Loading...
HomeMy Public PortalAboutAffordable Housing Trust -- 2020-11-12 Minutes Brewster Housing Trust November 12 , 2020 S : OOpm Virtual Meeting Present : Ben deRuyter, Paul Ruchinskas, Donna Kalinick, Tim Hackert , Maggie Spade -Aguilar, Jill Scalise , Madalyn Hillis- Dineen , Sarah Robinson Absent : None Citizen Comments : A number of emails were received and posted in the public packet . Additional emails came in during the Trust meeting and were shared with the Trust . 1 . Call to Order : Chair deRuyter called the meeting to order at 5 : OOpm , read the required notice for virtual meetings and declared a quorum . 2 . Financial Report : Ms . Kalinick said there was no change from last month . There are some pending legal bills , totaling $ 1 , 144 dollars . She will provide another full reporting next month . 3 . Millstone Community Housing Property : • Follow up discussion on presentation and response to questions- Ms . Kalinick said that the contract and scope for the watershed analysis are in the packet . It is broken down into phases . We expect the report for our December or January meeting . Ms . Scalise read an email from Glen Casey asking about the watershed analysis and abutter concerns . Mr . Hackert said the Bohler proposal specifically states they will look at impact to surrounding properties, run off issues , potential floodings , etc . Mr . Ruchinskas asked under what conditions we 'would do the soil evaluation . Ms . Kalinicl< said the decision would be made after the initial findings . Typically soil borings are done once the plan is more firm and a developer is chosen . Chair deRuyter restated that this is an extra step that we are taking to address some legitimate concerns and the results will inform the RFP , but the developer will ultimately be required to do exhaustive work before and during development . We have received a fair amount of emails regarding this issue and the Trust wanted to ensure Bohler had those comments . Ms . Kalinicl< said that Bohler received every email that we received before the 9 / 3 meeting and we can compile the subsequent ones for them . • Votes on Millstone response letter and information sheet- Chair deRuyter thanked Ms . Scalise for the work she put into compiling this letter and I nformation . Ms . Scalise developed the letter with Ms . Kalinick' s input and then Chair deRuyter went through it and made some edits . Ms . Scalise noted that in compiling this information , it was clear that many of these questions and responses have come up since the beginning if this process, such as property values which we researched as far back as 2018 . We have decided to distribute the letter to everyone who has commented , attended a session and provided their contact information since 2018 . Madalyn Hillis- Dineen asked if we could put the letter on the Trust webpage as well . Mr . Hackert thought it was a comprehensive letter and noted that we value community input . Mr . Ruchinskas asked what the attachments will be . It will include the Millstone timeline and next steps and the water flow map . Mr . Ruchinskas asked that we add a section about how we will also use the Housing Production plan and other factors to make decisions about the development of this property . Chair deRuyter said he tried to summarize that in the last paragraph , but perhaps we could add more and make sure the attachments are included on the website . Maggie Spade " Aguilar asked if we could make sure there are links to our community forums on our website . They are all on our housing office webpage under Millstone property subtitle . Ms . Kalinick suggested that we include the information sheet that we are also going to discuss next as a way to get to Paul ' s point about the broader picture . Ms . Kalinick also requested that the letter say on behalf of the Housing Trust with the Chair' s signature . Ms . Robinson has had discussions with residents who feel they are just hearing about this project and that everyone may not understand the many community planning processes the Town has undertook and will continue , like Visioning but it is important to hear continued input and weigh all facets . Mr . Hackert moved to approve the letter, to be signed by the Chair and distributed as discussed , Ms . Robinson second . A roll call vote was taken . Madalyn Hillis - Dineen -Yes , Maggie Spade - Aguilar-Yes, Paul Ruchinskas -Yes , Tim Hackert-Yes , Sarah Robinson -Yes , Donna Kalinick-Yes , Chair deRuyter-Yes . i Ms . Scalise went over the formation of the information sheet . We have tried to continually update the next steps sheet . The information sheet provides an update on