HomeMy WebLinkAboutAffordable Housing Trust Fund Minutes - March 25, 2010_201402060923413766Minutes
Affordable Housing Trust Fund – AHTF
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Regularly Scheduled Meeting
Thursday March 25, 2010
3:00 P.M.
Conference Room
2 Fairgrounds Road
Members Present: Matt MacEachern, Fernando Esteban, Allen Reinhard, Patty Roggeveen, Michael
Kopko, Rick Atherton, Brian Chadwick, Linda Williams,
Whitey Willauer
Staff: Andrew Vorce and Susan Bennett Witte
I. Call to Order
Meeting called to order at 3:08 PM by Matt MacEachern.
II. Establish Quorum
A quorum was declared by Mr. MacEachern.
III. Approval of Agenda
Ms. Williams made a motion to approve the agenda, duly seconded and voted 8-0 in favor.
IV. Approval of 2/08/2010 Minutes
A motion was made to approve the minutes of 020810, duly seconded and voted 8-0 in favor.
V. Public Comment
Aaron Marcavitch from HONAN: Commented that he rarely attends AHTF meetings and
thought that he should start attending and that if the Board has any questions or thoughts of his
organization he is more than happy to answer and that he and Susan have been communicating
on a frequent basis.
Karin Gockel (Citizen) commented that this is her first time attending the AHTF meeting also.
Mr. MacEachern asked if there are anymore public comments.
Mr. MacEachern stated that public comment is closed.
VI. Action/Discussion
A. Continued: Ethics Training paperwork deadline is 4/2/10
Mrs. Witte stated that Patty Roggeveen will need to sign document and then they would be
100% in compliance and will need to bring paper work to the Town Clerk’s Office for there
file.
Mr. Reinhart asked if this applies to other committees and what is the process.
Mr. Kopko asked Jeri about the Ethics paperwork who informed him that the committees
need to file separately. Jeri Hicks from Planning Office stated that that specific directive came
from Human Resource department.
B. New: Discussion and Explanation of Housing Needs and mortgage/housing cost qualifications
by income
There was a brief discussion on rental prices and income qualifications for different levels of
AMI fir both rental and ownership style existing programs. The advertisements which have
been running in both local newsprint media for the past several weeks have generated a dozen
or inquiries to date. Ms. Witte reported that the preponderance of the inquiries were from
single-size households whose preference is for stable long-term rental opportunities.
Ms. Witte has been directing very low (50% AMI) and extremely low (30% AMI) income
qualified families to call the Housing Authority and get on their waiting list. Mrs. Witte
reported she has asked Renee Ceely numerous times how many people are on the various
housing waiting lists. Ms.Ceely has refused to give that information out. Ms. Williams stated
that the Housing Authority can not give it out names of who are on the list because it is
confidential, however they do keep a State waiting list and a Federal waiting list that the
Housing Authority must maintain by law. Mrs. Witte stated that she made it clear she was only
asking for the number of people that are on the wait list and why would that information be
confidential. Mr. Kopko suggested getting legal opinion from Town Council. He stated that
Mrs. Witte is the Town Housing Planner for the Town of Nantucket and her job is to gather
exactly that type of information. Mr. Kopko made a motion that the Housing Planner be able
to get the information she needs from the Housing Authority and submit to Town Council if
unable to get information from the Housing Authority to what type of law applies to this, duly
seconded and voted 8-1 with Ms. Williams opposed.
Aaron Marcavitch from NONAN stated that the majority of people who walk in to his office
looking for housing are in the extremely low (30% AMI) income category and that there has
also been a slight increase in number of families coming in looking for three bedroom homes.
This recent family increase was understood to be as a direct result of home foreclosures
(mostly off-island investor owners who were renting to tenants now displaced). Mr.
Marcavitch agrees with Mrs. Witte one hundred percent as far as the prevalence of single-size
household who are in the most need of housing.
Ms. Witte led a brief explanation of the tightening credit markets and a discussion concerning
increasingly stringent underwriting criteria on all bank loans. These conditions will have a
direct bearing on any would-be-borrowers ability to obtain permanent financing should the
AHTF decide to acquire any units for immediate re-sale.
VII. Report Items: Housing Planner Specialist Report
A discussion followed the Housing Planner Specialist’s Report.
There was a brief discussion about the “A” list a new initiative which is a ready to buy
list and a ready to rent list.
Discussion ensued regarding the need to educate the public of what an accessory
apartment is and making an effort to disseminate the rules and regulations for such
rentals.
Ms. Roggeveen suggested developing some proposals on how affordable housing trust
fund might work with owners of existing empty rental properties and negotiate
purchases of deed restrictions or long time affordable housing or other options that
might create other opportunities for renters, for example buying short term affordable
housing covenant apartments set for five (5) to ten (10) years.
Mr. MacEachern asked for a definition of perpetuity, since the Trusts By-Laws currently
require all Trust activities to involve deed restrictions in perpetuity .Ms. Williams stated
that the perpetuity is a legal term and indicates “forever”.
There was a brief discussion of receiving grants from a variety of sources.
Ms. Williams suggested that Ms. Witte speak to Housing Authority from the Vineyard of
how they proceed with grants.
There was a brief discussion about how best to facilitate the receipt of the CPC program
funding on July 1, 2010. Ms Witte stated she would be attending a MHP sponsored
session on 4/29 and will report back how other AHTF and CPC communities access
advance funding from CPC’s instead of relying on the reimbursement model.
VIII. Other Business:
Next meeting will be June 14, 2010.
IX. Adjournment:
A motion was made to adjourn the meeting at 3:55 PM, duly seconded and voted 9-0 in favor.
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The Mission of the Trust is to provide for the creation and presentation of affordable housing in the
Town of Nantucket for the benefit of year-round low and moderate income households who would
otherwise have difficulty, financial or otherwise, locating housing on Nantucket. These are posted as
Open Meetings held at 3 o’clock pm in the 2 Fairgrounds Road Conference Room on the following
dates:
February 8, 2010; March 25, 2010; June 14, 2010; September 13, 2010; November 8, 2010;
December 13, 2010