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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1989-10-05-AHOC-min.pdf AFFORDABLE HOUSING OPTIONS COMMITTEE Minutes of the Meeting of October 5, 1989 8 00 p m , Selectmen ' s Meeting Room Present William Spenser, Chair, John Eddison, Jan Brandin, Lisa Baci, Tom Gouzoule and Sara Schoman "Taking Stock" - Jack Eddison asked if anyone had had any feedback from Town Meeting members regarding the interim report that was distributed No one had heard from anyone Jack said he thought the report had come out quite well Jack reported that the Pine Meadows/Meagherville SPDC will most likely not be meeting with us on November 30th, when we will be making our presentation to Town Meeting members He thinks they will wait until Town Meeting in the spring November 30th - During discussion of this upcoming presentation, we clarified our goal for Town Meeting Simply stated it is to be able to say, "these are the best options we see for the town, these are what we should be considering " Hopefully we could pick out 2-3 best ways to get the most housing for the least costs that are acceptable Lisa expressed concern about the mesh between the Goals and Policies Task Force and the Meagherville committee It would be unfortunate if they conflicted She also said she thought we would look foolish if we can not mention even one possible parcel at this meeting Bill wondered if Bowyer could look at the parcels ' physical characteristics first, then look into the legal ramifications, as a way of speeding up the process of getting the information the committee needs to do its work Jack will look into this Bill suggested we have two 'packages describing ( 1 ) the method Bowyer used to establish which parcels are going to be examined in detail and ( 2 ) the matrix process, listing those items we think are the most important An item could be considered important because it is a popular misconception, or because it has good potential Lisa suggested we each take a few approaches and write them up Jan said we need to come up with one to three proposals that are going to work We need to determine what we are able to take on Bill and Jack will meet before the next meeting to develop the list of items that need to be addressed in one form or another We agreed that we should encourage members from other town boards to attend the meeting, particularly those on the conservation committee AHOC Minutes - Oct 5, 1989 Page 2 It was suggested that we notify Town Meeting members by mail, using postcards with a photocopied announcement Meeting Dates - Oct 12, 26*, Nov 9, 16* * Hopefully two task forces will meet Middlesex County Hospital Land - Jack summarized the meeting held on Oct 2nd regarding this site The county is thinking about how to dispose of the property not used by the hospital or Bentley College It is a substantial amount of forested land, approximately 60 acres of which 2/3 are in , Lexington There is a small amount of wetland It 's highly suitable for development The county has hired a consultant to advise it on what to do The county needs money so it is not likely to hand it over But the consultant has said that they think affordable housing would be agreeable Jack does not know to what extent public interest is of concern to the county Leo McSweeney is the liaison with the county commissioners Lexinton's zoning in this area is RO Jan asked about the possibility of placing pension funds in a local bank so that bank could invest the money, and as a kind of trade, make other money available to the town It was suggested that the town might conduct a competition with developers with good track records for plans for this site Berkshire County, Barnstable, Bankers Report - Sara submitted a four page summary of preliminary findings on these subjects The oral presentation was brief as there was not too much of direct assistance to Lexington 's situation at this point She and Ed will continue to look into Barnstable 's program and follow- up directly with bankers Respectfully submitted, �4y