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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-06-17-AHTBT-min Page 1 of 2 Affordable Housing Trust Meeting Minutes of June 17, 2024 12:30 pm Hybrid meeting on Zoom and attended in-person in Parker room, Town office building Affordable Housing Trust Board Members present: Elaine Tung, Chair; William Erickson, Mark Sandeen, Tiffany Payne (joined at 12:38 pm), Linda Prosnitz (joined at 12:40 pm) Staff present: Carol Kowalski, Assistant Town Manager for Development; Liz Rust, RHSO Director; Ragi Ramachandran, Administrative Assistant; Mina Makarious, Town Counsel; Sadie Keller, Town Counsel Other attendees: Matt Daggett Ms. Tung chaired the hybrid meeting and called the meeting to order at 12:34 pm. 1. Chair, Select Board, Board/Committee Liaison and RHSO/staff report Ms. Tung reported that she has reached out to Caileen Foley and Sarah Morrison regarding Lexington Housing Authority and LexHAB’s employee housing programs , respectively, and will share the information when it is available. Ms. Tung had reached out to the developer of Piper Road on buydown and she has not heard back from them. 2. Pending Legislation Mr. Daggett provided a status update on the Home Rule petitions, H2740 and H2741. Mr. Daggett explained the Linkage fees, and discussed the value of obtaining a letter of support from the Affordable Housing Trust or Select Board highlighting the current housing shortage , Lexington’s commitment to seeing the legislation pass, and on how it would help the Town. Mr. Daggett stated the importance of a town-by-town approach to this issue. He felt that each municipality must undertake a study process to determine a range of the linkage fee that would be appropriate for the Town. Mr. Sandeen suggested Mr. Daggett draft a short letter that the Affordable Housing Trust can review and approve. This effort to be coordinated with Rep. Michelle Ciccolo’s and Senator Cindy Friedman’s office for their input regarding the status. Ms. Tung requested a motion for authority for the Affordable Housing Trust Chair to work with Matt Daggett and send a letter of support to be sent to the appropriate legislators regarding the linkage fee legislation. 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). 3. Lowell Street Parcel 68-44 Ms. Tung reviewed the schedule for issuing the RFP, and on where to post it to notify the development community. The Trustees had a discussion on how the site walk and pre-bid conference will be conducted. Page 2 of 2 Mr. Makarious advised that the site visit is exempt from open meeting law and there is no limit to the number of people that can attend the site walk. The Trustees considered the best approach for handling questions from applicants. They decided to receive questions from applicants in writing, with definitive answers to be provided later . A bus will be arranged for the site walk to mitigate the parking issue at the property. The Trustees agreed to continue the discussion at the next meeting. Ms. Tung requested a motion that the Affordable Housing Trust Chair be allowed to approve logistical issues such as the press release for the RFP and the bus for the site walk. Mr. Sandeen moved. Ms. Prosnitz seconded. The Trustees voted in favor of the motion 4-0-0, by a roll call vote (Erickson – yes, Tung – yes, Sandeen – yes, Prosnitz – yes). Executive Session Ms. Tung requested a motion to go into Executive session un der Exemption 6 to discuss the value of Parcel 68-44. The Affordable Housing Trust Chair stated that an open session might have a detrimental effect on the negotiating position of the Trust. Mr. Sandeen moved. Ms. Prosnitz seconded. The Trustees voted in favor of the motion 4-0-0, by a roll call vote (Erickson – yes, Tung – yes, Sandeen – yes, Prosnitz – yes). The Trustees entered the executive session at 1:15 pm. Ms. Tung stated that the Trust will not reconvene in the open session at the end of the Executive session.