2022-01-06-HPB-min (Community Housing Resources Subcommittee)

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1 Community Housing Specialist Subcommittee Meeting on January 6, 2021 Attendees: Betsey Weiss, Margaret Heitz, Paul Linton, Bob Pressman Absent: Jeri Foutter Guests: None Summary of Discussion 1. Call to Order – HPB Subcommittee on Community Housing Specialist : 5 minutes The meeting was called to order by Betsey Weiss at 7:01 pm. Minutes were taken by Paul Linton. Betsey presented the procedures for holding a virtual meeting. Margaret Heitz has agreed to be the chair of the subcommittee. 2. Community Housing Specialist (CHS) Discussion : 50 minutes The mission of the subcommittee is to investigate towns that have CHS’s, bringing back the information to the LHB. We need to find out from Liz Rust if the function of a CHS could be executed by her staff (or if it would take too much time). Margaret will write a formal description of the mission and present it at the next subcommittee meeting. Margaret spoke to Karen Sunnarborg, a CHS in Needham, for about 45 minutes; that conversation was based on the questions this subcommittee has drafted via email (prior to this meeting). Margaret had initially contacted her in June. Karen puts in about 1 ½ days a week for Needham (she also works for other towns); she designed their website. Needham has an Affordable Housing Trust, and recommended Lexington create one. Karen thought that a Housing Development Corporation (HDC) for Lexington was not necessary; LexHAB could serve the function(s). Margaret suggested one possible town/city to look into is Newburyport. They are working on an OSRD. Bob said that after Boston and Cambridge, Lexington receives the most CPA money; he believes the amount this year will be approximately $7 million. Bob spoke to someone in Acton that serves as the Community Services Coordinator (housing is just one part of their job). Betsey mentioned that recent events are helping move the town toward a larger emphasis on affordable housing – so we should take advantage of it. Next steps:  Towns to investigate – Arlington (Betsey), Falmouth and Provincetown (Paul), Acton and Amherst (Bob). Margaret said the drafted questions (from email – see above) were very helpful to guide the discussion with Karen in Needham.  Betsey will talk to Liz Rust (mention Karen in Needham) about what a CHS’s portfolio / responsibilities should include. 3. Set the Next Meeting The next meeting will be held virtually on January 20, 2022 at 7:00 pm.