2026-09-10 - Affordable Housing Trust

00:00Here

00:06we go. Good evening. I'm going to call

00:09to order the Affordable Housing Trust

00:11Committee meeting. Today is September

00:1410th and it is 700 PM.

00:18Our first order of business is to

00:20reorgan the reorganization of the board.

00:23Um,

00:25we will ch the chair, vice chair, and

00:29clerk the three positions that we have.

00:32So, I'd like to make a motion, if you're

00:34willing, to nominate you to continue on

00:36as chair.

00:37>> Seconded.

00:39>> You don't get to say no. [laughter]

00:42>> I agree. Yes, I would. I will accept the

00:45nomination. [laughter] Um, to make a

00:47motion. All those in favor?

00:49>> I I

00:52>> Okay. Second, we will make a motion to

00:56um for vice chair.

00:59>> I would like to make a motion for Carlos

01:01Garcia to be vice chair.

01:05>> Second.

01:06>> Second.

01:07>> All those in favor?

01:08>> I. And third, we'd like to make a motion

01:12for clerk.

01:14>> I will make a motion that Lucas

01:16Remington be clerk if he is willing to

01:18do so.

01:18>> He is.

01:19>> Excellent.

01:20>> Second.

01:22Can I second my own?

01:24>> All those in favor?

01:25>> I.

01:26>> And all those in favor? I

01:28>> I.

01:28>> Okay.

01:31All right. So, I will remain as chair.

01:34Carlos will be the vice chair and Lucas

01:37will be the clerk. All right. Uh, next

01:41we have to review and approve the

01:43minutes uh meeting minutes from June and

01:46July. Um, did everybody have a chance to

01:50read them? Yes, I did.

01:52>> Okay. There is going to be a um change

01:57on the July an amendment. We need to

01:59remove Lucas as he was not here.

02:01>> So, [clears throat] can I get a motion

02:02to accept the minutes remaking that one

02:05change?

02:06>> Uh I will motion such [snorts]

02:09>> second.

02:10>> All those in favor?

02:11>> I

02:14>> All right. Do we have any um bills to

02:17review or sign?

02:18>> No bills this evening.

02:20>> Okay. Thank you. Do we have any board

02:23member comments?

02:26I would like to welcome Ross Geller to

02:29the Affordable Housing Trust. This is

02:31his first meeting and hopefully we have

02:34a long relationship.

02:35>> Looking forward to learning uh

02:38tremendously and contributing as much as

02:40I can.

02:40>> Thank you for having me.

02:41>> Thank you. Thank you. Welcome.

02:44Any other board member comments

02:47>> for me?

02:48You're also welcome for me too.

02:50>> Thank you. We really appreciate it.

02:52>> Okay. [clears throat]

02:54Um next we have the staff report.

02:58>> Um so for today uh staff report um we

03:03have uh the planning department along

03:05with uh um our consultant for the master

03:08plan Barrett planning group is uh is

03:11planning to hold a uh um a meeting next

03:15week. That's next scheduled for next

03:16Wednesday. It's the master plan steering

03:18committee um on September 16th that will

03:21gather uh members of different boards

03:24and members of the public uh that uh

03:27master plan steering committee uh will

03:29help guide the development of the master

03:31plan and yeah the consultant will

03:34present the research and um and their

03:37plan for some of the community

03:38engagement sessions um that will be as

03:41part of the master plan process.

03:42>> Okay, that's great. And our

03:44representative is Beth. So we look

03:47forward to hand hearing

03:50>> report back.

03:50>> All right, that sounds great.

03:52>> Any other reports? Any Okay, thank you.

03:56>> All right. Um

04:00moving on to

04:03new business um the rental assistance

04:06program.

04:08>> Yeah. So at the last meeting in July um

04:12I had mentioned that uh we have had

04:15finished drafting the rental assistance

04:17uh program wrote the request for quotes.

04:19Um so I'll just give a quick recap of

04:21what we did uh at the July meeting uh

04:24for a new member. So at that meeting we

04:26went through the scope of the program

04:29and some of the eligibility requirements

04:31of of uh potential applicants and uh the

04:34trust kind of uh recommended what to

04:37include and what not to include in those

04:39eligibility requirements. You know for

04:41example we talked about did we want to

04:43have it as a lottery or did we want to

04:46uh you know uh kind of uh keep it as

04:49first come first serve with kind of a

04:51rolling deadline. And I think we ca we

04:53decided that we would be the first 25

04:56complete applications would be uh

04:58eligible applications would uh would uh

05:02would uh uh we would decide and and

05:06accept uh those applications. Um, and so

05:11since that July meeting, uh, I've been

05:14working on, uh, finalizing that RFQ. Um,

05:17and it was completed at the beginning of

05:19August. And I'm happy to share that, uh,

05:22on August 14th, it was sent out to three

05:25different vendors. And, um, on August 20

05:29and the deadline was August 28th, about

05:32two weeks for that request for codes. So

05:35a simple explanation is um if uh the

05:39work the scope of work uh the cost is

05:43less [clears throat] than 30,000 it's a

05:44request for quotes uh which is um that

05:47we have to pick the cheapest consultant

05:50of whoever responds to that quote. Um

05:53RFPs are a little bit more um are for uh

05:59for a little more complex uh type of

06:01scopes uh scopes of work and usually

06:04those are um those are capped at 50,000

06:06and above or the cost 50,000 and above.

06:09So this was um around 30,000 is that we

06:12budgeted um for uh this from the trust

06:15funds and um and I would like to share

06:19some the good news that we had one um uh

06:23response and this was from Metro West

06:25Collaborative Development. This was one

06:27of the um the vendors, the consultants

06:30that we were interested in hiring uh

06:32given their uh they have extensive uh

06:35experience in the rental assistance uh

06:38program uh realm. You know, helping

06:40administer uh uh similar programs in

06:43towns like Westboro, Lincoln, Boxboro,

06:46and Brooklyn. Um I can quickly

06:50bring that up for everyone to see. And

06:54we have references from those

06:55individuals in those towns or any of

06:57them.

06:58>> I do believe there are references in

07:00those um in that uh um that but I think

07:05how what Okay, just give me one second.

07:24Um so they uh this is a ref this is from

07:29natur collaborative development course.

07:31>> Um can you all see the screen?

07:34>> Yes.

07:35>> Okay. if it's a little bit. So, I can

07:37also

07:43um so this was approximately $22,500

07:47is the cost of the um of the services.

07:51Um, we're going to note that uh we did

07:55in our RFQ um because this is an RFQ, we

07:58kind of have to accept the lowest quote

08:01>> um out of the but because this was the

08:04only response we're uh

08:06>> um this is how this is kind of the well

08:09this was the um the consultant that

08:12we're going with and the good news is

08:13that we were kind of this was our top

08:15choice. So it's good that they

08:18>> um that we received a response from

08:19them. I can kind of go down to some of

08:23their

08:25>> Were these sent to specific

08:28firms that you wanted to work with?

08:30>> Yes.

08:30>> And you were just glad that this one

08:31actually

08:32>> Right. And so I think out of the three,

08:35this one actually had recent experience

08:37with rental assistance programs,

08:39>> local municipal rental assistance

08:41program, Metro West Collaborative

08:42Development. the other two that I that I

08:45sent out with um I previously you know

08:49uh like uh I previously emailed them and

08:52we communicated but for some reason we

08:54didn't receive any quote from them which

08:56was interesting but u they have not had

08:59any recent municipal rental assistance

09:02uh experience only state programs so

09:04this is a

09:06>> a pretty you know they have a pretty

09:08solid you know resume and

09:10>> set of uh um and you a solid team

09:14working with them.

09:16Um,

09:19yeah, if you kind of see over here, the

09:20Metro CD has administered rent/ utility

09:23assistance programs as well as direct

09:25cash assistance in over 12 towns

09:28including Boxboro, Brooklyn, Lexington,

09:31Lincoln, Watertown, Westboro, and on

09:33behalf of the Newton Wesley Hospital.

09:36Um, I think what the interesting thing

09:38was there's not a lot of uh there aren't

09:42that many um consultants who do this

09:44type of work. Um, especially in

09:46Massachusetts, they're very limited. Um

09:49and so this was uh um and so reaching

09:52out and having actually a response was

09:55something that was really appreciative

09:57especially for this firm that has vast

10:00experience in this.

