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10/6/2022 AC Minutes 1 Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee (AC) October 6, 2022 Place and Time: Remote Participation: in accordance with “An Act Relative to Extending Certain State of Emergency Accommodations”, signed into law by Gov. Baker on July 16, 2022, communication took place via a Zoom teleconferencing session that was open to the public; 7:30 p.m. Members Present: Glenn Parker, Chair; Sanjay Padaki, Vice-Chair; Anil Ahuja; John Bartenstein; Alan Levine, Secretary; Eric Michelson; Sean Osborne; Lily Manhua Yan; Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager, Finance (ex officio; non-voting) Member(s) Absent: None Other Attendees: David Kanter, Capital Expenditures Committee; Gretchen Reisig, Vice Chair, Affordable Housing Trust Study Committee (AHTSC); Betsey Weiss, AHTSC; Sarah Morrison, Executive Director LexHAB; Tara Mizrahi, LexHAB, AHTSC; Elizabeth Rust, Director, Regional Housing Services Office; Carol Kowalski, Assistant Town Manager, Development; Carol Marine, AHTSC At 7:33 p.m. Mr. Parker confirmed attendance by roll call and stated that the meeting was being recorded for the purpose of creating minutes. Mr. Michelson agreed to take minutes in the absence of a recording secretary. Announcements and Liaison Reports Mr. Bartenstein reported that Carolyn Bertozzi, a Lexington High School graduate, was one of three people awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Special Town Meeting (STM) 2022-3 Article 12 – Creation of Housing Trust Mr. Michelson, followed by Ms. Reisig, presented the Committee with background information about Article 12. Committee members then asked questions about various aspects of the AHT, its formation and operations, and it goals. Questions were answered by Ms. Reisig, other members of the AHTSC, and Town staff. The Affordable Housing Trust Study Committee was formed by the Select Board to look into forming an Affordable Housing Trust (AHT) in Lexington, which would provide advantages in financing the acquisition or construction of affordable housing units. AHTs have been formed in 128 Massachusetts municipalities. The AHTSC found that an AHT would allow Lexington to use its current affordable housing revenue sources more effectively. These sources include Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds, the Affordable Housing Stabilization Fund, and, potentially, new private, State, and Federal revenue sources. The AHT would act as a “bank” for affordable housing funds and could make funds available for immediate disbursement as opportunities arise. This would be very different from the current model where funds need to be appropriated at a town meeting. An AHT would hold Town monies appropriated to it by town meeting. AHT holdings are permitted to be invested as aggressively as those of the pension fund. However, these monies would probably be kept in more traditional risk adverse municipal investments similar to other municipal funds, because 1) the Town Treasurer would be managing the money, and 2) the monies are not intended to be accumulated and held long term, but are expected to be put to work. The AHT could provide