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
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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 .
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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 {
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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
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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
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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
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Assistant Town Administrator
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Housing Trust public packet : http : // records . brewster: I
ma . gov/webIink/0/ doc/ 139169/ Page1 . aspx
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Approved January 7 , 2021
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