October 8, 2026 Meeting Minutes
October 8th, 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 5:32pm on October 8th, 2026.
Location: Zoom Video Conference
Present:
Brenda Penn-Williams, Chair
Liza Bermudez-Montgomery, Vice Chair
Isaac Walcott, Treasurer
John Church, Commissioner (joined at 5:41pm)
Teneshia Jacobs, Commissioner
Staff Attending at Beginning of Meeting:
Adam Bovilsky, Executive Director
Kras Carlucci, Deputy Director
Charmaine Davis-Ford, Director of Finance
Lisa Endo, VP of Development
Wendy Gerbier, Director of Learning Centers
Gregory Lickwola, Director of Modernization
Jeff Oduro, Director of IT
Sherreida Reid, Partnership Manager
Linda Rolle, Director of Advancement
Sophia Stewart, Project Coordinator
Donna Lattarulo, Outside General Counsel, Lattarulo Law Firm, LLC
Members of the Public:
Keisha Palmer, Attorney, Robinson & Cole
Cristina DiMaria, Attorney, KLA Legal LLP
Erin Madar, Attorney, KLA Legal LLP
Roll Call:
At 5:32 pm, Chair Penn-Williams opened the meeting. Chair Penn-Williams recognized Vice Chair Bermudez-Montgomery, Treasurer Walcott and Commissioner Jacobs as present and acknowledged the presence of a quorum.
New Business:
23-07 Vice Chair Bermudez-Montgomery moved to approve:
A. Resolution for Bond Inducement for Leroy Downs
Treasurer Walcott seconded the motion.
Lisa Endo took the floor to discuss the redevelopment of Leroy Downs at 79 S Main. Sound Communities has applied to CHFA for 4% low-income housing tax credits, and the process is moving along well. 4% tax credits are always paired with tax-exempt bonds, and the Norwalk Housing Authority can be the entity to issue those bonds to Sound Communities.
Ms. Endo shared that the resolution being presented requests NHA to issue the tax-exempt bonds. NHA will earn an issuers fee of 1% of the total bond issuance. The total bond inducement resolution is for issuing up to $16 million in tax-exempt bonds. The resolution states that no expenditures made earlier than 60 days prior to the resolution may be reimbursed using tax-exempt bonds.
Ms. Palmer, NHA's bond counsel, took the floor and explained that this resolution is a resolution of intent that needs to be signed to start the tax process. Later, the team will come back to the board a second time with a resolution to begin issuing the bonds.
Ayes
Chair Brenda Penn-Williams
Vice Chair Bermudez-Montgomery
Treasurer Isaac Walcott
Commissioner Church
Commissioner Teneshia Jacobs
All in favor. Motion passed.
At 5:42pm, Commissioner Walcott moved to enter Executive Session to discuss a security issue and personnel matter.
Motion seconded by Commissioner Jacobs.
The Commissioners invited Adam Bovilsky, Kras Carlucci, Jeff Oduro, General Counsel Donnal Lattarulo, Cristina DiMaria and Erin Madar to join the Executive Session.
Ayes
Chair Brenda Penn-Williams
Vice Chair Bermudez-Montgomery
Treasurer Isaac Walcott
Commissioner Church
Commissioner Teneshia Jacobs
All in favor. Motion carried.
At 6:06pm, Treasurer Walcott made a motion to exit the Executive Session.
Commissioner Church seconded the motion.
Ayes
Chair Brenda Penn-Williams
Vice Chair Bermudez-Montgomery
Treasurer Isaac Walcott
Commissioner Church
Commissioner Teneshia Jacobs
All in favor. Motion carried.
No votes were taken based on the executive session.
At 6:07pm, the regular session was convened, and the following additional participants joined the meeting.
Additional Staff Attending the Regular Session:
Leroy Fender, Director of Maintenance
Naran Jallim, Director of Personnel & Labor Relations
Anna Keegan, Director of Policy & MTW
Sherreida Reid, Partnership Manager
Nicole Ruffin, HR Generalist
23-08 Treasurer Walcott moved to authorize:
B. Commissioners and staff to attend the PHADA Commissioner Conference in San Diego, CA, January 4, 2027 to January 7, 2027 for an early bird registration rate of $585 and a hotel rate of $245/night plus tax.
Commissioner Church seconded the motion.
