HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-07-31-AHTBT-min
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Affordable Housing Trust
Meeting Minutes of July 31, 2024 10:00 am
Hybrid meeting on Zoom and attended in-person in Parker room, Town office
building
Affordable Housing Trust Board Members present: Elaine Tung, Chair; Mark Sandeen, Linda
Prosnitz, William Erickson, Tiffany Payne (joined at 10:20 am)
Staff present: Carol Kowalski, Assistant Town Manager for Development; Liz Rust, RHSO
Director; Ragi Ramachandran, Administrative Assistant
Other attendees: Bob Pressman, Margaret Heitz, Abelia Wood(sp)
Ms. Tung chaired the hybrid meeting and called the meeting to order at 10:06 am.
1. Approve Meeting Minutes
Ms. Tung proposed a change to 6/11/24 meeting minutes, and it was accepted. Ms. Tung
requested a motion to approve the minutes of 5/15/24, 5/23/24, 6/11/24(as amended) and
6/17/24 AHT meetings. Ms. Prosnitz moved. Mr. Sandeen seconded. The Trustees voted in favor
of the motion 4-0-0, by a roll call vote (Prosnitz – yes, Tung – yes, Sandeen – yes, Erickson – yes).
Meeting minutes approved.
2. Chair, Select Board, Board/Committee Liaison and RHSO/staff report
Ms. Tung updated that the two Home Rule petitions will be reviewed in the informal legislative
session.
Mr. Erickson reported that the renovation is under way for one of LexHAB’s units that required
extensive interior renovation due to a water leak in the building. A condominium unit was
donated by a former Lexington resident to LexHAB which added an additional affordable unit to
their inventory.
Mr. Erickson stated that LexHAB would like to discuss the FY26 CPC request with the Affordable
Housing Trust. Ms. Tung had already anticipated inviting LexHAB and Lexington Housing
Authority to a future AHT meeting for discussion prior to the CPC application request.
Ms. Kowalski mentioned Boston Business Journal article about Lexington’s progress with the
MBTA zoning and the housing proposals coming in. Ms. Kowalski agreed to share the article with
the Trustees.
Ms. Rust reported that the Housing Needs Assessment project team will be meeting the following
week.
3. 2024 Fiscal Year Financial Report
The Trustees reviewed the FY2024 financial report. The report included all expenses posted to
Fiscal Year 2024, and did not include unposted interest earnings or FY2025 appropriations.
Ms. Tung shared that the Trust needs to submit fund reports to the State in September , to the
CPC as part of the CPC funding application and to the Select Board later in the year.
4. Lowell Street Parcel 68-44
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The Trustees discussed the site walk and pre-bid conference on July 23rd. Mr. Sandeen and Mr.
Erickson shared their experiences from the site visit, highlighting the strong turnout and positive
feedback from attendees. Ms. Prosnitz and Ms. Tung noted the high level of interest among
attendees, indicating a promising pool of potential developers for the project.
The Trustees reviewed the questions that came up during the site walk, pre -bid conference and
those that were sent to the Procurement Officer, Liz Mancini. The Trustees had a detailed
discussion on responses to these questions. Ms. Kowalski agreed to compile responses to
developer’s questions incorporating the Trustees’ feedback. Ms. Kowalski will consult with Town
Counsel on the questions requiring legal interpretation.
The Trustees also discussed the proposals review and selection process.
5. MBTA/SRD/ADU buydowns
Ms. Tung reported that the developer of 5-7 Piper Road had responded that he did not want to
pursue further discussion with the Trust to add additional affordable units or buydown unit
affordability. Ms. Tung and Ms. Prosnitz also met with the developer of 331 Concord Avenue. The
developer agreed were going to share information on the economics of adding more affordable
housing units or buying down affordability that the Trust could refer to going forward.
There was discussion on Accessory Dwelling Units based upon a Lexington resident’s suggestion
to Select Board Member Joe Pato to explore if ADUs would be able to have an affordability
restriction. Ms. Rust discussed the feasibility of a grant program in exchange for restrictions on
the construction of affordable ADU’s. Ms. Rust shared insights from a similar program run by
Lincoln, and agreed to share materials on Lincoln's ADU affordability program.
6. Resident Support Program
Ms. Tung requested the Rental Assistance working group, and Sustainability and Utility working
groups to review and come up with programs.
Mr. Erickson and Ms. Payne agreed to share their notes from their last meeting with Cindy Arens,
on Sustainability programs.
The Trustees agreed to review resident support program ideas at a future meeting.
7. Adjourn
Ms. Tung requested a motion to adjourn the Affordable Housing Trust meeting. Mr. Sandeen
moved. Ms. Payne seconded. The Trustees voted in favor of the motion 4-0-0, by a roll call vote
(Tung – yes, Sandeen – yes, Payne – yes, Erickson – yes).
The meeting adjourned at 12:23 pm.
List of documents reviewed:
1. AHT Financial Report
2. RFP questions