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Friday April 16th, 2020 Minutes

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MINUTES of the SPECIAL MEETING
of the BOARD of DIRECTORS

Friday – April 16th, 2020 – 9:00 a.m.
via 34 W Fulton St and Conference call
Gloversville, New York

Directors Present: Dr. Leslie Ford, Timothy Beckett, Terri Easterly, Kent Kirch, Geoffrey Peck, Gregory Fagan

Directors Absent: Travis Mitchell, Ronald Olinsky, Grant Preston

Staff Present: Ronald Peters, Desirée Perham

Other Attendees: David D’Amore, Managing Architect, C.T. Male Assoc.

Special Session

Call to Order: 9:22 a.m.

Welcome and Call to Order (Dr.Leslie Ford)

The meeting was called to order and the Chair thanked everyone for coming together mid-month to review the 34 W Fulton St Revitalization Project which is the primary purpose of this meeting.

Roll call was taken and a quorum was present.

It was noted that no agenda was prepared for this meeting as the project review was the main item of focus.

The Chair did want to acknowledge that the Executive Committee met in January and reformulated the committee structure which upon further reflection may have an effect on the By-Laws.  This will need to be addressed in the future and will be included as an item for discussion in the upcoming regular meeting of the Board.

34 W Fulton St Revitalization Project

Introduction – (Ron Peters)

F.H. Alexander, the contractor that was awarded the contract after bid submission, was onsite today to walkthrough the location with the revised scope in mind.  The revised scope brought the project cost down to $545,000.  Dave D’Amore summarized the current status of the project.

Project Summary (David D’Amore)

  • H. Alexander was communicated with during the scope revision process. Communications were maintained with company president, Frank Alessadrini and he doesn’t see issues with the contract. They would, however, like revised documents on the new $545,000 scope.
  • Drawing revisions are not too difficult to reissue. The tricky part will be issuing the new set under C.T. Male’s name as opposed to AND, where the drawings originated.  T. Male CAD standards will be reviewed later today to determine required changes and Ron Peters will be notified of timing.
  • Tom Snyder, the estimator from F.H. Alexander and also the project manager, is okay with the scope revisions.
  • The following items were removed from the scope:
    • Large portion of masonry repair
    • Window replacement
    • All of rear parking lot
    • Rear ramp and store front entrance
    • In-fill masonry
    • Canopies
  • The remaining scope items include:
    • Roof replacement
    • Front parapet rebuild/support
    • Demolition of garage
    • In-fill with gravel in demo location

Questions/Discussion:

Meeting the 30% W/MBE requirements caused considerable difficulty. A roofing contractor with a much higher estimate had to be utilized.  Initially the project was at a W/MBE level of around 22%.  CRG did ask for a waiver from the State, but it was denied, resulting in a time delay and higher costs.

It was asked if the gravel area of parking would be up to current city code or if pavement would be required.  Cost would bump up if paving was added. David D’Amore will follow up on the city codes to see what is required. He suggested a potential option of putting in the gravel as a sub-base for future paving and add top soil and seed the area for now.

This project will most likely not be considered essential unless something was critical or safety related.  Currently planning for an early May project start if allowed.  The contractor wants to start soon if able. A lot of their work is in the restaurant business and this project would most likely be available for working on before those.

David D’Amore felt that the three month project window is attainable, keeping in mind that weather could be a factor.  The parapet work will take the longest.  Roof replacement is 3-4 weeks and masonry work is 1-2 weeks.  Portions of the discreet scopes can run concurrently.  He can issue drawings next week.

The Chair requested formal confirmation on where we stand schedule-wise once drawings are issued and contractor has reviewed them.  An email on this would be acceptable and the dates on the contract need to accurately reflect this as well.

There were no further questions for David D’Amore and he left the meeting at 9:38 a.m.

Board Discussion

Any questions regarding the Commitment Letter to the Community Loan Fund?

It was pointed out that the line of credit was extended from 12 months to 18 months.  Concerns around timing of the project due to COVID19 restrictions were reviewed with the CLF and they said they would work with CRG as needed.  CLF is not interested in foreclosing on the building.  The Board preferred the 18 month timing to the 12 month and asked if CRG could afford this loan and move forward with the project.

Everyone was referred by the CEO to the draw schedule spreadsheet which was briefly summarized.  An educated guess of June 1, 2020 was used as a start date and the numbers were run through May of 2021.  Interest costs are reasonable and there is $100,000 in holding costs on the line.

The Board inquired if all payments need approval by ESD NY at regular meetings and that was confirmed to be the case as was the fact that ESD is still holding meetings.  The Board asked how much was already expensed last year and it was approximated around $170,000.  This meant the draws would show as revenue for this year, so it is more profitable to continue with the project than not.

The question was asked as to how the State was reacting to projects.  The ESD is still maintaining their staff and the dollars are still there.  The 34 W Fulton St Revitalization project is a relatively small project for them.  The CEO estimates about a three-month turnaround on draws.  He tested the waters and asked for a draw recently.  The audit department held it up briefly, questioning the holding costs, and they worked with the State and put it through.  This project is an exception in that holding costs are included and we have documentation to back that up.  CRG has received that first drawdown check.  The original projected had $67,000 in holding costs and we are now looking for $140,000.  A verbal okay has been received by CRG on the budget modification and it is going through State approval now.

The Board asked about the Covenants #4 (re: net revenue greater than zero…) on the last page of the Commitment Letter. The revenue received will offset this and CLF is okay with this.  CRG has been very transparent with the Community Loan Fund and has supplied them with every financial document they have requested.

The question of whether there are any concerns about change orders was brought up. The $545,000 was a hard line for construction costs.  Any changes would mean a reduction in scope as no additional funds are available.

The CEO mentioned the possibility of going to the Gloversville Loan Fund for $200,000 as a backup to the CLF if the State is slow to process draws. The Board suggested waiting on this to see if it was actually needed.

As there were no additional questions, the CEO asked if the Board was ready to move ahead with the project and line of credit.

Kent Kirch moved a motion to approve signing of the Commitment Letter to the Community Loan Fund and to approve Ron Peters as the signer of all documents needed to process the loan funds.  Gregory Fagan seconded the motion and the motion was passed by all Board members in attendance.

Per a previously approved Resolution dated 10/25/19, it was confirmed that all CLF loan drawdowns related to the 34 W. Fulton St. Revitalization Project will be approved by the Finance Committee and the Board of Directors in advance of accessing CLF loan funds.

The Board asked if any other funding sources were being sought by CRG. It was stated that there are no other funds being sought at this time.

This concluded the Board’s discussion on the 34 W. Fulton St. Revitalization Project.

Meeting Adjournment

At 9:57 a.m., Dr. Leslie Ford moved a motion to adjourn the meeting which was seconded by Gregory Fagan with unanimous passing by all Board members present.

Board Meetings are held the Fourth Friday of the Month
at the CRG Main Office
at 8:30 AM

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