10:04>> Um yeah so the I'm just going to go to

10:09the RFQ.

10:15So in this um the contract term shall be

10:18from September 2026 until December 2027.

10:21So we have uh we got the response at the

10:25end of August. So we have sent the award

10:27letter to them. So in the next month you

10:30know we'll meet with them and have that

10:33open you know for the month of September

10:36you know uh prepare some of the

10:38application prepare the application

10:40first of all and some of the um

10:44documents that applica applicants will

10:46need to review you know some of the uh

10:49like a marketing flyer uh to distributed

10:52throughout town you know a a dedicated

10:55website um these are some of the things

10:58that we can um you know talk about. But

11:01if the trust you know thinks you know

11:03are there any other ways or you know

11:06some documents that they would like to

11:07have uh you can also reach out or like

11:10we can talk about what are some things

11:12that they would like to have you know

11:15that would be helpful for marketing

11:16purposes.

11:18>> In that in that meeting is the

11:20expectation that they'll come to us with

11:22a um a timeline based plan of what which

11:25things they will be doing? I saw the

11:27breakdown. Um, but for example, this is

11:30what we did in Westboro. So, we use

11:32similar demographic, similar town,

11:34similar setup. This is what we expect

11:36over the next month one, month two,

11:38month three.

11:40>> That could be it. So, I was thinking of

11:42inviting them to our next October um

11:45affordable housing trust meeting and you

11:47know like having them talk about some of

11:50the difficulties that they've you know

11:53um faced um in rental assistance

11:55programs you know some of the challenges

11:56but also you know also talking about

11:58their overall experience and you know

12:00seeing that there is um the the thing

12:03that we're targeting in this program is

12:05um cost cost burden. So this is the

12:08notion that um households uh lower lower

12:12income households spend at least 30 to

12:1450% of their income towards housing

12:16costs. So a lot of their experience they

12:18can talk about is is from my knowledge

12:22it would be similar but maybe they have

12:24you know different but they have you

12:25know different anecdotes or different

12:27stories that they can share with the

12:28trust. Yeah. Um but again so they I

12:32think part of give me so part of this

12:35was also to have um monthly you know

12:40reports part of the the scope of the

12:42services the contractor just give me

12:45>> if we

12:45>> I guess in my in my mind I'm thinking

12:47it's great that they're on our list

12:50>> we want um when when should we expect

12:53them to be doing something and what's

12:54the expected outcome of that? Um, and

12:57then I would just in general love to

12:59hear like what are some lessons learned

13:01from these other towns, right,

13:02>> that they're going to apply here in

13:04Shrewsbury.

13:05>> Yeah.

13:05>> Right.

13:07>> Yeah. I I think that's a great point. I

13:08would love to speak with them in the

13:10next meeting if that's something that

13:10that you could arrange. I think that

13:12would be very very productive because I

13:13do have a couple uh questions I would be

13:15interested in in as well, particularly

13:16about um like the uh privacy and

13:19security stuff because I I see that they

13:21they did have an IT consultant. That is

13:23something I actually do have a little

13:23bit of experience in. So, it's something

13:24I'd be interested to ask them about.

13:26>> Oh, great. [clears throat]

13:28>> Um,

13:29>> it doesn't have to be anything too

13:30formal, right?

13:31>> Yeah. Say like, "All right, great. Like,

13:32we're awarding this. What's the plan?"

13:34>> Exactly. Yeah.

13:36>> Great. And they've they've done this

13:39sort of program um with the Harper

13:42funds, right?

13:43>> Yeah.

13:44>> Rental assistance

13:44>> and also with So, they've done it with

13:46CPA as well

13:47>> and the CPA

13:47>> with in Boxboro and uh Lincoln, I

13:50believe.

13:51>> Yeah. So they they they probably can

13:52answer any kind of questions that we

13:54have which will be great.

13:55>> Yeah. Yeah, that would be awesome.

13:57>> Perfect.

13:59>> Um if we see in deliverables um if you

14:02can see on the screen we have so the

14:04contractor shall provide the trust with

14:05monthly reports throughout the program

14:07term report shall include at minimum

14:09statistics on applications received

14:10eligible households determined approval

14:13overall file status financial reports

14:16grants awarded grant payments due by

14:17month. Um, so again, this is uh this is

14:22taken from some of the other towns and

14:25their RFQS and kind of put together of

14:27like something that uh that they can

14:31report back to the trust.

14:33>> Great. I noticed it referenced a few

14:35times in here that it would have

14:37different languages. I think that's

14:38great.

14:39>> Um, I do notice that other than English,

14:41they don't actually specify the

14:42language. Is that something the town

14:43would provide to them like or based on

14:45its own analytics or is it something

14:47that they would determine

14:51>> like which which languages this this

14:53will be translated into? Yes,

14:55>> that that's a good question. I can ask

14:56what um what languages I mean I know

14:59that the Commonwealth

15:01>> we have uh the state has different

15:03sometimes for different uh

15:06>> um outreach they have like a set of

15:09languages that they do outreach in. And

15:11I don't know if it's that different for

15:13each town, but I can I can look into

15:15that.

15:15>> Okay, great. Yeah, I think that would be

15:16a good thing to address since it's

15:17called out here a couple times. I just

15:18noticed it's not very specific.

15:20>> Yeah.

15:20>> Okay.

15:21>> I assume we have some sort of list that

15:23of the highest population languages we

15:26have in town so we can make sure that

15:27it's tailored accordingly.

15:29>> Right.

15:29>> I think we discussed that with Car

15:31Carlos mentioned that

15:33>> in the July meeting.

15:34>> Yeah.

15:35>> Or or before that, I think.

15:39might have been July, but

15:41>> I'll look into that then.

15:42>> We can

15:47>> um so yeah, so for the October meeting,

15:51I hope to have um an update with, you

15:54know, the some of the materials for the

15:57program and the application and have

15:59them um at that meeting.

16:02>> Wonderful. Great.

16:04>> Any other questions?

16:05>> I have a question on the application

16:06process. I know they're going to um do

16:09the application process.

16:12Is it going to be available online? Are

16:14we going to have them maybe set up at

16:16the senior center or the library or help

16:19them with the computer? Because again,

16:21language could be a barrier. Um

16:24>> or all the above.

16:26>> People might not have computers as we

16:28were talking about before.

16:29>> Yeah. I think the library

16:31>> thinking about at the ex either at the

16:34library their senior center have um have

16:38those uh you know have some type of

16:41office hours where they can apply for

16:42that. Um this is with Westboro

16:45specifically. They actually had someone

16:47from uh Westboro Family Services

16:50actually help with um the applications

16:53for some people who were having a hard

16:55time submitting things, you know,

16:59because

17:00>> again the the the vendor is mostly

17:02responsible for just vetting and

17:04viewing. We may have to maybe we can

17:07talk to Shrewsbury Family Services to

17:09have to have that extra help with with

17:12um aiding uh people in the application

17:15process.

17:15>> Right. Because the application won't be

17:17complete unless all the information is

17:19there.

17:20>> Exactly.

17:21>> So if we get like 50 people apply, 50

17:25families apply and 30 30 people don't

17:29have complete information, then they

17:31they're not going to

17:32>> hang on to their spot just because they

17:34applied. And how do we get that feedback

17:35to them quickly? Speaking from

17:37experience with um number of things with

17:40health insurance here in the

17:42Commonwealth, you don't get a response

17:44very quickly and only find out at the

17:45last minute that you actually missed a

17:47couple questions.

17:50>> Well, the the vendor will do that. Metro

17:52West will do that. And I think I don't

17:54know how complicated it's going to be,

17:56but

17:56>> I don't know. I just want to make sure

17:57we get feedback back to individuals

17:59quickly so that they can update

18:01accordingly so that we're not missing a

18:03family that really needs the assistance.

18:04>> These are questions that we can ask them

18:06maybe when they come in. Definitely.

