Lenox Affordable Housing Committee & Trustees Meeting
November 4, 2013
Minutes
Committee Members present: Kate McNulty-Vaughan (KMV), Ellen Jacobson (EJ), Olga Weiss (OW) and Debbie Burke (DB). Trustees present: Kate McNulty-Vaughan (KMV), Ellen Jacobson (EJ), Jackie McNinch (JM), Olga Weiss (OW) and Debbie Burke (DB).
Committee/Trustees Absent: Jo Anne Magee.
Also in attendance: Mary Albertson (MA), Town Planner.
DB served as Chair and opened the meeting at opened at 4:03 PM.
Minutes
ED made a motion to approve the October 7, 2013 Trustees minutes. KMV seconded the motion. The vote was 3-0-2 to approve. OW and JM abstained because they did not attend the meeting.
Sub-Committee Reports:
Public Relations
KMV said that she attended the October 18, 2013 – Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) forum on affordable housing. EJ did not attend but has been in contact with Amy Kacala of BRPC. Ms. Kacala provided EJ a copy of the forum presentation. MA confirmed that she received the presentation materials via email from EJ. MA forwarded the email to the members for their review. KMV said many who attended the forum were members of the community who represent housing organizations such as Berkshire Housing. She noted that the portion of the presentation that focused on the regional affordability gap was very informative. She stressed that many of the rural communities in Berkshire County are not in a position to increase housing because they lack public transportation,
employment centers and public utilities such as sewer and water. KMV observed that Lenox has an obligation to participate in the regional efforts to create affordable housing opportunities.
Mortgage Program
JM offered an update on the status of the mortgage program. There continues to be interest in the program but there have been no closings. Town Counsel has prepared the appropriate forms to administer the program. JM remains hopeful.
Sawmill Brook
There was no new information.
Housing Production Plan
Discussion ensued regarding the Housing Production Plan. The Committee/Trustees will continue its review the current plan and prepare updates. The consensus of the members was to prepare an update. EJ suggested an addendum in this form of a timeline.
New Members
DB reported that Charlene Rosen is interested. DB encouraged Ms. Rosen to apply to the Board of Selectmen.
The next meeting will be December 2, 2013 @ 4:00 PM.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Mary Albertson, Town Planner
Approved:
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