August 13, 2026 Meeting Minutes
August 13, 2026 Meeting Minutes
MINUTES OF A MEETING
DRAFT- NOT YET APPROVED
These minutes are subject to approval by the Board at a future meeting and may be revised.
The Regular Meeting of the Norwalk Housing Authority Board of Commissioners was convened at 5:35pm on August 13th, 2026.
Location: Zoom Video Conference
Present:
Brenda Penn-Williams, Chair
Isaac Walcott, Treasurer
John Church, Commissioner
Teneshia Jacobs, Commissioner (joined at 5:40pm)
Absent:
Liza Bermudez-Montgomery, Vice Chair
Staff Attending Present at Beginning of Meeting:
Adam Bovilsky, Executive Director
Charmaine Davis-Ford, Director of Finance
Jeff Oduro, Director of IT
Donna Lattarulo, Outside General Counsel, Lattarulo Law Firm, LLC
Roll Call:
At 5:35 pm, Chair Penn-Williams opened the meeting. Chair Penn-Williams recognized Treasurer Walcott and Commissioner Church as present and acknowledged the presence of a quorum. It was noted that Commissioner Jacobs was expected.
At 5:35pm, Commissioner Walcott moved to enter Executive Session to discuss two personnel matters and a security issue.
Motion seconded by Chair Penn-Williams.
The Commissioners invited Adam Bovilsky, Charmaine Davis-Ford, Jeff Oduro and General Counsel Donnal Lattarulo to join the Executive Session.
Ayes
Chair Brenda Penn-Williams
Treasurer Issac Walcott
Commissioner John Church
All in favor. Motion carried.
At 7:18pm, Commissioner Church made a motion to exit the Executive Session.
Treasurer Walcott seconded the motion.
Ayes
Chair Brenda Penn-Williams
Treasurer Issac Walcott
Commissioner John Church
Commissioner Teneshia Jacobs
All in favor. Motion carried.
At 7:19pm, the regular session was convened, and the following additional participants joined the meeting.
Additional Staff Invited to Executive Session:
Kras Carlucci, Deputy Director
Leroy Fender, Director of Maintenance
Nicole Ruffin, HR Generalist
Additional Staff Attending the Regular Session:
Wendy Gerbier, Director of Learning Centers
Gregory Lickwola, Director of Modernization
Leala Marlin, Development Project Manager
Alison Mukhtar, Director of Operations
Sherreida Reid, Partnership Manager
Public Attending the Regular Session:
Jodi Trendler, City of Norwalk Director of Sustainability & Resilience
Katie Shelton, Greenbank Representative
Emily Basham, Greenbank Representative
All staff and commissioners that were present at the beginning of the meeting remained present for the regular session with the exception of Jeff Oduro, who left after executive session.
22-83 Treasurer Walcott moved to approve:
• Hiring two maintenance positions
Commissioner Jacobs seconded the motion
Ayes
Chair Brenda Penn-Williams
Treasurer Isaac Walcott
Commissioner John Church
Commissioner Teneshia Jacobs
All in favor. Motion carried.
22-84 Commissioner Church moved to move:
• New Business Agenda Item B (Amendment to the Colonial Village Solar Plan) up in the agenda
Treasurer Walcott seconded the motion.
To respect the schedules of the public attending for the solar plan discussion, this agenda item was requested to move forward in the agenda.
Ayes
Chair Brenda Penn-Williams
Treasurer Isaac Walcott
Commissioner John Church
Commissioner Teneshia Jacobs
All in favor. Motion carried.
New Business:
22-85 Commissioner Church moved to adopt:
B. The Resolution for the Amendment to the Colonial Village Solar Plan
Treasurer Walcott seconded the motion.
Katie Shelton took the floor to introduce the Greenbank team. She handed over the floor to Emily Basham to present the updated proposal from Greenbank for solar at Colonial Village.
After the initial proposal, the Greenbank team completed
further diligence through the RFP process, and the outcome is a slightly smaller system size leading to lower system production and economics.
Ms. Basham provided a brief overview of Greenbank and how their company operates with an emphasis on how ownership and tariff revenue from the solar installation is split between Greenbank, Norwalk Housing Authority and the tenants.
Ms. Basham shared that Greenbank created an initial site design & economics based on the initial technical site visit and then went through a competitive RFP process. If there is a change in economics based on the RFP process, Greenbank comes back for additional approval and that is what is being presented in today's meeting.
Ms. Shelton took the floor to present the updated economics for the project, comparing the results of the technical site visit presented in November 2025 versus the results of the RFP process.
