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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-10-25-HPB-min# _ Lexington Housing Partnership Meeting Minutes for October 25, 2012 Attendees: Carole Marine, Suzanne O'Neil Jones, Florence Baturin, Mary Haskell, Betsey Weiss, Wendy Manz, Tom Harding, Harriet Cohen, Chris Kluchman Chris Kluchman chaired the meeting; Harriet Cohen took the minutes. The meeting was called to order at 7:45 pm. 1. Minutes The minutes for the meeting of September 27, 2012 were approved unanimously. 2. Membership Update Suzanne O'Neil -Jones has been officially appointed to the Lexington Housing Partnership. The Partnership welcomed Ms. O'Neil- Jones. Ms. Kluchman is working with Lynn Pease to ensure the Town has the correct list of members. Iris Wheaton and Paul Linton have been reappointed by the Board of Selectmen. Mr. Linton maintains the web site. Ms. Wheaton has not been an active member for some years. There are currently 3 liaisons from other Town committees and three designees who are voting members. Bill Kennedy is the designee from LexHAB, Melinda Walker from the Lexington Housing Authority, and Wendy Manz from the Planning Board. Each of the designees is a voting member. In addition, there are currently ten voting members, plus two voting vacancies. The LHP will recommend to the Town that we eliminate one of the vacant positions and that the LHP try to fill the other vacant position. Ms. Haskell suggested sending a letter to the Lexington Inter -faith Organization, to ask if someone in that community would be interested in joining the Lexington Housing Partnership. 3. Housing Production Plan A meeting to discuss the Lexington Housing Production Plan is scheduled for November 15. LHP is listed as a sponsor of the meeting. Data about housing and housing trends will be presented at this meeting. MAPC and the Metro West Collaborative Development have collected and are presenting the data. This information will be used to drive an update to the Lexington Town Housing Plan. 4. Lexington Housing Survey Results Ms. Kluchman has received the results of the housing survey. She will provide the results electronically to the LHP members. 5. Housing at the Masonic Site The Masonic Temple is selling a very large lot that is currently part of the Museum /Masonic property. The lot has several structures on it. The Town is considering buying the lot. If the Town purchases the lot, possible uses would include a senior center, visitor center, or a # _ Lexington Housing Partnership community center. The LHP notes that the site would support affordable housing, perhaps senior housing or wounded veterans housing. It was suggested that the LHP coordinate with LexHAB on potential housing opportunities at the site, and also that LHP and LexHAB tour the facility together. The LHP also discussed the possibility of LexHAB and LHP jointly sending a letter to the Board of Selectmen advocating a modest amount of affordable housing on the site. Should LexHAB not want to participate in sending the letter, then LHP would send a letter of advocacy on its own. Ms. Kluchman will send out a draft of the letter to the LHP. 6. Appreciation for Ken Kreutziger Ms. Kluchman will draft a letter of thanks to Mr. Kreutziger, noting his meritorious service to the Partnership. The Partnership will invite Mr. Kreutziger to an upcoming meeting to also thank him in person. Ms. Kluchman will contact the Board of Selectmen to request a certificate of recognition for Mr. Kreutziger s service. Ms. Kluchman requests that the Partnership send her their input for the recognition letter from the Partnership. 7. Next Meeting Date The next meeting will precede the Lexington Housing Production Plan meeting on November 15. Ms. Kluchman will send the meeting logistics information to the Partnership electronically. 8. Partnership Goals In addition to the goals from the last meeting, it was suggested that the Partnership • Contact the Town Inter -faith group to solicit their support. • Continue communication to the town and continue its community advocacy. ■ Perhaps collect testimonials from those who have been helped by Affordable Housing and publish them. ■ Continue to advocate for affordable housing on Town -owned land, including but not limited to the Leary property. 9. Meeting Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 9:15 pm.