Minutes
Housing Authority - Minutes - Apr 10, 2026
Apr 10, 2026
A public record published by the Town of Simsbury (simsbury-ct.gov). mySimsbury indexes it and makes it readable; it is not the official copy. View the original file.
HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE TOWN OF SIMSBURY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS – ANNUAL MEETING MINUTES April 10, 2026 1 The Annual meeting of the Housing Authority of the Town of Simsbury, Connecticut was held on April 10, 2026. The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Cook at 8:00 a.m. In attendance were, Vice-Chair Fleet, Commissioners, Joyce McKusick, Amber Abbuhl, Pradeep Bajaj, Executive Director, Christine Winters, Housing Administrator, Lori Lubetkin, BOS Liaison Mike Paine, Marc Nelson, Town Manager, Kristen Formanek, and Rachael Loveland of Social Services. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. PUBLIC AUDIENCE There was a presentation from First Church of Simsbury. Tom & Karen Yanik, Connie Keedle, Jim Christopher and Karyn Cordner. They Presented, to the Board, a basket in thanking the Housing Authority for all we do for our residents and how much they appreciate what we do for them. They also invited any residents that are interested to attend their Sunday Service at 10:00 am. NEW BUSINESS Marc Nelson started with ongoing issues in regards to the SHA budget; how the Town could do more with assistance to SHA. He spoke about the PILOT that SHA pays to the Town of Simsbury and will be reviewing and potentially developing a new agreement with a reduction into what SHA would pay. Probably in late fall. At 8:32 am, Commissioner McKusick made a motion to enter into Executive Session, seconded by Commissioner Bajaj. A motion was made at 10:01 a.m., to exit Executive Session by Commissioner Abbuhl, seconded by Commissioner Bajaj. No actions were taken. MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING The minutes of the March 13th Board Meeting were reviewed by the Board. Commissioner Abbuhl made a motion to accept the minutes, seconded by Commissioner McKusick. All voted in favor, motion carried. BOARD OF SELECTMAN LIAISON REPORT BOS Paine was going to reach out to the Granby-Simsbury Chamber to see if they would be interested in having their meeting at SHA. He will let us know when they respond. RESIDENT COMMISSIONER REPORT Commissioner McKusick reported on the Baseball Opening Day Luncheon that was held. She said everyone had a great time. They even had peanuts and crackerjacks! EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT The Executive Director gave an update on the vacancies. • Lori, the Housing Administrator holds a “Keeping Your Balance” Class twice a month. This is very well attended. • There was an Easter Egg Hunt with Nurse Edyta and Cindy. • We will have our 50’s Themed Diner Party on April 17th. • Jerry Perkins, a historian, was here to discuss “Women in History” on March 25th. • Chair Yoga is held three times a month. • Crafting with Valerie & Margaret (Aging & Disability/Garden Club) was on April 1st • There is a “Berry Spring Treat & Chat” with Nurse Edyta and Cindy on April 23rd. • Crafts with the “Simsbury Garden Club” on March 26th, making Easter table decorations. • The Card game called “Bunco” is once a month. Residents really enjoy this game. HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE TOWN OF SIMSBURY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS – ANNUAL MEETING MINUTES April 10, 2026 2 • NEW BUSINESS Cont’d • We held an “Opening Day” luncheon on March 26th. Some residents to dressed in their favorite Baseball teams’ uniforms or colors. • Our Chef Manager holds a “Food for Thought” program every other month • Dr. Tencer, a podiatrist, comes every ten weeks to see residents. • St Mary’s Church holds Mass at VCR every third Wednesday of the month. UTOPIA is currently providing services to 19 residents (45%). COVID – No issues to report. COMMUNICATIONS No Communications RESIDENT ISSUES/CORRESPONDENCE There has been some community concerns, resident challenges and housing issues. We are having a meeting with a resident who has had some issues with the dining service. The Chef Manager and District Manager will attend as well as the resident and their family and SHA office staff. There will be a mediator to conduct the meeting. OLD BUSINESS • HUD Grant Lori & I have attended a “Teams” meeting with our Representative. They will be assisting us in completing additional information into DRGR and hopefully will have this completed soon and can begin the work. We also asked about using some of the funding for the “Alarm” system at DOLMA, and they stated we could. NEW BUSINESS • I did apply for a grant through “HAI” Group for the fire alarm system. I’m not sure how long it takes for review and notification, however, I will keep you updated. • Two machines in the Laundry room in the Community Room at DOLMA have been replaced. We will be ending our contract with the current service provider, since they have breached their contract with us. We are planning to replace them with the provider used at VCR. • The Housing Administrator, RSC and myself attended a “Zoom” Small PHA meeting out on by CONN-NAHRO. There are some opportunities for funding for enhancements for our communities. We will be looking into the process for availability and timing. • I have reached out to the Town Manager for information regarding Eno Farms. I sent another email for a follow-up on March 9, 2026. • I have received some training on the new website for the Town. • The Board reviewed the Proposed Budget for FY 26-27. Commissioner Abbuhl made a motion to accept the submitted FY 26-27 Budget, seconded by Chairman Cook. All voted in favor, motion carried. • As this is the Annual Board meeting, I have enclosed the “Slate of Officers”. A motion was made by Commissioner McKusick to accept the Proposed Slate of Officers, seconded by Commissioner Abbuhl. All voted in favor, motion carried. HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE TOWN OF SIMSBURY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS – ANNUAL MEETING MINUTES April 10, 2026 3 At 10:49 am, a motion was made by Commissioner Abbulh to enter into Executive Session, seconded by Chairman Cook. At 10:52 am a motion was made by Commissioner Abbuhl to exit Executive Session, seconded by Commissioner McKusick. Commissioner Abbuhl made a motion to accept the compensation increases as presented, seconded by Commissioner Bajaj. All voted in favor, motion carried. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to discuss, a motion was made by Commissioner Abbuhl, seconded by Vice-Chair Fleet to adjourn the meeting. All voted in favor, motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 10:54 a.m. Respectfully Submitted by, Christine Winters - Executive Director/Secretary