Affordable Housing Trust Fund

City of MASSACHUSETTS www.cityofmalden.org Gary Christenson, Mayor Malden Affordable Housing Trust Fund Meeting Minutes May 19, 2021 – 5:00 PM Trustees Mayor Gary Christenson Steve Finn Angie Liou Catherine Price Roxanne Reddington-Wilde Brian Slater Councillor-at-large Stephen Winslow New Business: 1. Call to Order Councillor Winslow called the meeting to order at 5:09 PM. Councillor Winslow read the following remote meeting notice into the record: In accordance with Governor Baker’s 3/12/20 Order Suspending Certain Provisions of the Open Meeting Law, G.L. c. 30A, §18, and pursuant to the Governor’s Revised Orders thereafter, this meeting will be conducted via remote participation. In person attendance by members of the public is prohibited, and all effort will be made to permit public attendance of this meeting, in the manner specified below, via remote access by internet, telephone, and if available via public broadcast of the meeting by Malden Access Cable Television on public access television channels. Public access will also be provided by posting draft minutes, and/or a transcript, recording, or record of the meeting on the City of Malden website at cityofmalden.org as soon as practicable after the meeting. Additional information/guidelines for the public can be found here: https://www.cityofmalden.org/DocumentCenter/View/2487/Public-information-on- Public-Meetings-and-Hearings-during-the-Declared-State-of-Emergency-related-to- COVID19PDF Members of the public who wish to attend remotely can do so using the following information: Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://zoom.us/j/95585353046?pwd=YlhralBScjh4ZnpVdyt0WE5qMVhBZz09 Passcode: MAHTF20 Or iPhone one-tap : US: +16465189805,,98227686340#,,,,*8027017# or +19294362866,,98227686340#,,,,*8027017# 215 Pleasant Street, Fourth Floor, Malden, MA 02148  Phone: 781-397-7000 Ext. 2001 info@cityofmalden.org Strong Past…Proud Future City of Malden, MA Or Telephone: Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location): US: +1 646 518 9805 or +1 929 436 2866 Webinar ID: 982 2768 6340 Passcode: 8027017 International numbers available: https://cityofmalden.zoom.us/u/acf68kpYnP Evan Spetrini called the roll  Trustees Present: Steve Finn, Angie Liou, Roxanne Reddington-Wilde, Brian Slater, Councillor-at-large Stephen Winslow  Others Present: Evan Spetrini, Senior Planner, Malden Redevelopment Authority; Dan Grover, Treasurer, City of Malden 2. Approval of Meeting Minutes from April 21, 2021 On a motion by Ms. Liou and seconded by Ms. Reddington-Wilde, the minutes from the April 21, 2021 meeting were approved unanimously. 3. Finance Report Mr. Grover gave an update on the Trust’s finances. The current balance of the Trust is $654,942.28, inclusive of $53.97 in interest earned in the month of April. There are no outstanding invoices. Mr. Spetrini submitted a pre-application to the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) for Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds for the Trust. The pre-app is used only to determine eligibility and the full applications are due the first week in September. Mr. Spetrini explained that the request is an unusual one for the CPC because it’s not for a specific project, but rather an arrangement where the Trust would manage CPA funds dedicated for affordable housing projects. However, this is a common practice in other communities with both CPA and an affordable housing trust. The CPC is reviewing pre-apps and will determine eligibility soon. 4. Action Plan Sub-Committee Report Mr. Spetrini gave an overview of the full draft Action Plan (attached). He requested that the Trustees send him edits by June 7, which he will incorporate into the final plan to be approved at the June 16 meeting. 5. Mayor’s Affordable Housing Program Updates a. Eviction Prevention Program Mr. Spetrini stated that there are no notable updates to the program. Councillor Winslow asked if evictions are increasing as a result of the Governor’s state of emergency being lifted on June 15. Mr. Spetrini said they’re not sure what is going to happen with the local eviction moratorium but Alex Pratt, Community Development Director at the MRA, is communicating with other communities that are in the same situation. b. Inclusionary Zoning Mr. Spetrini presented the draft inclusionary zoning ordinance to the City Council on May 11, which was referred to the Ordinance Committee for discussion purposes only. He explained that they wanted to give the council time to review the ordinance before referring it to a joint Planning Board/Ordinance Committee session at which there will be a public hearing. The plan is to complete the review and move the proposal to a public hearing by the 215 Pleasant Street, Malden, MA 02148  Phone: 781-397-7000 Ext. 2001 info@cityofmalden.org Strong Past…Proud Future City of Malden, MA time the Council breaks at the end of June. Mr. Spetrini said that they are trying to schedule the first committee meeting dedicated to discussing the ordinance. Jeff Levine will attend to give an overview of the feasibility study and Mr. Spetrini will walk through the ordinance itself. c. Neighborhood Hub Mr. Spetrini gave an update on the Neighborhood Hub program. Mr. Spetrini stated that the City hired a part-time housing inspector, Ken Minasian, to lead the investigation of the vacant/foreclosed properties. Mr. Minasian has started conducting site visits of each of the 68 properties that are currently on the list. Mr. Spetrini said that he will be meeting with Mr. Minasian and Nelson Miller, Building Commissioner, on a regular basis to gauge progress. They are not sure how long it will take to complete the investigations but will have a better idea over the next few weeks. The Neighborhood Hub program also includes the development of a single online portal for affordable housing funding applications, including the Trust, CDBG, and HOME programs. Mr. Spetrini is working with other MRA staff to obtain a quote from Neighborly Software for a community development management tool that includes a robust back end data management system as well as the application portal. MRA staff are currently trying to determine whether this particular software program is a good fit and hope to make a decision soon. 6. Adjournment Ms. Reddington-Wilde made a motion to adjourn and was seconded by Mr. Slater. All Trustees voted in favor and the meeting was adjourned at 5:49 PM. 215 Pleasant Street, Malden, MA 02148  Phone: 781-397-7000 Ext. 2001 info@cityofmalden.org Strong Past…Proud Future