Lenox Affordable Housing Committee
August 1, 2011
Minutes
Members present: Dave Klausemeyer (DK), Chair, Jo Anne Magee (JM), Ellen Jacobson (EJ), Olga Weiss (OW) and Debbie Burke (DB).
Absent: Kate McNulty-Vaughan (KMV) and Roscoe Sandlin (RS).
Also in attendance: Mary Albertson (MA), Town Planner.
DK opened the meeting at 3:04 PM.
Minutes: JM made a motion to approve the July Minutes with corrections. Seconded by DB and unanimously approved. JM made a motion to approve the June Minutes. Seconded by EJ and unanimously approved. DK said that the committee reviewed the May Minutes at its June Meeting and asked MA to make corrections to the minutes. JM made a motion to approve the May Minutes. Seconded by DB and unanimously approved.
Discussion ensued regarding the Peer-to-Peer program. JM will prepare the draft letter. MA will try to contact Connie Kruger to determine if she is available to serve as a peer. Members suggested that if Ms. Kruger is not available she may have recommendations regarding potential peers.
OW asked about housing opportunities at Shakespeare. DB stated that MaryBeth Mitts, Shakespeare and Company, attended a committee meeting. MA suggested that this is a very busy time for Shakespeare and Company and exploring affordable housing opportunities is probably on the back-burner. OW suggested that some of the buildings are in need of repair. She suggested that the town look at the minimum maintenance bylaw. MA said the town has not adopted a minimum maintenance bylaw or a demolition delay bylaw. Members agreed that there should be follow-up with Shakespeare. MA will contact MaryBeth Mitts to determine if she would like to attend a future committee meeting.
MA said the site visit for Sawmill Brook project is tomorrow morning. Two parties have registered to attend the site visit.
DK said that the Affordable Housing Committee has been invited to designate a representative to serve on the Sawmill Brook Ad Hoc Review and Selection Committee. JM made a motion to appoint DK to the Ad Hoc Review and Selection Committee. Seconded by OW and unanimously approved. (DK recused himself from the vote.) DK said the interviews will to August 25th. He said he would like the committee to select a back-up just in case he is unable to attend. DB nominated EJ and OW nominated JM. DK asked JM if she was available for the August 25th meeting and she said yes. DK asked EJ if she was available for the August 25th meeting and she said she may have a family conflict. EJ offered a second to the motion to appoint JM as the back-up representative.
The committee voted 4 in favor and 1 opposed to appoint JM as the back-up representative.
DB offered information regarding the Trustco Bank Affordable Housing program. She said they are actively promoting their mortgage program. Trustco does not sell its mortgages into the secondary market. Discussion ensued regarding inviting Trustco to attend a meeting. DB will follow-up with Trustco Bank. MA will scan the brochure and forward it to the members.
MA distributed copies of the Affordable Housing Resource List prepared by KMV. DK would like to offer the list to Bill Dunlavey for the Housing Symposium. Discussion ensued regarding who should be invited to the Symposium. DB suggested the committee focus on Lenox attendees. Others suggested that the list should be more comprehensive. MA will scan and forward the list to members. DK asked members to offer suggestion to MA by August 10th. Discussion ensued regarding the approval of the final list. It was agreed that members will review and finalize the list at its next meeting scheduled for September 6th.
DK will contact RS regarding his membership on the committee. Discussion ensued regarding potential new members.
DB said she attended the Economic Development Steering Committee Meeting. She said there was discussion regarding free WiFi in the village. She said she offered input to the Steering Committee regarding the need for WiFi service for the Curtis housing units.
The next meeting will be Tuesday – September 6, 2011 @ 3:00 PM. DK said that the meeting is on a Tuesday because Monday is the Labor Day holiday.
Meeting adjourned at 4:20PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Mary Albertson, Town Planner
Approved: 9/6/2011
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