18:08>> Yeah, exactly. I think this with uh

18:10Beth, she brought it up last in the July

18:13meeting and so that was something in the

18:15scope that you know instead of you were

18:18the we talked about the July meeting

18:19instead of having applicants like every

18:22just a bunch of a bunch of applicants

18:24apply and then after some time start

18:26reviewing them review them as they go so

18:29that if again if they don't um if they

18:32don't qualify they're immediately

18:33notified and they can look for and we

18:35can you know help uh provide information

18:38for alternative, you know, state

18:40programs or other um alternatives for

18:43other sources of funding that they if

18:44they need, you know, uh immediate rental

18:47assistance.

18:48>> Go ahead.

18:49>> Yeah.

18:50>> Has there been any engagement with

18:51Shbury Youth and Family Services up to

18:53date, like to this point?

18:55>> Uh not that I know. No, there hasn't

18:58been.

18:58>> What about um St. An's human services?

19:01>> No. So I I just think about both of

19:03those two organizations as probably

19:06serving the demographic of people who

19:08may need rental assistance. You know,

19:09when

19:10>> when the town offered a rental

19:11assistance program using ARPA funds,

19:14Shbury Youth and Family Services was

19:16helping people with those applications.

19:18>> Okay.

19:19>> As well as the senior center, right?

19:20Because if you're over under 60, you're

19:23likely getting support from Shbury Youth

19:25and Family Services.

19:26>> Okay?

19:26>> It could very well be that this is a

19:28two-pronged approach, right? They are

19:29managing because we're asking them to do

19:31it but youth government services hands

19:34they are assisting on the forefront of

19:36hey like we know of individual

19:38>> that's what I'm saying like they are

19:40going to know

19:40>> they're going to be a little bit more

19:42>> it's a combined outreach effort I think

19:45>> because I think they help people with

19:46their raft applications

19:47>> okay

19:48>> they do they uh they help people with

19:50like for oil applications

19:52>> their oil assistance program is also

19:54through there so they would know

19:56>> okay

19:57>> finance like that or is that

19:59>> St. An's will provide the information to

20:02people about the supports that the town

20:04offers.

20:05>> I [clears throat] don't know that they

20:06necessarily help with those

20:07applications, but they will be able to

20:09drive people in the right direction,

20:11direct them where they need to

20:12>> at at the least we can put a fly.

20:14>> I think they just need to have the

20:15information,

20:15>> right? No, I that's a good idea. So, I

20:18think I will probably reach out and set

20:20up meeting with uh Shbury Youth and

20:22Family Services and then also reach out

20:24to St. An's Church as part of our

20:26[clears throat] outreach as well. Okay.

20:28>> So, it's not the church, it's St. An's

20:30human services.

20:31>> Human services.

20:32>> Correct. And if you need that

20:33information, I'm happy to provide it to

20:34you. Okay. Um because I was looking, you

20:37know, not to jump ahead, but looking at

20:38the um the repair program and that has a

20:41very um it has a very long list of where

20:44information about the home repair

20:45program is going to be, but Shbury Youth

20:47and Family Services and St. An's are

20:49both not on that list. And I think just

20:51a lot of people get their information

20:53there about other town supports.

20:56>> Okay.

20:56>> Yeah. It's hyper local,

20:58>> right?

20:58>> It's hyper local. [snorts] So, we should

21:00absolutely do our best with it.

21:07>> Okay. Any other questions, comments?

21:10>> Nothing from it.

21:10>> All right.

21:12>> And moving on to the affordable home

21:15repair program update.

21:17>> Yeah. So um [clears throat]

21:23so I just wanted to give you an update

21:25that uh we have finalized the recapture

21:28agreement with the town council. Um this

21:31is a document to um kind of ensure that

21:35when somebody uses the affordable home

21:37repair funds that they're not using it

21:39to flip the house

21:40>> and sell it. Um because these funds are

21:43intended for uh for people um especially

21:47seniors who would like to age in place

21:50um and but are are right now maybe

21:53inclined to move out because they're

21:54unable to afford repairs critical

21:56repairs to their home. And so uh town

21:59council review that. So that is all set.

22:01Um we have the letter of agreement uh

22:04which was uh put in the drive. So that

22:07is um that was actually um we made some

22:12changes uh and sent that to Habitat. So

22:14Habitat sent us back and these are and

22:17this is what is um the the the document

22:21after they finalize the changes. So

22:23right now town council has been going

22:24through that. Um

22:27and the majority of changes we

22:29recommended were about uh changing

22:31instead of the town of Shbury all

22:33instances of town of Shbury it was

22:34changed to the trust.

22:36>> Um and uh however a lot of the the major

22:40important conditions are still the same.

22:42Um a maximum of $120,000

22:46uh will be contributed by the trust to

22:49uh to home repair projects. a minimum of

22:51four, but you know, depending on the

22:53cost, they could be um you know, seven

22:57to eight if they are low on the lower

22:58end. We could service more homes. Um

23:01just I'll just quickly pull that up.

23:11And so, um we have you know the

23:15eligibility and everything. So um

23:23uh

23:25um the minimum uh will be four repairs.

23:28However, if the repairs are um on

23:30average, yeah, 10,000, there could be

23:32more repairs done. Um and then so for

23:34this evening, if the trust is

23:36comfortable, um I would uh recommend

23:39having a a vote, you know, the chair

23:42approve have the chair approve to sign

23:44this. Um this is only because we won't

23:48be meeting for a whole month and if we

23:49receive the you know uh town council

23:52reviewing that within the next week or

23:54two um we might have to wait till

23:57October. However um if we we were

24:01planning to have community engagement

24:03sessions at the end of September. So if

24:06the trust feels more comfortable at that

24:08time I hope to have just a final no you

24:11know a final version. the trust feels

24:13more comfortable, we could have start

24:14the um

24:17start the the committee engagement

24:20session with uh signing the official uh

24:24agreement and then move on to community

24:26engagement session.

24:27>> Okay. Um I personally wouldn't have any

24:30problems signing this right now. I think

24:32that as we're moving into winter and

24:34stuff, because this is repair thing, it

24:35would be a good idea to get this done as

24:37soon as possible in case, you know, we

24:39don't we don't want anything like that

24:40to hap uh any repairs stuff to be put

24:42off because of the winter or needed in

24:44case of winter or anything like that.

24:45So, I'm personally biased towards

24:46getting it done a few weeks early. Um,

24:48but I'm willing to hear other

24:50perspectives if people disagree with me.

24:52>> What's left to be done? What are the

24:54possible changes that could happen?

24:56>> Not that I know of. It's more I think

24:58this was just uh the town being uh just

25:01extra you know cautious about the the

25:04changes because the changes were mostly

25:07um the content to just formalize the

25:09language.

25:10>> So you're saying it's not to the to the

25:12content of this it's the formalization

25:14of some of the language to make it clear

25:15or to um

25:19the town council is recommending

25:20language changes. Is that what you're

25:22saying?

25:22>> Oh no. the town council is reviewing um

25:24the the change the the document that

25:27they sent back after we made changes. So

25:29just the finalized

25:31uh the finalized uh version that at

25:34least Habitat has sent at least this

25:37from my perspective I don't think there

25:39was any more anticipated changes but

25:41again there could be that I'm not saying

25:43that there won't be any but

25:45>> the language was the because it said

25:47that it held the town of Shbury

25:49>> right not so there were a lot of

25:50instances of town of Shusbury and then

25:52some informal language so they kind of

25:55uh we town council first uh tightened we

25:59tightened up changed some of the

26:01language sent it back to them and then

26:02they reviewed that accepted it and sent

26:04it back to us. So that's and then this

26:06is a second review by town council. So

26:08>> we're just waiting on that.

26:10>> And are you seeing it each time?

26:14>> Seen it?

26:14>> No.

26:15>> No.

26:16>> Well, I think we

26:17>> No, we we did

26:18>> I think I shared it with it in June or

26:20in May. We saw

26:22>> June I think we looked at it.

26:24>> Okay.

26:26And then yeah, because in July it was

26:28still with town council, so we're going

26:30to review it in August, but then yeah,

26:33>> this is the second time.

26:34>> Second time we've reviewed it.

26:36>> Um, it's pretty much what we asked for,

26:40>> you know, to recapture the dollars if

26:43somebody so they can't flip it.

