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New Canaan housing board discusses elevator failures and sets aside funds for repairs
Summary
At a Housing Authority of New Canaan meeting, board members reviewed repeated elevator failures at Millport, discussed replacement estimates and funding, and agreed to allocate reserve funds and seek package bids to avoid future outages.
The Housing Authority of New Canaan discussed repeated elevator failures at Millport and options for funding repairs during its meeting; board members agreed to begin setting aside money for likely future work.
Board members said the authority has experienced elevator failures in buildings completed in the mid-to-late 2010s and that the failures have been linked to changes in hydraulic fluid and component wear. Amy, a property manager for Millport, reported vacancies tied to elevator downtime and said, “we have 3 apartments that are vacant,” noting the elevator outage has delayed leasing in at least one unit.
Why it matters: elevators out of service reduce tenant access and rental income and can force the authority to withhold units from lease. Board members expressed a preference for a proactive approach — allocating money now rather than waiting for individual failures — to avoid lost rent and tenant hardship.
Key details and discussion: staff sought quotes after the recent repairs. The authority obtained a rough budget from KONE that was slightly lower than the contractor TK’s quote; the two estimates differed by a few thousand dollars. The board discussed using replacement-reserve funds and an upcoming distribution from Hank (a fund referenced in the meeting) to seed reserve accounts for the authority’s three entities, then deciding whether to replace or refurbish elevators individually or seek a bundled package price for multiple units.
A staff member said hydraulic fluid derived from vegetable oil can clump over time and damage elevator parts; remediation of affected systems requires draining and replacing the fluid and cleaning or replacing clogged parts, which can create significant repair costs.
Next steps: board members agreed to earmark incoming distributions into replacement reserves, solicit bids or a package price if economies of scale exist, and prepare to act within the next one to two months if necessary. The board did not adopt a specific contract for elevator replacement at the meeting.
Ending: The authority asked staff to return with clearer budget options and to explore whether contractors would offer a reduced price for completing multiple elevator repairs at once.