The following points were discussed:
• Change in unit size due to utility implementation of additional design restrictions related to single-phase electrical service
• Request of the Norwalk Housing Authority to minimize tree removal and create a re-planting plan which does reduce solar yield
• Overall reduction in cumulative benefit from $2,429,012 to $1,840,345
• Economics will fluctuate based on actual system production, but tariff % allocation remains fixed
• Greenbank cannot guarantee conditions outside of its control during the construction and any issues will trigger a lease amendment
Ms. Shelton advised that delays to the project could impact lease economics based on not having safe harbor modules available and contractor pricing only being held for a set period. In addition, the 6-month HUD approval process would need to be restarted if the Norwalk Housing Authority chooses to go with a different partner.
Jodi Trendler took the floor to recommend that Norwalk Housing Authority move forward with Greenbank and accept the new resolution. Ms. Trendler voiced her concern about starting over as considerable time will be lost. Financially, Ms. Trendler believes that the Greenbank model will have much better returns for the Norwalk Housing Authority and its residents compared to the competitor's fixed payment model.
Commissioner Walcott asked if the city had any concerns about the tree removal. Ms. Trendler confirmed the city partnered with the Norwalk Housing Authority & Greenbank to maintain critical trees and create a re-planting plan for the removed trees.
Ayes
Treasurer Isaac Walcott
Commissioner John Church
Nays
Chair Brenda Penn-Williams
Commissioner Teneshia Jacobs
Motion failed.
Mr. Bovilsky advised that he will collect the concerns of the board to understand next steps for this project.
Report of the Secretary:
1. Mr. Bovilsky shared that the House & the Senate are both working on continuing resolutions instead of passing the previously shared THUD budget. Current funding runs out on September 30th. The team will continue to update the board but is optimistic that one of the resolutions will pass prior to the funding deadline.
2. Mr. Bovilsky shared that the Annual Scholarship event was a huge success and drew press coverage from News Channel 12.
3. Mr. Bovilsky reported that the Elizabeth Raymond Ambler Foundation recently awarded Norwalk Housing Authority students with $60K in college scholarships.
4. Mr. Bovilsky shared that the Learning Center Summer Program has concluded. The kids had a great summer filled with swimming, tennis, golf, gardening, the Bronx Zoo and so much more.
5. Mr. Bovilsky provided an update on new voucher issuance.
6. Mr. Bovilsky provided an update on participation in the first phase of the organization's strategic plan and the next steps to be completed.
7. Mr. Bovilsky shared the following upcoming events:
• September 9-10, 2026, Strategic Plan Phase 2 Visit
• September 17, 2026 @5:30pm Regular Board Meeting (new proposed date)
• October 8, 2026 @5:30pm Regular Board Meeting
• October 15, 2026 @5:30pm Comcast Hunt Fish Feed Event (time tentative)
22-86 Treasurer Walcott moved to change:
A. The September Board Meeting Date from Sept 10th to Sept 17th
Commissioner Church seconded the motion.
This change allows more time to prepare the first draft of the Annual Plan.
Ayes
Chair Brenda Penn-Williams
Treasurer Isaac Walcott
Commissioner John Church
Commissioner Teneshia Jacobs
All in favor. Motion passed.
22-87 Commissioner Church moved to approve:
C. Torti Gallas and Ken Boroson as the Architect for 26 Monroe Street
There was no second. Motion failed.
Chair Penn-Williams stated that she needs more information on the entire project prior to voting on any portion of it.
The board previously voted to approve National Housing Trust as Sound Communities' Co-Developer for the 26 Monroe Street project.
22-88 Commissioner Church moved to table:
C. Architect Selection for 26 Monroe Street
There was no second. Motion failed.
22-89 Commissioner Church moved to adopt:
D. Recommendation for Architect for 25 Leonard Street
Commissioner Jacobs seconded the motion.
Leala Marlin recapped that the board previously approved an initial yield study to create a 3-story 12-unit apartment at the site. The next step in the process is to select an architect to be able to get a site plan to the city.
The RFP process generated three proposals, and the committee is recommending moving forward with Kenneth Boroson Architects due to their direct relevant experience, previous experience working together and competitive pricing.
Ayes
Chair Brenda Penn-Williams
Commissioner John Church
Commissioner Teneshia Jacobs
Abstain
Treasurer Isaac Walcott
Motion passed.
22-90 Treasurer Walcott moved to table:
• Remaining items on the agenda
Chair Penn-Williams seconded the motion.
Ayes
Chair Brenda Penn-Williams
Treasurer Isaac Walcott
Commissioner Teneshia Jacobs
Nays
Commissioner John Church
Motion passed.
22-91 Treasurer Walcott moved to adjourn the meeting.
Commissioner Jacobs seconded the motion.
Ayes
Chair Brenda Penn-Williams
Treasurer Isaac Walcott
Commissioner Teneshia Jacobs
Abstain
Commissioner John Church
Motion carried.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:19pm.