26:45>> Um,

26:48and then

26:50I I didn't see any other change. I don't

26:52recall any other changes other than the

26:54language of giving money back to the

26:56trust rather than the town.

26:58>> Yeah.

26:59>> Um

27:02Habitat did want to try to start the

27:04program in August just because of the

27:06weather. So I feel like we can sign it

27:11during one of, you know, in September

27:14and go from there. That's fine. But I

27:16think we do just need to really keep it

27:18moving. Yeah.

27:19>> I mean, I'm comfortable signing it. I

27:20just wanted to make sure someone

27:21reviewed it because I This is my second

27:23meeting. So, I just wanted to

27:24[clears throat] make sure that you've

27:25seen it.

27:26>> It's a totally fair concern

27:27>> with the changes.

27:28>> Um,

27:30>> yeah, it's

27:32>> the only changes I can really see are

27:34just the the the town the trust being

27:37instead of the town.

27:39>> Other than that, I don't think there

27:40might have been a few little things that

27:41he's changed, but not

27:43>> right. Um,

27:44>> I read this.

27:45>> This is I can do this.

27:46>> Makes sense.

27:46>> This is what I can do. I mean, we are

27:48just waiting also for town council

27:50because officially I think the town

27:53would want town council's approval

27:55before uh signing it off. So, I think we

27:58can uh we can keep the September either

28:0229th or the 30th when we have that

28:04committee engagement session, we can

28:06start it off with signing the agreement.

28:08>> Okay.

28:08>> I think that's a great idea.

28:09>> As long as it won't delay anything and

28:10that's No, it's not going to look

28:12because we are just waiting for that. I

28:14don't think because in the meantime we

28:16can I we can still start to distribute

28:18within the next few weeks if we get it

28:20signed within the next week. Start to at

28:22least distribute the flyers in the

28:24meantime.

28:25>> Um and then officially sign it at that

28:27meeting.

28:28>> Okay, fantastic. Yeah, I'd be I'd be all

28:29right by that.

28:30>> It's still three weeks away. I mean the

28:3230th is a while off. Today's only the

28:3410th.

28:35>> The program timeline also says October

28:371st. So if we were to sign it today, we

28:38need to move that up because you don't

28:40want it to run into a contractual issue.

28:42So maybe the waiting actually works.

28:44>> Waiting may may actually work in our

28:46favor.

28:47>> Um if I read this correctly, there is no

28:49vetting process. It's simply if you meet

28:51the requirement in your first come,

28:53first serve and they go.

28:54>> Well, so um kind of a a quick

28:57explanation or this. So this is Habitat.

29:00This is their existing program. Um and

29:03so previously when they would uh work

29:07with homeowners just between Habitat and

29:09the homeowners, the homeowners would pay

29:11back. Um and so what we're doing is we

29:14are helping fund that and um if they

29:17move um they're obligated to pay that

29:20back with 0% interest, but if they don't

29:23um every year a portion of that is

29:25forgiven ultimately until it's

29:28completely forgiven. So essentially it

29:29is a grant,

29:30>> right? I I think where I was going with

29:32is there is requirements to meet this,

29:35but there is no like if they get flooded

29:38>> with 50 applicants, the first six that

29:42have the full application in get

29:44awarded. So, it's a it's a race against

29:46time rather than this one needs it more

29:48than this one.

29:48>> Right.

29:49>> And also at the same time, um they

29:53they uh usually from their experience

29:55they handle about 25 to 30 repairs

29:57within the whole area. So they also kind

30:00of cap they have their own cap about

30:02four to six per town as well,

30:04>> right?

30:05>> I think where I'm going with it is like

30:06let's say that conservatively 15

30:08applicants come in, right? Um well the

30:11first six that get in the door are the

30:12first six that get it, right?

30:13>> There's no like wow this person actually

30:15needs it more than this person.

30:17>> And as long as we're okay with that,

30:18fine. But that is how I'm reading it,

30:21right?

30:22>> Yeah. I I think you're reading it

30:23correctly. Um I do also think it's worth

30:25pointing out this is currently a pilot

30:27program from what I'd like to believe.

30:28This is sort of something that we're

30:29we're testing out and doing initially.

30:31Um so if this goes well um we're going

30:34to expand it over the course of the

30:35coming years and I do think having a

30:36vetting process something like that is

30:37something that I think we'd be very open

30:39to going forward but I think this is

30:40just to test everything out make sure

30:42that everything is going good and we

30:43want to at this time I think it made

30:45sense to reduce uh those sort of

30:47overhead uh costs that we currently had.

30:49Yeah.

30:50>> At least that's that's my understanding

30:51of it.

30:52>> They do have to meet an eligibility.

30:54>> Yes. So, some of the eligibility

30:55requirements are they um $75,000

31:00uh assets and then um they have to be

31:04within like a certain income range. So,

31:06at least with that hopefully we'll able

31:08to kind of uh capture and uh the people

31:12who are really really need that need the

31:14funds are able to apply and have that.

31:18>> Yeah, I think it's fine for the the

31:21trial period, right? um we may want in

31:23the future to actually think about that

31:25someone should have a set of eyes on it

31:27because I'm also thinking about people

31:29or team people that are stacking program

31:32benefits as well.

31:33>> That might be okay because they need it,

31:35but it also may be well we can look and

31:38say this household has already received

31:40enough benefits we may want to

31:42reallocate or at least have some you

31:44know this person should also be getting

31:46it because they haven't received

31:47anything yet.

31:48>> Yeah. Based on what I'm reading, we

31:49don't really have that option in this

31:51pilot.

31:52>> You mean anything from the town

31:53>> from You mean through Habitat?

31:55>> Through Habitat, through any of the

31:57other things that we're doing as well as

31:59a trust.

32:00>> Well, the rental assistance would be

32:02separate, I think, from this only

32:03because if you're doing repairs to the

32:05home, you're obviously not renting it,

32:07>> right?

32:07>> So, they're not going to stack those

32:08two. It could be like the tax uh work

32:11off as well [clears throat]

32:12>> in town where they're receiving a

32:15reduction in tax uh in their tax bills

32:17for doing work in the town. There's

32:19other like households are getting other

32:21things. I don't think we have that

32:22problem. They maybe you know making

32:26mountain over an

32:29>> No, I I think that's a totally valid

32:31concern personally. Um I I I understand

32:33where you're coming from. I'm just not

32:35sure if right now we have the runway to

32:37to do that. agreement, right? Maybe

32:39let's let's go because like you said,

32:42winter's around the corner. We want we

32:43want to get this program out.

32:45>> But, you know, for assuming this goes

32:48well,

32:49>> we may want to think about, okay, do we

32:50need to have just like some sort of very

32:53simple process that says, "Yep, like

32:54this makes sense."

32:55>> And right, Kushall, uh perhaps I'm

32:58confusing with something else, but uh

33:00will Habitat for Humanity provide us

33:01like a report at the end of this for for

33:04like their activities or is that Yeah.

33:05Okay, great.

33:06>> Yes. So we actually don't pay Habitat

33:09for Humanity and humanity

33:10[clears throat]

33:11until the work is done. Okay.

33:13>> So they will send us an invoice

33:15>> after [clears throat] the work is done.

33:17>> Um and so you know we can we're always

33:19in contact with them and we can ask you

33:20know how is the you know process going

33:23and then also I will probably be you

33:26know on some of those permits because

33:28they are through the building

33:29department. So I can also update you

33:31with some of those um give you updates

33:33on some how those repairs are going. Um

33:36I think also because this is a pilot, we

33:39were thinking again because we were not

33:42able to use CPA funds for these um

33:46repairs because community preservation

33:48funds for repairs and rehabilitation

33:51rehabilitation can only be used if the

33:54property was was uh built through CPA

33:58funds in the first place. So um and

34:01through this year as well um we were

34:03probably also maybe the task is to also

34:06look for a reliable source of funding

34:08other than trust funds because um the

34:11trust mostly relies on CPA and um uh

34:15inclusionary housing. Um but the

34:17inclusionary housing has not been as

34:19steady you know as regular. So the

34:21majority of our funds are going to be

34:22through community preservation funds. So

34:25maybe looking to find an alternative of

34:27how to fund this would be uh something

34:29within the next year that we can talk

34:31about.