Millstone , but also connects the Housing Production Plan ( HPP ) and Vision Plan with our efforts and decisions . Now more than ever, with the pandemic, the need for safe , stable housing is critical . All of these efforts tie back to the work the community has done around the Vision Plan and HPP . • Begin discussion and overview of Request for Proposal ( RFP ) process - The information from Laura Shufelt of Mass Housing Partnership ( MHP ) was included in the packet . Ms . Kalinick said before she went over the RFP process , she wanted to make one more comment on the prior discussion . Ms . Kalinick said that we are a community proposing to build a neighborhood and that she is concerned about some of the inferences to crime , noise and property values that have been made . She asked that people be careful in the words they use when referring to their neighbors . The Cape has become unaffordable to many people and that situation has been made worse by the pandemic . Ms . Kalinick stated that everyone has a right to safe , stable housing that is affordable to them . In terms of the RFP , this is a process that is covered under Mass General Law, 30B , Goods and Services and dictates how we go through the RFP process . There are advertising requirements , a minimum of 30 days for responses and - all deliberations and scoring must be done in a public format . There are submission requirements, including experience, references, financial proforma and qualifications . For example , we have had discussions about the Trust wanting management onsite . The scoring criteria is prescribed by law . Ms . Kalinick stated that housing RFPs are complicated and we need Ms . Shufelt' s assistance . We can put scoring value on the items that are important to the community, but we cannot prescribe the request to the point where proposers cannot reply . The criteria included was an example from another town on the Cape . Example items that we might we consider are energy efficiency, buffers, design , traffic flow and financials . There are also design guidelines that need to go with the RFP . An example was provided from Wellfleet . Chair deRuy,,ter asked if Ms . Shufelt would take all of the information she has to date and prepare a draft or do we meet with her and develop section by section . Mr . Ruchinskas said when he was working as a consultant for housing, he would prepare the draft, but there wasn ' t as much community engagement and housing groups doing this work then . Ms . Kalinick said there is a standard housing RFP format that MHP has developed . Ms . Shufelt has been with us throughout the entire process and is very familiar with this project . We will be working with Laura in session on the details of the RFP which is why it takes 4 to 6 months . Chair deRuyter noted an email from Mr . Bedard about the timeline and referred to the RFP process in the packet . Ms . Scalise noted that there is an updated RFP timeline in the packet . Mr . Ruchinskas asked for clarification about the draft RFP from Ms . Shufelt . We will work with Ms . Shufelt to develop an initial draft based on all the information we have to date , then work through the details over several meetings . The kick off meeting for the RFP will likely be in January, after we receive the results of the Watershed Analysis . Ms . Kalinick and Ms . Scalise will follow up with Ms . Shufelt on timeframe and process . Ms . Spade -Aguilar asked if we have to wait for the Watershed Analysis to start the RFP process . Ms . Kalinick said that she thinks it makes sense to wait and that we not rush through this process . This is not a significant delay . Ms . Spade said she does not want to rush , but we could get the barebones ready at the same time as the watershed analysis comes in . We will start discussions with Ms . Shufelt as we wait 1 for the analysis to keep moving along in the process . 4 . Rental Assistance Program : update and vote on $ 150, 000 CPC grant application : Ms . Scalise provided an update . Housing Assistance has approved one emergency application . All of the other clients have received funding through ERMA, RAFT or the county . The Trust has talked about applying for continued funding for 2 years , and after attending the CPC public hearing where there were many housing requests, we have decided to ask for $ 150, 000 instead of $ 200, 000 . The first year was funded at $ 75 , 000 so this is consistent . Ms . Robinson said that the crisis on the Cape is extremely urgent { i 1 i right now and she is supportive of this request . Mr . Ruchinskas asked if it will be for regular rental assistance and emergency assistance . Ms . Scalise said she is not able to answer that right now . We are uncertain how long the emergency will last . We initially said one year for emergency assistance . We need to allow for flexibility for right now and expect the emergency assistance phase may continue . Mr . Hackert moved to approve the CPC application for $ 150, 000 for rental assistance, Ms . Dineen - Hillis second . A roll call vote was taken . Madalyn Hillis - Dineen -Yes , Maggie Spade -Aguilar- Yes, Paul Ruchinskas -Yes, Tim Hackert-Yes , Sarah Robinson -Yes, Donna Kalinick-Yes , Chair deRuyter- Yes . 