Chilmark Housing Committee
Meeting Minutes
Monday, December 1, 2008 at 4:30 p.m.
Present: Andy Goldman, Chairman, Zee Gamson, Roland Kluver, Tim Lasker and
Christina Soulagnet, Administrative Assistant
Absent: Jim Feiner and William Randol
Guest: Tim Carroll
Call To Order
Mr. Goldman, Chairman, called the meeting to order at 4:32 p.m.
Meeting Minutes
The Committee reviewed the November 17, 2008 meeting minutes. Mr. Lasker made a motion, Mr. Kluver seconded, and Mr. Goldman declared the minutes approved, as there was a lack of quorum in attendance from the November 17 meeting.
Building of Larger Homes
Mr. Goldman led a discussion about the concern of larger homes being built on the island. Mr. Lasker stated that the Planning Board is working on a bylaw to address this concern. In addition, Mr. Lasker shared that the Planning Board is presently drafting a noise and wind turbine bylaw amendment. Mr. Goldman suggested that a sub-committee be organized to draft the larger homes regulation. Mr. Goldman and Mr. Kluver volunteered to be part of this sub-committee.
Housing Administrative Assistant Vacancy
Tim Carroll began the discussion by informing the Committee that the Administrative Assistant vacancy has been advertised. The position vacancy has been advertised for 10 hours housing and 15 hours planning. Mr. Carroll stated that the Housing Committee, three years ago, requested two additional hours per week for their administrative assistant for a period of two years. This temporary two-year period has expired so the Housing Administrative Assistant position hours have decreased to 10 hours a week instead of 12.
The deadline for completed applications is December 12, 2008 and interviews will be conducted on December 18, 2008. Mr. Goldman will participate in the interviewing process. Mr. Carroll anticipates having a qualified applicant to recommend to the Board of Selectmen for their meeting on December 23, 2008, with the start date soon after the first of the year.
FY2010 Budget
Tim Carroll informed the Committee that the Board of Selectmen has requested each department to be financially responsible when reviewing the budget and to submit a zero increase for FY2010.
High Meadow Homesite
The Housing Committee reviewed the lottery summary for the High Meadow Homesite. There are a total of six qualified applicants participating in the lottery, which will be held at the Board of Selectmen's meeting on January 6, 2009 at 7:30 pm. The Housing Committee and the Dukes County Regional Housing Authority will partake in the lottery ceremony.
Middle Line Road Community Housing Program
Mr. Carroll informed the Committee that the Board of Selectmen rejected the Request For Proposal (RFP) for the development of Middle Line Road Community Housing Program. A new RFP is being prepared that will breakdown the project into steps, which will separate the installation of wells, installation of utility lines and the construction of the road.
FY2010 Housing Budget
The Committee reviewed the budget line by line. The following was voted on and approved by the members:
Administrative Assistant: $10,650.00 (-$2,868) (Note: Hours reduced to 10 hrs/week)
Professional Development: 500.00 (-300)
Advertising: 800.00 (-400)
Postage: 300.00 (-200)
Office Supplies: 100.00 (-200)
Housing Assessment: 23,399.00 (-2,399)
35,749.00 (-$5,267 Tentative reduction from FY09 Budget)
Construction Discussion
At the last Housing Committee meeting, the members agreed to explore ways to fund the cost of providing construction consultants/plans to Homesite housing recipients. It was the sense of the Committee that they support the idea but now would not be a good time to ask the Townspeople to fund such activity. Mr. Goldman suggested to coordinate a fundraiser in order to raise the approximate $10,000 ($1,000 x 10 potential Homesite lots). Mr. Lasker suggested putting together the information and providing a handout to recipients. Mr. Kluver shared another possibility to approach builders to do the work pro-bono (as an expert to commit to a 10 hours of expertise) rather than a fundraiser effort. The members will contact names of experts to generate an interest. Ms. Gamson to contact the Dukes
County Regional Housing Authority for a builders handbook, if available.
Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI)
The Committee made note that there is no line item in the Housing Budget for the cost of CORI checks. The Housing Committee requires an applicant applying for affordable housing opportunities to have a clear CORI check. The cost for each request is $25.00. Mr. Carroll will be the authorized person to conduct CORI requests for the Housing Committee.
Rental Assistance Program
The Housing Committee received two applications from landlords to participate in the Rental Assistance Program. These property owners each have a potential tenant that they would like see occupy their rental homes. The Dukes County Regional Housing Authority is in the process of certifying the rental homes and verifying the tenant applications. Once these opportunities are finalized, the Housing Committee will send a thank you letter to the property owners for participating in this program.
With no further business to discuss, Mr. Goldman adjourned the meeting at 6:00 p.m.
Minutes respectfully submitted by Christina Soulagnet, Administrative Assistant.
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