34:32>> And I also think that Habitat isn't

34:34going to take on the project

34:36if it's not needed like a lot of it's

34:40going to be towards safety and bringing

34:42houses up to code to try to get people

34:43to stay in

34:45>> in there. So they're not going to be

34:46able to do like major projects. I think

34:49it's more of um like fire sa like fire

34:53stuff bringing bathrooms maybe

34:54accessibility accessibility and things

34:56like that. So they're going to be things

34:58that

34:59>> I think it'll be a little bit more

35:00specific for households that are trying

35:04to maintain it. I I don't know but

35:07hopefully

35:08>> yeah I mean we can when we file you know

35:10we like

35:11>> we will

35:11>> we don't want to keep on like if you

35:13know if we okay if you already received

35:15it and if you're applying again for

35:17something else you might you know you

35:19could apply but maybe you won't you'll

35:21not be the pre you know preference can

35:23be for people who are applying for the

35:25first time and receiving

35:26>> could be as simple as to have some sort

35:27of like you know please prioritize these

35:30right

35:30>> right or you know if they're a repeat

35:32person like okay maybe they need it

35:34right

35:34>> that's that's totally legitimate But you

35:36know, if you have other applicants that

35:38also need it, like prioritize those,

35:40>> right?

35:40>> Yeah,

35:40>> that makes sense.

35:41>> Yeah, I think that's fair. I think

35:42that's something that we can we can

35:43assess at the end of this process and

35:45sort of moving forward if we're going to

35:46be continuing this or expanding this,

35:48that's definitely something that we

35:48should address.

35:49>> Yeah. No, I think it was a good call.

35:51>> Yeah.

35:54>> Um,

35:54>> it's great getting different

35:55perspectives from different [laughter]

35:58>> It's good.

35:59Um and then I think the next

36:05>> So do we have firm dates on the

36:09community engagement outreach?

36:11>> Yeah. So um I have

36:15>> um

36:16tentatively

36:18for the 29th and the 30th. Um I have

36:23booked both um of these dates at least

36:27for here. Um, but I was just going to

36:30ask the trust of which days they do

36:32prefer.

36:33>> Uh, off the top of your head, do you

36:35know which days of the week those are?

36:37Those

36:37>> Tuesday and Wednesday.

36:38>> Tuesday and Wednesday. Oh, yeah. Both of

36:39those should be totally fine for me.

36:41>> Wednesday is better for me. But

36:43>> I think I told you I was okay.

36:44>> Yeah, I think you said Tuesday and

36:46Wednesday were fine.

36:47>> Yeah, I'm good with both.

36:48>> Okay.

36:49>> Both dates.

36:49>> If both dates, then I might put

36:51Wednesday because you said Wednesday was

36:53better for you.

36:53>> It's just my opinion. But that's old

36:54selfish coach soccer.

36:57>> [laughter]

36:58>> So, which day is better for you?

36:59>> 30th.

37:00>> Okay.

37:01>> I'll I'll also ask Carlos, but um this

37:03would be at 6 p.m. instead of 7 because

37:057 sometimes a little bit too late for

37:07some people.

37:08>> So, um 6 p.m.

37:10>> What is the expectation that evening of

37:12trust members?

37:13>> So, uh this is so I a few days ago I met

37:18with Norma. She is the contact person

37:20for uh the home repair uh from Habitat

37:24for Humanity. So she is going to uh

37:27present you know the what is the the

37:30home repair program you know what is the

37:32process you know how long or like what

37:35type of projects that they do

37:36eligibility requirements you know she'll

37:38go through that presentation and then at

37:41the end we'll talk about you know our

37:43involvement you know how much we are you

37:45know the money that we're contributing

37:48um you know how many households we hope

37:50to uh you know uh to serve and and um

37:54you know explaining that this is a pilot

37:56program and uh you for the next year we

37:58want to make it if you want to make it

37:59more permanent we have to find some more

38:01funding but also and also emphasizing

38:03that you know this is for um people who

38:06want to age in place and remain in the

38:07community um and to kind of discourage

38:10that talk about you know the recapture

38:12agreement that we want people to at

38:14least leave here live here for five

38:15years

38:16>> uh more than five year I mean more than

38:18that but if you move within five years

38:20you'd have to

38:21>> hey you know for some reason you have

38:23to, you know, not sell out. But if you

38:25do really need to move, you know, for

38:27some reason you're moving to stay with

38:28family or something, you know, have that

38:31recapture.

38:32>> Do we have the recapture documentation?

38:34>> Let me see.

38:35>> The reason I asked is um God for what

38:37happens if they had no plans to leave,

38:40but they passed.

38:41>> Yes, Martha did bring that up. Um,

38:45where is that?

38:48It's in there. I just saw it. Oh, yes.

38:50>> Oh, HBH. I sorry I just uh I forgot that

38:54I put it that I didn't put it. So I just

38:57brought it up. Okay, let's

39:00share this.

39:09Okay. So um this was um the final uh

39:15recapture agreement that was uh decided

39:17with uh

39:19>> um or we we helped um Got it.

39:21>> Town council helped review this uh

39:24trustees for the purpose.

39:25>> It's uh number seven gives the uh

39:30terminate the death.

39:32>> Yeah. Unless record of a notice of

39:35default or disagreement of the wester

39:37from be on or before five years from the

39:40date of the agreement then this

39:41recapture agreement shall be deemed

39:42satisfied of the state that is 5 years

39:45after the date hereof and shall

39:47therefore by no further force or effect

39:49related to the title of the property the

39:51just

39:52>> I'm not a

39:56housing lawyer I'm assuming notice of

39:58default is equivalent to they have

40:00passed and therefore that there is no

40:04ownership of the home.

40:06>> I could check back with um town council,

40:09but how would that

40:10>> unless a lawyer feels like this is

40:12satisfied, I'm good with it.

40:14>> Yeah.

40:14>> So, they would not be required to pay

40:16back if they were to see the estate

40:17would not be required to pay back. Is

40:19that what you're saying?

40:20>> Yeah.

40:20>> Yeah.

40:22>> But yeah, unless mostly so only if they

40:25move. Yeah.

40:28>> Yeah. So it's it's effectively if it's

40:30by choice

40:31>> they pay it back.

40:35>> Do we have to worry about trusts in that

40:37instance?

40:40>> Um

40:43does it say this agreement is binding on

40:46homeowner its heirs executives

40:48administrators and assigns?

40:50>> Could that be

40:51>> I don't know

40:51>> the trusts. That is a good I can go back

40:54with those questions.

40:55>> Yeah

40:55>> that might be a question for council.

40:57Yeah,

40:57>> I don't know.

40:58>> That's a good question. I will check

41:00back with town council.

41:01>> Myself included. Like my house is in a

41:02trust. So

41:03>> there are a lot. Yeah, there are a lot

41:04of towns I mean houses that are with

41:06trusts.

41:07>> Yeah.

41:08>> Okay.

41:10Um

41:11Well, was it going to put a lean against

41:14the house?

41:14>> Yeah, it says there is a

41:17>> It's going to put a lean. So would it

41:18matter who the owner of the house is?

41:20>> Yeah.

41:21>> It would be against the property. So if

41:23the trust owned the house, it would be

41:25the trust would have to pay it back.

41:26>> The estate would whoever if it's a, you

41:29know,

41:31>> Yeah. And this will be recorded in the

41:32Wister registry of deeds. So that's

41:34right. So

41:35>> it sounds like everything's fine. I'm a

41:38lawyer.

41:38>> So if someone passes away, they are not

41:40their estate is not responsible for

41:42paying back the amount of this loan.

41:44>> I will check back. I'm not 100% sure.

41:48>> I think the intention is that's what we

41:50want, right? Like as long as they have

41:53not by choice moved out. They shouldn't

41:56have to.

41:57>> But I think when you say by choice moved

41:58out, you have to be pretty specific

42:00because I think for an elderly person,

42:01there may be lots of reasons why you're

42:03no longer living at home, right?