5 . Vote on request for Letter of Support for Housing Coordinator CPC grant application : Ms . Kalinick said in the last two years, the Trust has provided a Getter of support . The application is due 12/ 1 . We need authorization for the Chair to sign the letter and a copy will be provided in the next packet . Mr . Hackert moved to authorize the chair to sign the letter, Madalyn Dineen - Hillis second . A roll call vote was taken . Madalyn Hillis - Dineen -Yes, Maggie Spade -Aguilar-Yes, Paul Ruchinskas-Yes, Tim Hackert-Yes, Sarah Robinson -Yes , Donna Kalinick-Yes, Chair deRuyter-Yes . 6 . Preservation of Affordable Housing, Yankee Drive update : Ms . Scalise said the Trust has discussed taking more than one path on this property . The Town Treasurer Collector has reached out to counsel and started the process for a tax taking . It was noted that these legal options are long processes . 7 . Housing Coordinator update including Brewster Woods & 873 Harwich Rd & Habitat : Ms . Scalise received 58 requests for housing information or assistance this past month . Ms . Scalise noted that when we did outreach for the COVID relief program , it helped to reach people who needed rental or mortgage assistance . Ms . Kalinick provided an update on Brewster Woods . The bid opening was 10/9 and the four low bids came from local contractors . We have awarded a contract to CC Construction and were able to award the entire amount plus add alternates . We have also been working with abutters about the construction schedule . We expect construction to begin the first week of December . Ms . Kalinick noted that we receive inquiries daily about when these new housing options will be available . Ms . Scalise said that Elevation Financial received a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals and site plan review through the Planning 3 Board . This will be 134 units of senior housing, 55 + . We will be working with Elevation on , getting 20% of the units on the Subsidized Housing Inventory ( SHI ) . Ms . Robinson asked if the calls we get are local . Ms . Scalise said we get calls from residents , residents who have had to leave Brewster and people from surrounding communities . Ms . Scalise and Ms , Kalinick thanked all the town committees and the building department for their work and support for housing . Ms . Scalise reported that the rest of the homeowners at Habitat' s Paul Hush Way will be moving in before the end of the year . We are still waiting on the CDBG rehabilitation grant and we continue to get calls for that need . j 7 3 3 I J i i 3 8 . Any other business not anticipated : Ms . Spade-Aguilar noted that the RAFT funds have been increased to $ 10, 000 per household through the State which will help residents . Chair deRuyter echoed Ms . Kalinick' s earlier statement about housing work being for the community and the importance of the work we do as the housing crisis becomes worse . The support from town departments and the community is encouraging . 9 . Next Meeting : December 3 , 2020 at 5pm . 10 . Approval of Minutes from October 8, 2020 : Mr . Hackert moved to approve the minutes of October 8 , 2020 with technical changes , Ms . Robinson second . Mr . Ruchinskas asked for a change on the top of page 3 , to substitute the word listen to versus responsive to . Mr . Hackert suggested the word consider instead of listen . Ms . Spade- Aguilar asked for changes in some of what she said in that same section . it was decided to hold the minutes and review the tape again . The motions were withdrawn by Mr . Hackert and Ms . Robinson . 11 , Adjournment : Mr . Hackert moved adjournment at 6 : 25pm , Ms . Maggie second . A roll call vote was taken . Madalyn Hillis - Dineen -Yes, Maggie Spade -Aguilar-Yes , Paul Ruchinskas -Yes , Tim Hackert-Yes, Sarah Robinson -Yes , Donna Kalinick-Yes, Chair deRuyter-Yes . Respectfully Submitted , Donna J . Kalinick 1 Assistant Town Administrator i Housing Trust public packet : http : // records . brewster: I ma . gov/webIink/0/ doc/ 139169/ Page1 . aspx r Approved January 7 , 2021 I 3 I I i I I i i JI 1 i 3 7