Municipal Affordable Housing Trust
Meeting Minutes
January 15, 2013 - 4:30 PM
Conference Room B, 3rd Floor, Town Hall
Minutes of Meeting— January 15, 2013
The Hudson Affordable Housing Trust met at the Hudson Town Hall, 78 Main Street. At 7:00 p.m., the meeting was called to order.
Members Present: Robin Frank, Scott Golder, John Parent, Joe Peznola, Kevin Santos
Others Present: Michelle Ciccolo – Community Development Director, Kerin Shea – Community & Economic Development Assistant
Members Not Present: Charlie McGourty
AHT Clerk
Before attending to agenda items, Mr. Parent pointed out that, after the resignation of Ms. Ghiloni & Ms. Shea, the AHT needed clerking staff. It would be better to have someone inside Town Hall, as an inside contact. This person could not only take minutes & draft agendas, but also have the ability so see projects through. He suggested former AHT member Kerin Shea, Community & Economic Development Assistant. Her pay would have to be commensurate with her hourly rate, and may be required to be paid overtime on occasion according to Mass General Law.
John Parent, seconded by Kevin Santos, made a motion to hire Kerin Shea to clerk for the Affordable Housing Trust.
Vote: 5-0-0, unanimous
Nomination & Election of Chairman
Ms. Ghiloni (former Chair) & Ms. Shea (former Vice-Chair) have both resigned from the trust effective 12/31/12. Mr. Parent nominated Joe Peznola. There were no other nominations.
John Parent, seconded by Robin Frank, made a motion to elect Joe Peznola as Chairman.
Vote: 5-0-0, unanimous
At this point in the meeting, Mr. Peznola took over running the meeting.
Nomination & Election of Vice-Chair
Mr. Parent nominated Kevin Santos as Vice-Chair. There were no other nominations.
John Parent, seconded by Joe Peznola, made a motion to elect Kevin Santos as Vice-Chair.
Vote: 5-0-0, unanimous
Review of AHT Account Balance & Outstanding Commitments
The current balance in the AHT Trust account is $548,829.65. The AHT has the following commitments:
$100,000 for a Down Payment Assistance program (vote taken 11/21/11)
$4,465 for Buyer’s Commission for 26 Blueberry Ln.
The AHT also pledged to match $100,000 for a Housing Price Buy-Down program, contingent upon receipt of CDBG grant funds by the Community Development Department. But as the grant application was unsuccessful, that appropriation is now moot.
In May of 2012, The CPA voted to appropriate $150,000 in addition to the 10% automatically transferred to the AHT. But as this was voted to help “stabilize” the AHT account & not earmarked for any specific program, the money does not have to be returned.
The AHT can also expect a windfall from the sale of Esplanade Unit #207, sold at market rate. The AHT will receive a check amounting to the difference between the affordable price and the market rate price. Unit #313 is entering foreclosure & no windfall can be expected from that.
Mr. Peznola voiced concerns regarding creating a down payment assistance program when the AHT ____________. The AHT wants to be proactive, but the creation of units can be a daunting task. He would like to bring in Beth Rust or Laura Shufelt to speak with the Trust. The Mass Housing Partnership is an advocacy group which can help with training, etc. Neither agency will act as a lottery agent. Ms. Ciccolo said that Hudson can create its own programs, as long as it follows the LMI guidelines. But she is unsure if the Community Development could undertake this program. It may not be a good fit for the department. Mr. Peznola agreed. The AHT is a volunteer board & this is a good example of why a consultant’s expertise is needed. Mr. Parent agreed. He suggested that the
AHT withdraw its commitments for the creation of the aforementioned buying assistance programs.
John Parent, seconded by Joe Peznola, made a motion to rescind any & all prior votes committing funds to a down payment assistance or housing price buy-down programs.
Vote: 5-0-0, unanimous
Michelle Ciccolo, Community Development Director
Ms. Ciccolo explained that the CD Department has been participating in regional housing discussions with communities in the MAGIC sub-region. Beth Rust has been retained by MAGIC & has met with each community to see what everyone’s housing needs are. MAGIC housing meeting scheduled for 1/17/13. No one community wants to lead the regional effort. Beth Rust believes the communities should hire MAPC. The communities Beth works for were the larger of the MAGIC communities, as the small communities didn’t see the value for the costs involved. Beth cannot take on any more communities. Perhaps Hudson should be the lead, if MAPC doesn’t do it. We can develop the RFP & invite other communities to join. We could also over see the consultant & have a vacant office in
the CD Department.
Another way to pay for a consultant is by being the monitoring agent for Cabot Ridge. We would take the monitoring fees & hire a consultant. The Housing Authority does not want to be the monitoring agent. Ms. Ciccolo will have a better sense of the other 7 communities’ participation after Thursday’s meeting.
Another direction for the AHT is to act like more of a straight funding source, similar to CPA. Groups, non-profits or Town Departments could submit applications for funding. They could be rolling applications or have deadlines at certain times per year. Mr. Peznola wondered how the AHT would choose one project over another. Ms. Ciccolo explained that the AHT could create its own guidelines. If the applications were rolling, they could be 1st come 1st serve, until the funds ran out. Unlike CPA appropriations, the AHT would not have to go to Town Meeting. Ms. Shea suggested that the guidelines could make one project more advantageous over another, if it created more units or was in some way more advantageous to the Town. The AHT could fund 1-2 projects a year or 1 large
project every few years. Mr. Peznola liked the idea of being “the bank” and reviewing applications. Mr. Parent said that some projects could be jointly financed with CPA funds.
Ms. Ciccolo also explained that we would be getting a Housing Production Plan, complete with recommendations, as part of the Master Plan. The application could put the burden of complying with the recommendations of the Housing Production Plan back on the applicant. I f the AHT did adopt this practice, Mr. Peznola would like to reach out to Habitat for Humanity, as they have their own process. Ms. Ciccolo said that since many lots are substandard, they could do a friendly 40B.
Ms. Ciccolo also said that the AHT could also do housing rehab. Many houses need less work and don’t have the foreclosure hurdles that the Blueberry Lane house had. Mr. Peznola asked what the AHT’s role would be in that case. Would it be dealing with contractors? Ms. Ciccolo clarified that it would be through the funding of an application by the CD Department. It would handle the bidding & oversight. The undertaking any project by the CD Department would have to be approved by Paul Blazar & with the understanding that the CD Department had time to do it.
New Business
- Membership – There are currently 3 vacant positions. Mr. Parent spoke with Joe Durant & Justin Provencher. Both have expressed interest in becoming members of the AHT. Ms. Frank also knew someone who may be interested. All interested parties must submit a Board Interest Card. The Trust would then make a recommendation to the Board of Selectmen who would appoint the new members. Ms. Shea reminded the group that it could always amend its Articles of Trust to have fewer than 9 members or to allow members who do not live in town. The only requirement is that 1 member has to be a member of the board of Selectmen.
Minutes
John Parent, seconded by Joe Peznola, made a motion to approve the minutes of November 29, 2012.
Vote: 5-0-0, unanimous
Adjournment
Joe Peznola, seconded by John Parent, moved to adjourn at 8:10 PM.
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