Ayes
Chair Brenda Penn-Williams
Vice Chair Bermudez-Montgomery
Treasurer Isaac Walcott
Commissioner Church
Commissioner Teneshia Jacobs
All in favor. Motion carried.
23-09 Treasurer Walcott moved to authorize:
C. Monica Wilson and other staff to attend the Annual Nelrod Consortium Conference in Las Vegas, NV, April 7-9, 2027 for an early bird registration rate of $749 and a hotel rate of $169/night plus tax.
Commissioner Jacobs seconded the motion.
Ayes
Chair Brenda Penn-Williams
Vice Chair Bermudez-Montgomery
Treasurer Isaac Walcott
Commissioner Church
Commissioner Teneshia Jacobs
All in favor. Motion passed.
23-10 Commissioner Church moved to adopt:
D. Minutes- September 17th, 2026
Commissioner Jacobs seconded the motion.
There were no edits to the minutes.
Ayes
Chair Brenda Penn-Williams
Treasurer Isaac Walcott
Commissioner Church
Commissioner Teneshia Jacobs
Abstain
Vice Chair Bermudez-Montgomery
With four votes, the motion passed.
23-11 Commissioner Church moved to accept:
E. Department Reports
Vice Chair Bermudez-Montgomery seconded the motion.
Charmaine Davis-Ford took the floor and presented the finance department report.
Chair Penn-Williams asked about the ability to not take checks for rent payments. Ms. Davis-Ford stated that it would be difficult to stop accepting checks at the moment. However, the Norwalk Housing Authority is working on an electronic platform for online payment and the project is 75% complete. The target completion date is first quarter of 2027.
Vice Chair Bermudez-Montgomery asked about fees for returned checks, and Ms. Davis-Ford confirmed that there is a $15 fee per returned check.
Chair Penn-Williams asked what policies that the Norwalk Housing Authority has to support tenants with mental illness to ensure that they are not evicted due to non-payment or other compliance issues without support. Adam Bovilsky and General Counsel Lattarulo shared that ADA accommodations provide support to tenants with mental health issues based on their personal situation.
Ayes
Chair Brenda Penn-Williams
Vice Chair Bermudez-Montgomery
Treasurer Isaac Walcott
Commissioner Church
Commissioner Teneshia Jacobs
All in favor. Motion passed.
Report of the Secretary:
1. Mr. Bovilsky introduced Naran Jallim, the Norwalk Housing Authority's new Director of Personnel & Labor Relations.
2. Mr. Bovilsky shared a quick update on the EAP Service Provider agenda item from the last meeting. At this time, the committee has recommended no selection be made from the companies that responded due to incomplete submission. A new solicitation will be started and the item will come back to the Board agenda once the committee has a recommendation.
3. Mr. Bovilsky shared a fundraising update for the Norwalk Housing Foundation. In the last 6 months, NHF has received $292K in donations and $206K in grants.
4. Mr. Bovilsky provided an update on the tenant relocation process for 79 S Main in preparation for demolition to begin in December.
5. Mr. Bovilsky shared that Maricela Esquilin, the new HUD Field Office Director, visited the Norwalk Housing Authority for an introductory presentation and site visits. The time spent was productive on both sides, and Ms. Esquilin had very positive feedback for NHA.
6. Mr. Bovilsky reported on the results on the two NSPIRE inspections that occurred recently for Roodner Court and the Meadow Gardens amp. The scores were 85 and 82 respectively. All scores above 80 mean that HUD does not need to come back next year for inspections. Mr. Fender provided examples of the types of defects found and confirmed all had been resolved.
7. Mr. Bovilsky invited Commissioners to the Learning Center's Hispanic Heritage month celebration on October 13th.
8. Mr. Bovilsky shared the following upcoming events:
• October 15, 2026 @5:30pm Comcast Hunt Fish Feed Event
• October 16, 2026 @6:00pm NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet
• October 20, 2026 @5:30pm City of Norwalk Board & Commissions Open House
• November 12, 2026 @5:30pm Regular Board Meeting
• December 8-9, 2026 Strategic Plan Phase 2 Visit
• December 10, 2026 @5:30pm Regular Board Meeting
23-12 Vice Chair Bermudez-Montgomery moved to adjourn the meeting.
Commissioner Jacobs seconded the motion.
All in favor. Motion carried.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:43pm.
A link to the full audio of the meeting can be found here: