton commented that if you have a formal committee it gives people an agenda, you can’t speak for a board as a whole but we never got into a real problem. Talk is not such a bad thing, it is a good thing. These people could come up with some recommendations, everyone thinks their problems are the most important; we need to deal with things collectively. We need to think and plan which way to go. First Selectman Eldredge commented that he understands his points but has a hard time supporting that idea. We can work back and forth; we solve problems by being asked. This is just another bureaucracy; he doesn’t feel like it is a plus. Selectman Patton asked what does it hurt? Many times when someone asks for help it is too late. First Selectman Eldredge commented that he agrees there needs to be interaction but in retrospect when he was a Board of Education member and financial consolidation took place, he felt that he lost the ability to act upon each financial detail. Selectman Blessington commented that we are creating bureaucracy that I do not see will really accomplish anything that can’t be accomplished at meetings; maybe we should have a meeting of the 3 organizations to see how they feel. They must have decision-making powers or it is not worth doing. Selectman Patton asked how do you think things get done? You have to look 10 years out; we should get together to plan things. First Selectman Eldredge commented that he
does not feel comfortable re-establishing this. Selectman Blessington commented me either.
SELECTMAN PATTON MOVED THAT WE APPROACH THE BOARD OF
EDUCATION AND THE BOARD OF FINANCE AND STAFF TO FORM A CONSOLIDATION COMMITTEE.There was no seconded. Motion fails."

Any thoughts on the Board of Education's request?

Town Finances

There were a couple of requests to discuss Town finances. One specific request was "How about taking on a 'rural legend' such as:-The town's 'rainy day' fund has been washing away over the past 2 years. True or False?" Good question. There were also questions about the long-term finances of the Town. I don't have the answers tonight but I will gather up the information and try to shed some light on the subject as best as possible. In the meantime, feel free to share any information you might have.

Willington Emergency Services

There seems to be some interest in the Emergency Services in Town. One anonymous blogger wrote "I would be interested in knowing opinions regarding Emergency Services in our town. Why the need for two Fire Deparmtents, one department paid, the other not etc..It seems to me that one unit would provide a better service, better budgeting etc. It is very rare to have two seperate departments in a town of 6,000." Any opinions out there.