Town Board considers how to deal with Millerton Overlook

NORTH EAST — Those who attended the village of Millerton’s Planning Board meeting last Thursday evening were likely disappointed when Housing Resources of Columbia County, Inc., the applicant behind the proposed Millerton Overlook affordable housing project, was removed from the agenda. That didn’t prevent them from traveling a couple of blocks over to the North East Town Hall, however, where the status of a Housing Resources’ request was being discussed that very night.

The Town Board wanted Attorney to the Town Warren Replansky’s opinion about a Housing Resources’ appeal to withdraw the nonprofit’s December request to extend its completion date from the originally anticipated 2007 to 2011.

“In talking to our attorneys, it was just a clerical formality to take care of,� Housing Resources Executive Director Kevin O’Neill said, adding that removing the request was equally as simple. “As evidenced by the $700,000 spent on this project, we have certainly demonstrated our commitment to get this thing done.�

But there have been glitches.

First, consider a brief sketch of the project’s history as described by Replansky. In 2005 the county granted the town of North East a $108,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), at which time the town entered into an agreement with Housing Resources stating the project would be complete by 2007. The grant money was given to Housing Resources by the town to acquire the property at the intersection of routes 22 and 44 at the head of the village. The town is responsible for ensuring the project is dedicated to providing the community affordable housing as part of grant compliance. As of this point, however, the project has yet to win approval from the village Planning Board.

“We can call the note according to the terms in the event of [the applicant] defaulting,� Replansky said, adding that the project was not completed, or even begun, in 2007. “Housing Resources is way over to extend the time period. And it has since pulled that request. You are now left with whether you want to pull the project.�

The attorney said he wanted to know if the project’s delay was attributed to the applicant or other circumstances, and whether it was still viable. He pointed out the town still has a responsibility to Dutchess County for $108,000 and for the promise of affordable housing.

“There are a lot of questions and more information needed,� Replansky said, adding that a meeting with representatives from Housing Resources might be in order.

According to O’Neill, who spoke with The Millerton News on Friday, Jan. 15, in an interview after Housing Resources was pulled from the agenda of the village Planning Board meeting, everything is still moving forward, even if there are some bumps in the road.  

“It boils down to we got notice on Jan. 6 that we had to come up with another $6,000 they wanted on top of the $8,000 they wanted in December to put into escrow,� he said. “We needed more than three days to come up with $6,000. We weren’t able to work that out in time to make the agenda. So I’m on my way to drop that check off today so we can be on the agenda for Jan. 27.�

If Housing Resources was notified on Jan. 6 that means it actually had more than six full business days notice to deposit money into its escrow account, not three.

O’Neill said the constant strain on the escrow account has hindered the project from the start, causing costs to balloon up to $700,000 already, compared to other projects of his that cost a fraction of that amount.

“We’re a nonprofit community developer, we were asked by the community and the town to develop this project, and we had plenty of financial strength at that point,� he said. “Six years later the project is getting heavy. There are some who are hoping they’ll spend us into the ground, but we can’t afford to walk away from a $700,000 investment. We proposed we’re going to do this project and we’re not going to drop it.�

At the meeting, resident DeLora Brooks asked, “So the village and the town boards in no way have any responsibility for any of this?�

“There’s responsibility with the town for the agreement with the county to facilitate an affordable housing project,� Replansky said. “There’s also the responsibility we had to help acquire the property. But we don’t have any purse strings over the project.�

“The need for affordable housing has gotten worse over the last few years; it hasn’t been met.... Millerton Overlook is mixed use, it’s something we need and a useful project,� said resident Holly Nelson.

“If you would, review the statements Mr. O’Neill made in December. He said for two years they were in financial distress, now he says they’re on solid ground and moving forward, and then he couldn’t pay the escrow,� said resident Dave Shufelt. “I think you should look at their financial standing. I’m not arguing if it’s a worthwhile project.�

“We service property for Housing Resources on Fish Street and they are delinquent,� said Northwest Lawn and Landscaping Maintenance, LLC co-owner Amiee Duncan. “I spoke with Kevin O’Neill and he said they had no money to pay us. They turned to the state to bail them out. They were less than cooperative and my fear is that this is on a much greater scale.�

According to O’Neill, “nobody owns that property right now,� and the state is in the process of foreclosing on it so it can regain possession.

“They were supposed to find somebody else to manage it,� he said. “There’s not enough rent to cover maintenance. We don’t own it. We were managing it the best we could with the resources available to that project. For a nonprofit we have all sorts of different funds and we get into trouble when we cross funds. We can’t use money from one fund to pay for another.

“For a while we were able to use unrestricted funds to pay for the deficit, but that wasn’t sustainable. We’re still keeping the heat on, keeping it safe, but there are some old bills New York state is paying for, but not as fast as we would like or as fast as the recipients would like,� O’Neill said. “But they assured us they would pay them. New York state specifically agreed to pay that bill [owed to Northwest Lawn and Landscaping Maintenance, LLC]. Housing Resources does have bills that are outstanding, which New York state has assured them will be paid. It’s not an easy business.�

Housing Resources expects to be on the village Planning Board’s next meeting’s agenda, set for Jan. 27, at 7 p.m.; it will also be up for discussion at next month’s Town Board meeting, set for Thursday, Feb. 11, at 7 p.m. Replansky is on the agenda for 8:30 p.m. and expects to address Housing Resources at that time.

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