2023-11-09-AHTBT-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Page 1 of 4 Affordable Housing Trust Meeting Minutes of November 9, 2023 10:00 am Hybrid meeting on Zoom and attended in-person in the Parker room, Town Office Building Affordable Housing Trust Board Members present: Elaine Tung, Chair; Mark Sandeen, William Erickson, Tiffany Payne, Linda Prosnitz Staff present: Carol Kowalski, Assistant Town Manager for Development; Ragi Ramachandran, Administrative Assistant Other attendees: Elizabeth Rust, RHSO; Mina Makarious, Bob Pressman, Margaret Heitz, Bob Burbidge, Lester Savage, Sarah Morrison, Patricia Nelson, Charles Hornig Ms. Tung conducted a roll call to ensure all members of the AHT Board and members of staff present could hear and be heard. Ms. Tung chaired the hybrid meeting and called the meeting to order at 10:03 am. The meeting was recorded by LexMedia for future on-demand viewing. 1. Approval of October 26 meeting minutes Ms. Tung asked for a motion to approve the minutes of 10/26/23 AHT meeting. Mr. Sandeen moved. Ms. Payne seconded. The Trustees voted in favor of the motion 5-0-0, by a roll call vote (Erickson – yes, Tung – yes, Sandeen – yes, Payne – yes, Prosnitz – yes). Meeting minutes approved. 2. Chair, Select Board, Board/Committee Liaison and RHSO/staff report Ms. Payne provided an update from attending the Lexington Housing Authority’s monthly meeting. LHA has upcoming events that will be attended by public on Nov 27 and Dec 12. Ms. Payne will share more details on the event with trustees. LHA will be presenting to CPC with a funding request next week. Ms. Payne and Mr. Erickson attended LexHAB’s roundtable on Nov 2nd. They shared that it was very informative and beneficial to see the working groups elaborate on the housing needs, and advocate for affordable housing. Ms. Payne and Mr. Erickson were panelists. Ms. Kowalski shared an update from the fall Town Meeting. Town Meeting voted to indefinitely postpone Article 7. 3. Property Purchase Funding Request The Trust reviewed the details of a funding request received from LexHAB for a property purchase. Ms. Morrison explained that LexHAB requested funding from the Trust to support the purchase of a two-family building at 497 Massachusetts Ave. Two family buildings are rare in Lexington hence this is a unique find. The total cost of the building is $950,000. LexHAB will be using $400,000 of LexHAB previously prefunded FY2024 CPC funds and is requesting $550,000 from the Trust. LexHAB’s offer was accepted and they signed the Purchase and Sales agreement the previous week. The Seller felt strongly that the property should be sold for affordable