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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-11-09-AHTBT-min 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 Page 2 of 4 housing purposes. Mr. Savage shared additional details on the property in terms of its condition and anticipated maintenance needs. There is a tenant in the building who is aware that the house is being sold, and is looking for other accommodation. The expected closing date is December 18, 2023. Ms. Tung asked for a motion to approve funding in the amount of $550,000 for purchase by LexHAB of 497 Massachusetts Avenue, funding to be completed by December 18 2023 subject to a mutually agreeable grant agreement, the Trust’s funding guidelines which include final pro forma, and any other documents that may be required. Mr. Sandeen moved , Ms. Prosnitz 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). 4. Funding Guidelines and Grant Agreement Ms. Rust explained the reason for the grant agreement, first, it’s a common practice of giving the funds in exchange for something. Second, it ensures getting two affordable units with evidence of the housing restriction that would be placed, funds being given in advance of the restriction. Mr. Makarious detailed how this grant agreement can be developed into a template and posted on the website with the verbiage that this agreement is a starting point , and every deal will be different based on the nature of the project. Mr. Makarious agreed to help write the template, to be discussed further in the future. The Trust reviewed and discussed the grant agreement. They received clarifications from the Town counsel. The Form of Mortgage will be updated to Exhibit C. Currently it says Exhibit B. LexHAB’s counsel, Attorney Nelson, stated the mortgage seems to be in perpetuity. She asked for the provisions for when the agreement is fully completed. Ms. Kowalski guided to the section of the document with the provision on the conditions that address when the mortgage can be discharged. There was discussion on unforeseen delays and LexHAB is unable to complete their commitments in 12 months. The Trust reviewed options and the final consensus was to keep it at 12 months. LexHAB requested more time to review the grant agreement. Ms. Nelson, Mr. Makarious and Ms. Jillian Barger will discuss any further changes and share the version with the Trust and LexHAB for their review. At the next AHT meeting on Nov 30, the Trust anticipates voting on the grant agreement. Mr. Makarious and Ms. Nelson agreed. Mr. Sandeen requested that the Trust be sent the final version of the grant agreement for review, a few days prior to the Nov 30 meeting. Ms. Tung explained that the funding will go to the closing attorney, Marian Abraham. Ms. Tung would like to know the exact timing and requirements for the funding of the purchase from Carolyn Kosnoff. Ms. Kowalski agreed to find this information. 5. CPC Application presentation The Trust reviewed the CPC presentation in detail. Ms. Tung walked through the slides. It would be presented to the CPC later that afternoon. The Trust discussed the slides on housing needs, rental amounts, affordability gap, the waiting lists and wait time, Lexington’s SHI number, proposed projects, affordable housing fund allocation historical data, and the Trust’s accomplishments. Ms. Rust provided input. Ms. Tung presented the closing statement to everyone. Ms. Tung agreed to amend the slides based on the discussions. Everyone recognized and applauded Ms. Tung for her efforts , and for the teamwork. Page 3 of 4 Ms. Tung asked for a motion to approve the presentation as it will be amended. Mr. Sandeen ‘moved’. Ms. Prosnitz 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). 6. Residents and Utility assistance working groups reports Ms. Payne, Ms. Prosnitz and Ms. Rust had met and discussed resident support options ; separate from utility. Ms. Payne indicated it will be good to work with and assist the human services department with the housing applications. Mr. Erickson provided an update from the sustainability and utility assistance working group. He had a discussion with Sustainability Committee Chair Cindy Arens on utility assistance, and has upcoming meetings in the following weeks. Mr. Erickson will report further at the next meeting. 7. Lowell Street update and timeline The Trust had a site visit of Lowell St/North St parcel 68-44 on October 31. Mr. Erickson presented the updated slides with conceptual housing plans following the delineation of wetlands in the property. The Trust reviewed the inferences and constraints under Friendly 40B, unit mix, and parking count possibilities. Mr. Erickson felt a meeting with Conservation will be helpful to review the plans further, and eventually a meeting with the fire department to understand the fire safety access. Ms. Kowalski has a call scheduled with the Town of Woburn next week to understand how to maximize the scope of affordable housing in the property. Woburn owns the land next to parcel 68-44 and have affordable housing plans on their site. Ms. Kowalski will reach out to the consultants, LDa for a basic pro forma for the site. She will seek their advice on whether the model of housing feasibility proposed for the three town sites will apply to this property. She will also review with LDa if there is anything they can do within the current economies of scale as opposed to conducting a full study. Ms. Kowalski agreed to reach out to consultants for estimates to measure water table data, their methodology and approach. Mr. Sandeen moved to increase the amount for site due diligence to up to $20,000 to be carried out in consultation with Mr. Erickson and town staff. Mr. Erickson 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). The timeline will be discussed at the next meeting. 8. Promotional Video Ms. Payne and Ms. Tung will be working on a promotional video for stories of why affordable housing is necessary. 9. New Business Ms. Kowalski agreed to help with registering Ms. Payne for the fair housing lottery training program conducted by Mass Housing Partnership on Nov 15th. It’s an in-person, all day training program in Boston. Ms. Rust is the presenter for this training. The Trust will be inviting affordable housing developers to attend a meeting in Dec ember to talk about the feasibility of affordable housing projects, the financing subsidies, what the barriers are, and to share their experiences. Page 4 of 4 10. Confirm future meeting dates The next meeting will be on Nov. 30 at 9 am. 11. Adjourn The meeting adjourned at 12:17 pm by a roll call vote (Erickson – yes, Prosnitz – yes, Sandeen – yes, Tung – yes, Payne – yes). List of documents reviewed: 1. Grant Agreement 2. CPC FY2025 Application presentation 3. Parcel 68-44 – After the wetland delineation presentation