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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-05-20-HPB-min Lexington Housing Partnership Meeting Minutes for May 20, 2010 Attendees: Winifred McGowan, Bill Kennedy, Wendy Manz, Bob Bicknell, Melinda Walker, Tom Harden, Mary Haskell, Harriet Cohen, Carol Marine, Florence Baturin, Betsey Weiss, Steve Laferriere of MWCD. Bob Bicknell chaired the meeting; Harriet Cohen took the minutes. The meeting was called to order at 7:30pm. 1. Open Meeting Approval of Minutes for February 2010: The motion to approve the minutes as updated passed unanimously.  Discuss Nominating Committee Progress The Nominating Committee will make nominations in September, after all members have  been appointed for the new term. The Nominating Committee members are Florence Baturin, Mary Haskell and Winifred  McGowan. 2. Ballot initiative to repeal Chapter 40B and the implications – Carol Marine The ballot initiative for which signatures are being gathered would end the development of affordable housing under 40B and would nullify more than 12,000 homes that have been locally approved but have not obtained building permits. ProtectAffordableHousing.org – the site is a work in progress; it will be launched in about 2 weeks. Social media will also be employed. The first step is educating the community at large as to what 40B is. The Campaign to Protect Affordable Housing is seeking: Endorsements  Funding  Email contact information  Ms. Marine will prepare suggested wording for a resolution of endorsement of the Campaign to Protect Affordable Housing and suggested wording for a letter to the Board of Selectmen for its endorsement. In the interim, the Lexington Housing Partnership will determine whether it is within its charter to endorse this initiative. 3. Reports Report from Lexington Housing Foundation –Florence Baturin The Partnership recessed to conduct a meeting of the Lexington Housing Foundation.  Busa Farm status – Winifred McGowan Ms. Manz said that the Board of Selectmen has written a charge for the Busa Farm  Committee. The Selectmen are in the process of selecting committee members. The Lexington Housing Partnership committee will most likely consist of seven members. They expect to select committee members shortly. Jefferson Union Development – Mary Haskell Ms Haskell spoke with Aaron Henry about the development. Eight units are sold or are  under agreement. The developers are starting the process to select the buyer of the affordable unit. Affordable Homebuyer Assistance Program – Bob Bicknell The Affordable Homebuyer Assistance Program will be on the agenda for the Board of  Selectmen meeting on June 21. LexHab and the Partnership will be represented. Multi-town Community Housing Administrator – Bob Bicknell Jennifer Raitt of MAPC is working under a grant for several Towns to determine  Lexington’s requirement for support from a multi-town administrator. The goal is to hire an administrator to work across multiple towns. Report from Metro West Collaborative Development, Inc. – Steve Laferriere As a result of discussions an MOU has been approved, the communities have pooled  resources, and Steve has begun work. The new organization is Metro West Collaborative Developers, Inc. 4. Discuss Vine St. Affordable Housing Plans – Bob Bicknell There will be a meeting of stakeholders for the Vine St. affordable housing parcel on June 21. The meeting will be held with the two new Selectmen reps, Deb Maugher and George Burnell. Mr. Bicknell proposed a motion to recommend to the Board of Selectmen that HOME funds be allocated in the following manner: $30,000 for pre-development work for affordable housing at 116 Vine Street; and  $10,000 for Metro West Collaborative Developers, Inc.  The motion was approved. 5. Other items Mr. Bicknell will be attending an affordable housing training session. The next meeting will be held on June 24, 2010 from 7:30pm to 9:00pm in room 207 of the Town Hall. The meeting was concluded at 9:30 pm.