42:04>> They could fall 3 days after the repairs

42:06are finished and need to be

42:08>> right

42:08>> living someplace else. So what is the

42:11expectation as far as

42:12>> So then seven probably needs to get a

42:14whole lot,

42:15>> right? Because like then their kids come

42:16and sell the house and then like

42:18>> what [clears throat] happens? I I

42:19believe in that instance and it's

42:21possible that the document didn't

42:22address this but I I from what I recall

42:24about what we spoke earlier in that

42:26cases such as that the trust would have

42:28to evaluate it on a case-by case basis

42:31there is a relatively small portion of

42:34these being done if it gets scaled up

42:36then it's possible we would have to have

42:37something that talks about it but it's

42:39possible the document no longer reflects

42:41this but I believe that our original

42:42intent is that in such cases it would be

42:44addressed by us basically and just to

42:48you know taking into account all

42:49possible factors like what what you were

42:51speaking about.

42:52>> Yeah.

42:52>> Um Habitat does this in other

42:54communities. Do they have some sort of a

42:58template for when this happens? Because

43:00personally I'm a softy. I'd be like,

43:01"Oh, forget it.

43:02>> You don't have like Oh, but you know,

43:04like I don't want to be I don't think

43:06four or five of us should be deciding in

43:08the event that someone isn't able to

43:11stay in their home for the five years."

43:14>> Yeah. I [clears throat] think I mean we

43:17are talking small

43:18>> probably not that high of a risk so like

43:20I don't think it holds up anything but

43:23we probably if if this has legs and

43:26continues to be something that we go for

43:28we probably will need to refine that

43:31>> yeah the the main intention was that

43:34people wouldn't take this and flip the

43:36house

43:37>> that was the main

43:38>> and that was the main intention but we

43:39thought we had to address if the person

43:42died or you know left if they, you know,

43:45decide in two years, oh, I'm moving or

43:47whatever.

43:49>> Yeah. Essentially, if they're not trying

43:50to abuse this, we we probably will

43:52forget,

43:53>> especially if it's an elderly person,

43:54there is the chance that they would have

43:56to be rehomed somewhere. And we're

43:59talking a maximum of $20,000

44:02per project. And if they live there for

44:05four years,

44:06>> right,

44:07>> you know, are we going to chase them

44:08down for $5,000 or is it, you know, I

44:12don't know. No, but I I agree. But also,

44:15we don't want to have to debate it,

44:16right? We just want to say like this is

44:18what we're going to do forward. Let's

44:19spend our time on the stuff that we can

44:21actually really make an impact on.

44:27>> Hope we get great turnout.

44:29>> I know. Very excited.

44:32>> Excellent.

44:33>> So, we'll do it here at the town hall.

44:35>> Yeah.

44:35>> Okay.

44:36>> So, this would be for I think Wednesday,

44:39September 30th, we decided.

44:40>> Yep.

44:41>> Okay. Okay. 6 p.m. Perfect.

44:44>> Sounds great.

44:44>> And then I think so we I know last time

44:46we went we wanted a second one so we

44:48could have our second session at our

44:50October 8th um the next week the next

44:52Thursday at our next affordable housing

44:54interest meeting.

44:55>> So okay

44:56>> I don't want to I know that I have not

44:58been a part of this discussion but going

44:59forward but it sounds like our target

45:01audience are older people

45:03>> right? And my concern is that it's dark

45:05at 6 o'clock at night. Okay. And it's

45:07dark at 7 o'clock at night when we meet

45:09on October 8th.

45:11>> Is there any opportunity to have

45:13something in the daylight hours? I know

45:15maybe the trust can't be there, but is

45:17there going to be any opportunity to do

45:19something maybe at the senior center at

45:21a time of day when it might be more

45:23comfortable for people to come out to

45:25learn about the program? I'm just

45:27worrying that we're going to lose

45:28people. We're not going to get the

45:30people we're targeting because of that.

45:32No,

45:32>> that is I thought we did discuss like at

45:345:00 or 4:30.

45:36>> 5:00 or 5:30.

45:37>> I think 4:30 even.

45:38>> 4:30 even.

45:40>> I can be there. I can I can after

45:44>> you can even have a member of the trust

45:46as long as like the information is

45:47getting out. I don't know how critical

45:49it is to have the whole right. Okay.

45:52>> Have one or two people

45:52>> with notice. I can be I work from home

45:54so [clears throat] I can be there.

45:57>> You can multitask. I'm even thinking

45:59like daytime.

46:00>> Like daytime?

46:01>> Yeah.

46:02>> Like the senior center popping, but I

46:03think it during the day.

46:06>> It's pretty busy. I was over there with

46:07my mother and father.

46:08>> It's busy during the [laughter] day.

46:09Okay.

46:10>> But I think you start getting later in

46:11the day. Correct me if I'm wrong, but

46:13you start getting later in the day,

46:14especially once the

46:18>> seniors aren't coming out.

46:19>> So 11 or lunch or or time or I

46:23>> can we see what the availor availability

46:26is

46:27>> because

46:28Because what I'm thinking is we could do

46:32one like the the trust maybe have an

46:34earlier meeting on that Thursday,

46:36October 8th at 5.

46:38>> You know, we can start our meet like

46:40have a regular meeting, have the

46:41session, and then once the session is

46:43over, then we continue our agenda. Um,

46:45and then maybe that September, the end

46:49of September, we can have a daytime one

46:52after listening to what you said, Beth,

46:54have it somewhere earlier. and then

46:55maybe just one or two trust members and

46:57then have um uh Habitat for Humanity be

47:01there and then have it in the senior

47:03center. I think that's a good idea.

47:05>> Okay. Yeah, sounds good to me.

47:08>> Right. Yeah, we did talk about an

47:10earlier time especially targeting and I

47:13was confused if that was rental.

47:14>> I think the only way the only thing I

47:16was thinking about was it was just like

47:18after work hours for so many people.

47:20>> I mean for the trust members and then

47:21also for the town staff. That's what I

47:24was thinking about. But this could be

47:26especially if you want to

47:27>> at least for one of the sessions if you

47:28want to at least

47:30>> try to reach out to the maximum number

47:32most number of people.

47:33>> It's a good idea.

47:34>> Yeah. I I think splitting the difference

47:35in having one early session, one later

47:37session.

47:37>> Later sessions.

47:38>> Yeah. Um because we don't want to also

47:40exclude people who may be working and

47:42need time to commute and such.

47:44>> Yeah.

47:45>> Okay.

47:46>> Just a short jaunt right over there for

47:48you. [laughter]

47:50>> So should we move it you think five or

47:52six? Six.

47:54>> Which one? Our the October 8th.

47:55>> October 8th

47:57>> only because five o'clock is such a hard

47:59time if people are commuting.

48:02>> Six. Six o'clock.

48:03>> I think six makes sense for that.

48:04>> Do the outreach at six and then we can

48:06just continue our meeting.

48:07>> Continue the meeting. Okay.

48:08>> Yeah. Okay.

48:09>> Sounds good to me.

48:10>> Like an hour, half hour. What? How long?

48:13>> Probably it would be half hour to 45

48:16minutes. you know like 20 20 minutes the

48:20presentation and then 10 minutes for us

48:23to um talk about what our involvement in

48:26our in the program and then 15 minutes

48:29for questions.

48:29>> Okay,

48:30>> if that makes sense.

48:31>> So folks be applying right there and

48:33then.

48:34Um so from the application process is

48:37usually uh we will help um uh the main

48:42at least the main uh role that the trust

48:44is we are try we're going to um we're

48:47going to try and connect Habitat um I

48:49mean try to connect residents to Habitat

48:52um and they they have like an interest

48:54form so they we they quickly fill an

48:56interest form they talk with Habitat for

48:58Humanity and then they will and then

49:00Habitat for Humanity sends them the

49:02official application. So there's like a

49:04vetting process even before they fill

49:07the application.

49:08>> Yeah. I guess I'm thinking um for the

49:13during the day one,

49:14>> right? If let's say we're having fan

49:17service in St. An's there, like could

49:20they stay behind and help seniors

49:23actually fill out the application right

49:24there and then?

49:27>> So it sounds like it would be a

49:28pre-application an interest or could

49:31they fill out the actual

49:34At the end of day, we're trying to make

49:35sure that they fill it out correctly.

