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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-10-15-AHTBT-min Page 1 of 2 Affordable Housing Trust Meeting Minutes of October 15, 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, Tiffany Payne, Linda Prosnitz, Mark Sandeen (joined at 12:36 pm) Staff present: Carol Kowalski, Assistant Town Manager for Development; Ragi Ramachandran, Administrative Assistant Ms. Tung chaired the hybrid meeting and called the meeting to order at 12:31 pm. 1. Approve Meeting Minutes The meeting minutes approval was postponed to next meeting. 2. Chair, Select Board, Board/Committee Liaison and RHSO/staff report Ms. Payne reported that the next Housing Needs Assessment work session is at the end of October. RHSO is working on a Needs Assessment and they are waiting for information from the Human Services Department. The working group will be reviewing the report at the next meeting. Ms. Tung stated that the LexHAB fundraiser is on Oct. 18, and encouraged everyone to attend. Ms. Tung shared the update from Select Board meeting on Oct. 7. Causeway Development presented their development proposal to the Select Board. The Select Board discussed the developer recommendation from Affordable Housing Trust and the comments were very positive. Select Board will vote on the developer recommendation at the Select Board meeting on Oct. 21. The Trustees reviewed the draft Select Board motion that was prepared after conferring with Town Counsel. It will be included in the Oct. 21 Select Board meeting packet for the Select Board’s consideration. 3. FY26 CPC Application The Trustees reviewed the financial spreadsheets put together in consultation with Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager for Finance. It included the funding requests given to Ms. Tung from LexHAB and the Lexington Housing Authority (LHA). There was detailed discussion on the various line items in the spreadsheet, including administrative expenses, whether to include the recommended ‘reserve’ line item, affordable housing land acquisitions, and LexHAB’s and LHA’s requests. Ms. Tung stated that LexHAB will be making a direct request to CPC for its rehab, restoration, preservation, and rental assistance support in FY26. There was discussion on allocating funds for the Parcel 68-44 development, MBTA/SRD buydowns and Resident Support programs. Ms. Kowalski offered to check with Human Services Director on basic information on resident support programs the town supports so the Trust can determine where the opportunity might be to work with them. Page 2 of 2 Mr. Sandeen suggested a one-page outline from Liz Rust, RHSO Director listing the various resident support programs offered by the town and on who administers them. Ms. Kowalski will request this. Ms. Tung will update the chart based on the discussions. The Trustees agreed to the proposed funding request of $3M in the CPC application. At the Select Board meeting o n Oct. 21, the Trust will request the Select Board to join in on their funding request to CPC. Ms. Tung will prepare a presentation for the Select Board meeting on Oct. 21, incorporating the chart as amended, and emphasizing the progress made since last year. Ms. Tung requested an authorization from Affordable Housing Trust to present the chart as amended, and to request Select Board for a joint application for FY26 CPC funds in the amount of $3M. Mr. Sandeen moved. Ms. Prosnitz seconded. The Trustees voted in favor of the motion 5-0-0, by a roll call vote (Sandeen – yes, Tung – yes, Prosnitz – yes, Erickson – yes, Payne – yes). Ms. Kowalski and Mr. Erickson will coordinate and prepare the draft CPC application and share it for review before the next Trust meeting on Oct. 23. The Trust will discuss the draft CPC application at the next meeting. 4. Multi-family development Abby McCabe, Planning Director had shared the development proposal for 3, 4 and 5 Militia Drive. The Trustees discussed if the Trust should give input on multi-family development proposals. The consensus is for the Trust to share their comments. The Trustees expressed their disappointment with the ‘rounding down’ in the inclusionary zoning of the affordable unit count. The Trustees agreed to review the documents for 3, 4, and 5 Militia Drive. They will discuss their response to the Planning Board at the next meeting. Ms. Tung and Ms. Prosnitz will be meeting with the developer of 3–5 Militia Drive on Oct. 17. 5. Adjourn Ms. Tung requested a motion to adjourn the Affordable Housing Trust meeting. Mr. Sandeen moved. Ms. Prosnitz and Mr. Erickson seconded. The Trustees voted in favor of the motion 5-0- 0, by a roll call vote (Sandeen – yes, Tung – yes, Prosnitz – yes, Payne – yes, Erickson – yes). The meeting adjourned at 2:07 pm. List of documents reviewed: 1. Parcel 68-44 – Draft Select Board Motion 2. FY26 CPC application – AHT Financials Chart