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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-12-07-LEXHAB-min RECEIVED 2023 27Jain, I 124 am Lexington Housing Assistance Board Monthly Board Meeting Minutes TOWN CL,ERK December 7, 2022—4-6 pm —Conducted in the Hudson Room, Cary Hall and Zoom Call to Order LEXINGTON A meeting of the Lexington Housing Assistance Board (LexHAB) was called to order at 4:10pm. LexHAB members present via roll call were Chair Robert Burbidge, Lester Savage, Henry Liu, Tara Mizrahi, Robert Phelan (via phone), Sarah Morrison (LexHAB Executive Director), Pearlene Varjabedean (LexHAB Housing Director), and Regina Brown (LexHAB Financial Administrator). Minutes review of November 2, 2022, Meeting A motion was made and seconded to approve November 2, 2022 meeting minutes, and approved via roll call vote. Executive Director Update- Sarah Morrison • Sarah Morrison Town Meeting voted to approve Article 14 to allow LexHAB to organize as an independent non-profit entity • We must develop a strategy to get with the legislature for the next steps • The Tenant Appreciation event held on December 6t" was well-received; 49 tenants attended this event to receive gift bags as well as a presentation on energy savings programs; each participant received a gift basket including a $20 Stop & Shop gift card for each household member courtesy of Cambridge Savings Bank, $30 Lexington Chamber of Commerce gift certificate, a $10 Lexington Farmer's market gift card and $5 Lex Farm gift card, and a house ornament made by a local artist (all but Stop and Shop gift card from Community Endowment of Lexington grant) • The event also included about LexEat Together's meal delivery program. from the Sustainability Officer • The Select Board approved the purchase of a single-family home on Kimball Road including the approval of an additional $400,000 or ARPA funds, so LexHAB will not need to use existing capital reserves or assume additional debt for this acquisition • We will be altering our request for CPC funds for future property purchase • Sarah suggested a holiday gathering to celebrate the 2022 achievements; date TBD. Housing Director Update- Pearlene Variabenian • Pearlene Varjabedean reported that she met with Jonathan Driscoll to review the Over Housing Policy; Jonathan provided a revised policy for approval based on these discussions. • The Board reviewed the updated policy, and discussed some additional edits based on questions posed by Jonathan and Pearlene about the definition of "overhoused,"notification requirements, and appropriate rental adjustment if the tenants refuse to move to an appropriately sized unit. Over Housing Policy Update- Pearlene Varjabenian, Housing Director A motion was made and seconded to approve policy revisions as presented, with revised language in the first bullet to add "appropriately sized unit,"and the second bullet to reference fair market rent as the adjusted rent, the policy revisions were approved via roll call vote. • Pearlene presented revisions to the Under Housing Policy as proposed by Jonathan, including citation of the correct Code of Massachusetts Regulation in the first bullet regarding the sanitary code Under Housing Policy Update- Pearlene Varjabenian, Housing Director A motion was made and seconded to approve the policy revisions as presented, but keeping the cited 760 CMR 5.03 and adding the additional relevant 105 CMR 410 reference.; the policy revisions were approved via roll call vote. • Grievances from tenants will now be handled by the Executive Director • DHCH approved the adjusted rental rates; the spreadsheet will be revised to reflect these new maximum rents • Utility allowances were also updated • A new applicant lottery (for regulated units) will need to be done by September 2023 Property Search and Development— Lester Savage, Vice Chair • Les mentioned the Kimball Road property that Sarah previously mentioned along with the approval of the Select Board for the additional ARPA funds LexHAB Purchase of 9 Kimball Road A motion was made and seconded to approve the purchase of the single-family dwelling at 9 Kimball Road, Lexington; the purchase was approved via roll call vote Sustainability- Sarah Morrison, Executive Director • Sarah reported that assessments continue to be conducted; we are doing some work identified under this process to some units • Some additional funding will be needed to support this project • We might be able to get CPC funding from the Town for solar panels at 1 Lowell Street and 454 Marrett Road; support appears to be positive via a straw poll Afforadable HousingTrust-Tara Mizrahi • Tara reported that the Town approved the establishment of the Affordable Housing Trust • The next phase is to identify people to serve as board members of the trust and to acquire some funding for the trust Human Resources- Robert Burbidge, Chair • Bob reported that the committee is working on a proposal for other benefits for LexHAB employees • We are going to engage a survey consultant to help gather information from other similar organizations to help gauge appropriate benefits to recommend for future approval LexHAB Transition to Non-Profit- Sarah Morrison, Executive Director • Sarah reported that the next steps include getting this ready for legislative approval, which requires us to have it submitted by early January • Bob Burbidge will reach out to State Representative Michelle Ciccolo for advice and will look for other examples of successful approval of similar Home Rule Petition proposals by other communities New Business • Tara Mizrahi offered her home [address redacted] to host the celebration gathering, proposed for December 12th at 5:30 p.m. Motion to Adjourn Open Session The Chair moved to adjourn the Open Session and go into Executive Session to discuss strategy with respect to litigation as an Open Meeting may have a detrimental effect on the litigating position of the LexHAB and to discuss tenant matters that if considered in Open Session might adversely affect privacy rights of individuals. The motion was seconded. The motion was approved by roll call vote. The next meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday, January 11, 2023 @ 4:OOpm in person at the Hudson Room in the Cary Memorial Building.