49:37Help them when they because not

49:40everyone's going to be able to fill it

49:40out correctly.

49:41>> Exactly. Right. Especially if because I

49:43think this is online one, but um from

49:46what I know, they do they help uh um

49:49applicants during the whole application

49:51process, but this can be an opportunity.

49:54This could be an opportunity where they

49:56um help them. So, okay.

49:59>> It may not work out.

50:00>> Yeah.

50:00>> Just trying to puzzle pieces together.

50:02Yeah, that's that's valid. If we can do

50:04it, great. But

50:06>> yeah.

50:06>> Yeah.

50:07>> But again, so the way was we're we're

50:10using that as an opportunity to get them

50:11into contact and then Habitat will

50:14contact them separately, you know, have

50:15a whole conversation with them and help

50:17help them, you know, aid them through

50:19the whole process.

50:20>> Y

50:22okay.

50:24>> Um are we all set with the community

50:26engagement discussion? Do we want to

50:27move on to Oh, I guess we just did

50:29discuss dates and times.

50:31>> Yeah.

50:32[gasps] Sorry.

50:33>> No, no, no problem. Um, it sort of they

50:36naturally lead into each other. Uh, so

50:38when it comes to roles and

50:38responsibilities, you have anything else

50:40you want to say about that?

50:41>> Um, so

50:44yeah, basically the the trust our our

50:47role is to uh forward and connect

50:51residents to Habitat for Humanity. And

50:53then also um you know uh we can you know

50:56keep in contact with uh people who um

51:00you know for some reason the the um we

51:04have we've maximized you know all the

51:06funding and we want people who uh are

51:09still interested we could connect them

51:11to state programs. And also if for some

51:13reason 20,000 is what they've capped,

51:15but if there's an extra one or 2,000

51:17that they really need for a certain

51:19project, um they can come back to the

51:21trust and then as a trust we'll vote to

51:24approve that funding.

51:26>> Great.

51:27>> All right.

51:28>> All right.

51:31Okay. So, moving on to the affordable

51:34housing trust action plan.

51:37All right. I'm going to share

51:52Okay. So this is the affordable housing

51:54trust action plan. This is um this plan

51:58will guide the um act as a framework and

52:01guide the the actions of the trust uh

52:04for the next five years. Um this was

52:07finalized in January 2024.

52:10Um I thought this was a good opportunity

52:12given that we have two new members to

52:14kind of review you know what we've uh

52:16done for

52:18um the you know as a trust what we've

52:21done and what we plan to do later. So if

52:24we go down,

52:26okay, I'm just gonna

52:35if we go to the goals and the actions or

52:37priority actions

52:40um

52:41mission of the Shoesbury affordable

52:43housing trust. These are some of the um

52:47you know the mission you know advocating

52:49for thoughtful housing development that

52:51recognizes the value of Shoesberry's

52:52open space. Um promote community

52:55understanding about affordable housing

52:56and housing needs for Shbury. Support a

52:59mixture of types and sizes of affordable

53:01housing development.

53:03Um and then we have the goals of the

53:05trust. So we have um you know consistent

53:08with uh the affordable housing trust

53:11bylaw um we will prioritize uh you know

53:14the funding goals and operation goals.

53:16So some of these you know leverage

53:19private and public funds to create at

53:20least 25 units over the next 5 years to

53:22support affordable housing needs mixed

53:25incomes uh priority prioritize funds for

53:28development or other initiatives that

53:30will create or preserve affordable units

53:32in perpetuity.

53:34um leverage funds for development or

53:37initiatives that support Shbury's local

53:39documented needs, including for its

53:40seniors and disabled households and

53:42first-time home buyers. So I believe

53:45with our home repair program, we are

53:47trying to satisfy this um uh this goal

53:51and then also um we talked about this

53:54last year uh for our new members that we

53:57wanted to uh have a firsttime home buyer

53:59program um to use uh C to to probably

54:04what we want to do is apply to the CPA

54:07um for the and then have it at the

54:10Maytown meeting to approve a first-time

54:12home buyer program for next

54:14So that's stay tuned for that. Um and

54:17then four was coordinate land

54:19acquisition efforts to evaluate

54:20opportunities for affordable housing

54:22development including the priorization

54:24of existing town land. We have been

54:27doing that. It has you know um kind of

54:30uh hit a pause because I've been focused

54:33on the rental assistance and the home

54:35repair. But again I think if the trust

54:38is interested I can you know uh work

54:41back. I think we we wanted ultimately

54:43wanted the select board approval for

54:45that. So, you [snorts] know, we can talk

54:47about that more at the next meeting if

54:50the trust wants to I can give an update

54:51on, you know, what I've my research

54:53we've done so far and how we want to

54:54move forward with that.

54:55>> Yeah, that would be fantastic. as long

54:57as it isn't taking away from all your

55:00other new responsibilities that

55:02>> so I I do think that one of our our next

55:05thing one of the um our question was

55:07should we meet with the entire select

55:10board at that like we'll talk about it

55:13next meeting but then we should set a

55:17meeting with the select board just to

55:18review what their thoughts are what they

55:20and what we'd like to do with that open

55:22space right we're talking about the two

55:24and there were two two main um spots

55:27that we were focusing on with Northwin

55:29Sig,

55:30>> right,

55:30>> and Green Street,

55:31>> right? The North Quinc Sigamund, I think

55:33it was 210 North Quincigam Avenue.

55:36>> That sounds correct.

55:37>> Yeah. So that was one that we decided

55:39that ultimately because of the criteria

55:41that we set for you know transportation

55:45um you know access for that for

55:47transportation and then um you know um

55:51any wetlands that are nearby as well as

55:54you know uh we don't want parcels that

55:57are too small that you know are able to

55:58support actual housing development that

56:00we kind of um narrowed down a list over

56:04the this last year. And also the what I

56:07would this is an update I need to uh

56:12check back but there is a um parcel

56:14right next to that 216 Northwin Avenue

56:17that was a tax title parcel that I think

56:19was owing over like 200 I have to check

56:22back but it was like a few hundred,000

56:24in in taxes that they haven't paid for

56:26so long. So if the tr if the town could

56:30possess that we could combine those two

56:32parcels and use that for housing. that

56:34was at least the the the goal I had in

56:37mind at that time. So I could check back

56:41um for the rest of the next meeting if

56:42that's something that you're interested

56:43in hearing.

56:44>> I think so. Yeah,

56:45>> I think it would be another option we

56:47can you know and then the green street

56:49would have been the second green street

56:51that we spoke about.

56:52>> Right.

56:53>> I think it was

56:54>> state

56:55>> two that was also a term 200 something

56:58green. I will go back to my notes but it

57:00was on green street. Yeah.

57:01>> Right.

57:02So if if we can get an update just you

57:06know keep it moving along.

57:09Okay. Um and then if we go back any and

57:14then we go to operational goals evaluate

57:17ways in which the trust can collaborate

57:19with the community preservation

57:20commission you know we're doing that um

57:23encourage and public engagement with the

57:25trust through public events and the

57:27trust website. you know, we want to do

57:29that, you know, with the rental

57:30assistance and home repair. This, you

57:32know, affords us an opportunity to have

57:34some really robust public engagement.

57:36You know, this we haven't had that since

57:38the action plan. So, I think it's a good

57:41this is a good opportunity to have that.

57:43Um, and then, you know, short-term, we

57:48have short-term, medium-term, and

57:49long-term goals. Again, we've

57:51collaborating with the community

57:52reservation committee. We've worked on

57:55we've worked to create an inventory of

57:57public lands. I did that last year. Um

58:01participate in housing protection plan.

58:03We did that in 2024.

58:05Um and so now we have the we're now in

58:08our long-term goals. You know, I think

58:10so right now we have our rental

58:12assistance program. We have our

58:13affordable home repair program. And I

58:15think this for the next year we can

58:17target um a first time, you know,

58:20firsttime homeowner

58:22uh assistance program and then

58:24evaluating a vacant town on land for

58:27affordable housing.

58:30>> Excellent.

58:33>> Okay.

58:34>> Any questions?

58:36>> Questions or comments?

58:38>> FY28 is not too far away. At what point

58:40should we be updating our strategic

58:43plan? Oh.

58:44That is a good question. Um,

58:48usually, uh, I think me, you know, I

58:52don't I have to go back, but if this was

58:55an RFQ, you know, we can maybe, uh,

58:59start to we look back and maybe draft

59:01and have somebody update that for us

59:04given our new goals and maybe some new

59:06priorities to have. Not that I I don't

59:09know if it'll be too different, but I

59:11also this is something that I envision

59:13that I think in the master plan process

59:16I think we can bring up uh you know

59:20maybe what the the trust can do is you

59:22know if they have something they want to

59:23bring up part of the master plan process

59:25is maybe okay talk about having update

59:29because within the master plan they have

59:30a housing section

59:32>> so we can make some recommend the the

59:34housing the housing trust representative

59:37there are things to recommendation. So,

59:38one of the recommendations they could

59:40have is update the um

59:42>> Yeah. So, you caught on,

59:43>> right? If we have our plan in place

59:46through say, you know, 2032,

59:49we can present that to the master plan

59:52and say these are the pieces that we

59:53want prioritized based on what we view

59:56and our perspectives to help the town

59:59that bolt into the strategic the uh

1:00:02town's master plan.

1:00:04>> Well, right now the town master plan is

1:00:06being updated. I know

1:00:07>> that would be before

1:00:09>> I don't think timewise that's going to

1:00:10work, right? Because isn't the idea to

1:00:12have the town's master plan updated by

1:00:14March?

1:00:14>> By next year.

1:00:15>> Yeah.

1:00:16>> Okay.

1:00:17>> But, you know, because if so, in the

1:00:19housing section, we could be like

1:00:20>> one of the goals, the housing goals is

1:00:22to have an updated one for FY28. But

1:00:26>> that could be something.

1:00:27>> Um, I would like to heap another thing

1:00:29onto your copiously loaded plate. Uh I

1:00:33know one of the points on there is

1:00:34identifying and securing new funding

1:00:36sources to support the trust. I know

1:00:37that's something throughout the last uh

1:00:38year or so we've definitely spoken about

1:00:40but that's something I think that we

1:00:42>> currently still don't have a great

1:00:44solution to. Um so if possible I would

1:00:47love to speak to other trusts whether it

1:00:49be from different towns or anything and

1:00:50see how that they they approach these

1:00:52problems or other uh sort of like

1:00:53departments or uh boards on the town

1:00:56that might have been struggling with

1:00:58similar issues if or how they resolve

1:01:00them. Right. Um, just something else to

1:01:03think about because I know it's

1:01:03something we talked about over the

1:01:04course of last year and I don't really

1:01:06feel like we ever ended up properly

1:01:07addressing in a great way.

1:01:09>> Okay.

1:01:09>> Yeah.

1:01:10>> All right.

1:01:11>> Great.

1:01:20>> Are we good?

1:01:22>> Any other questions or comments?

1:01:23>> No. Nothing from me. that will lead us

1:01:25directly into

1:01:28[snorts] the um proposed regional forum

1:01:30the housing trust.

1:01:32>> All right. So um after I and Martha we

1:01:36attended the MHP conference uh in June

1:01:40>> um I was talking to Martha and I thought

1:01:42it would be uh good to initiate an

1:01:45affordable housing trust round table. So

1:01:47at the MHP

1:01:49uh conference, we had an affordable

1:01:51housing trust breakfast where we met

1:01:52with different uh trust members from

1:01:54different municipalities around the

1:01:56region and we kind of you know shared

1:01:59what projects we're working on and you

1:02:01know what worked and what didn't work

1:02:03and maybe some of the developers that

1:02:04we're working with some nonprofit

1:02:06developers and so um I thought it would

1:02:09be good and over here as part of our

1:02:13goals I think there was Um

1:02:18in the established an annual local

1:02:20housing roundt uh if we see over their

1:02:23goal number 12 meeting uh with the trust

1:02:26acting as a convenor of other local

1:02:28regional housing and land use entities

1:02:30to coordinate priorities and raise

1:02:31public awareness of local housing

1:02:33initiatives. So I think that also that

1:02:37was also a reason for me for to initiate

1:02:39that housing roundt um to you know to

1:02:42kind of have convene different trust

1:02:44members and then at some point invite

1:02:46developers and have that larger um

1:02:49housing conversation. So um for the past

1:02:52few weeks I have been uh talking to MHP

1:02:56and CMRPC.

1:02:58So they um they kind of worked behind

1:03:00the scenes and they decided um to have

1:03:03this at uh on October 14th from 5:30 to

1:03:087:30. Um I think this is in this is we

1:03:11this will be located in Auburn at the

1:03:14Mary D. Stone apartments. So they it was

1:03:16a former school in Auburn and now it's

1:03:19uh seen mixed senior housing.

1:03:22>> Um about I think a 100 units. I would

1:03:25have to look back, but um that will

1:03:27there will be a quick tour. We'll have

1:03:29uh trust members there and then there'll

1:03:31be free food and drink provided by MHP.

1:03:36>> Another thing to add to your plate.

1:03:38[laughter]

1:03:39>> That's a Wednesday, right?

1:03:41>> That is a Wednesday.

1:03:42>> And and what sort of free food will they

1:03:44have?

1:03:45>> You don't have [laughter]

1:03:50a calendar invite for these things?

1:03:51>> Yes,

1:03:51>> that would be great. We just um we just

1:03:55uh finalized that date yesterday. So, I

1:03:57was just going to um inform them and see

1:03:59if all the trust members are available.

1:04:00But

1:04:01>> they're doing all the outreach to get

1:04:03the local um entities and land use

1:04:07folks.

1:04:07>> Yeah. So, CMRPC will do that. They are

1:04:09CMRPC is the Central Massachusetts uh um

1:04:13>> uh regional planning commission. So they

1:04:16actually have we haven't had in the last

1:04:19few months but we have um our housing

1:04:20planner from CMRPC who kind of uh who

1:04:23assists towns uh many towns don't have

1:04:26planning departments or if they do they

1:04:28have one we are lucky we have you know

1:04:30multiple staff so we're able to we have

1:04:32that capacity but they also help us in a

1:04:34lot of um other uh other planning

1:04:38initiatives so they um they have all the

1:04:41contacts for the different they work

1:04:43regularly with other towns they're going

1:04:45to contact them and MHP also has

1:04:48contacts so they will contact all the

1:04:49different towns.

1:04:51>> Can we can we make sure Metro SD is

1:04:53going to be there?

1:04:55>> Oh, I can ask if they if they can come

1:04:59to that

1:05:00>> good to make that connection through out

1:05:02pull it all the way through.

1:05:04>> Okay. I'm not sure if because this is uh

1:05:08just for but okay.

1:05:10>> It looks like they're out of Newton, but

1:05:13[clears throat]

1:05:13>> it would be nice. Okay. I can see if

1:05:14they're available.

1:05:18>> Okay.

1:05:18>> Um but yeah, I think the so the I kind

1:05:22the the main I think uh agenda of that

1:05:25day would be to to quickly tour the

1:05:28apartment. We'll have the developer who

1:05:30worked on that project, you know, talk

1:05:31about that, you know, what were the the

1:05:33struggles, what were the challenges, but

1:05:35also some of the positives, you know,

1:05:36the impact that they've seen. And then I

1:05:39think we wanted to choose something that

1:05:41would be achievable for many you know

1:05:44towns and I think again we always look

1:05:46at Worcester and again Worcester is def

1:05:49it's a city and it's different from a

1:05:50lot of towns but then there are uh so we

1:05:53thought it would be somewhere in the

1:05:54middle that would be accessible so

1:05:56that's why we chose Auburn so

1:05:58>> yeah that's good.

1:06:00>> Okay. All right. Any correspondence this

1:06:04evening? Oh, no correspondence this

1:06:06evening.

1:06:08>> And just confirming our next meeting is

1:06:10Thursday, October 8th. We will

1:06:14>> wait for the time change to do the form

1:06:16before in the meeting. So that

1:06:20and then can I get a motion to adjurnn?

1:06:23>> I have a motion to adjurnn.

1:06:24>> Second.

1:06:25>> I second.

1:06:26>> All those in favor? I I

1:06:28>> thank you.