Affordable Housing Trust Fund

City of MASSACHUSETTS www.cityofmalden.org Gary Christenson, Mayor Malden Affordable Housing Trust Fund Meeting Minutes February 15, 2023 – 5:00 PM Trustees Mayor Gary Christenson Steve Finn Angie Liou Catherine Price Roxanne Reddington-Wilde Ward 7 Councillor Chris Simonelli Brian Slater New Business: 1. Call to Order Mayor Christenson called the meeting to order at 5:01 PM. Mayor Christenson read the following remote meeting notice into the record: On July 16, 2022, Governor Baker signed into law An Act Extending Certain COVID-19 Measures Adopted During the State of Emergency. This Act includes an extension, until March 31, 2023, of the remote meeting provisions of his March 12, 2020, Executive Order Suspending Certain Provisions of the Open Meeting Law. This meeting will be conducted via remote participation. This meeting will not include in person attendance by members of the public but all effort will be made to permit public attendance, in the manner specified below, via remote access by internet, and telephone. 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.mass.gov/service-details/updated-guidance-on-holding-meetings-pursuant- to-the-act-extending-certain-covid-19-measures Kristina Tseng called the roll • Trustees Present: Mayor Christenson, Steve Finn, Angie Liou, Catherine Price, Roxanne Reddington-Wilde, and Brian Slater • Others Present: Kristina Tseng, Housing Program Coordinator, OSPCD 2. Approval of Meeting Minutes from November 16, 2022 On a motion by Ms. Reddington-Wilde and seconded by Ms. Liou, the minutes from the November 16, 2022 meeting were approved unanimously. 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 3. Finance Report Mr. Grover gave an update on the Trust’s finances. The current balance is $960,612.82 inclusive of interest earned in November, December, and January of $1,380.95, $1,600.24, and $1,840.38, respectively. The only reported expenses are November and December salaries at $2,255.94 and $3,270.73, respectively, and the January salary at $616.67 plus an additional amount to be determined. Salary amounts are higher than previous months. As previously voted, a portion of Ms. Tseng’s salary is covered by the Trust. With Even Spetrini no longer working on the Trust, labor costs associated to his work of $416.67 a month will no longer be charged. Rates have increased in the money market. As of October 31, 2022, the Trust was earning 175 basis points. The current rate is up 50 basis points to 225 basis points, we can anticipate about $21,000.00 in interest per annum or $1,800.00 a month. 4. Administration Updates a. CPC Application Ms. Tseng provided the update on the CPC application. The OSPCD requested $300,000 in CPA funds, which includes this year’s housing allocation funds in addition to the remaining funding from prior years. The CPC has additional funds this year because they didn’t spend the entire allocation in prior years. This year’s request is structured as a pilot year for managing the CPC’s housing allocation; when the application reopens next fall, they will discuss with the CPC to make an ongoing arrangement. The goal of the proposal is a partnership with the CPC to oversee the housing allocation with the broader goal of a one- stop process for affordable housing developers to apply to use CPA funds to subsidize development costs. Ms. Tseng said that she and Emily Granoff, OSPCD Grant Writer, and Evan Spetrini, OSPCD Senior Planner, attended the hearing on January 18th, 2023 to present the goals and purpose for the AHTF’s request. The CPC did not make decisions on the application since they have additional questions regarding the Trust’s projects and operations. Ms. Liou noted the CPC meeting is held right after Trust meetings and asked if a decision would be made tonight and if OSPCD staff would be attending tonight. Ms. Tseng said the CPC sent questions to OSPCD staff to understand the Trust’s operation and expand on the projects, which are due on March 8th, 2023, so she doesn’t expect a decision to be made prior to receiving the written response. However, Ms. Granoff and Ms. Tseng still plan to attend the meeting tonight in case there are any questions about the Trust. 5. Mayor’s Affordable Housing Program Updates a. Mayor’s Office of Housing Stability Ms. Tseng talked about the efforts at Office of Housing Stability (OHS), which is funded with ARPA funds and operated by Housing Families Inc., a third-party nonprofit in Malden. Since they have been fully staffed since November, the OHS has helped 10 households receive a total of $53,000 in Rental Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) funds. Their Eviction Prevention Program, which had $27,000 remaining, was spent assisting 4 households. They have also expended most of their Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds and prevented 11 evictions. OHS is still assisting many clients in Northeast Housing Court and Malden District Court. Mayor Christenson asked how long the term of their agreement was with the City. Ms. Tseng said she will provide this information in the next meeting. When city staff are contacted for housing related inquiries by residents, they can refer them to the OHS at housingstability@cityofmalden.org. 215 Pleasant Street, Malden, MA 02148  Phone: 781-397-7000 Ext. 2001 info@cityofmalden.org Strong Past…Proud Future City of Malden, MA b. Development Projects Ms. Tseng provided the current development projects update. • 213 Main Street (formerly Salvation Army): Ms. Liou, the Executive Director of ACDC has recused herself from the updates and discussions for the 213 Main Street project. The developers, ACDC, have been working on the conceptual study and test fit. Prior to the expected community meeting in December, the OSPCD, ACDC, ICON Architects, and the Inspectional Services Department (ISD), held a pre-development meeting to discuss zoning compliance of the concept study and test fit. ISD mentioned that several components of the rendering did not comply with the zoning ordinance. The community meeting was pushed back and ACDC and ICON continued to work on the concept study to comply with the use regulations. The group met again earlier today and has started discussing permitting and state funding timelines. Mayor Christenson asked if ACDC is expected to seek funding from the Trust. Ms. Tseng said that it is likely as it helps affordable housing developers leverage more state funding if there is local funding support. Mayor Christenson asked when ACDC is expected to go before the Planning Board. Ms. Tseng said that it depends but most likely in September, prior to the State’s funding rounds. • 54 Eastern Avenue: This project is developed jointly by Bread of Life and Metro North Housing for 14 units of affordable studio units for formerly homeless individuals. There have been delays on the site, leading to a one-month delay in construction. Construction was expected to be completed in December 2023, now projected to be completed January 2024. c. Neighborhood Hub Ms. Tseng gave the update for the Neighborhood Hub Program. Since the Trust’s last meeting, there have been two rounds of Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA). While there were some interested property owners who requested applications, there were no submitted applications at the NOFA deadline. We previously submitted the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) application for rehabilitation funding, but MassHousing, who runs the program, mentioned that it was a very competitive grant, and requires at least site control. After meeting with the Neighborhood Hub, we started discussing and exploring new strategies for acquiring vacant, foreclosed, and blighted properties. Currently, our plan is to implement different strategy pipelines for different properties on our problem property list. 6. Policy Discussion Ms. Tseng provided the updates for policy discussions. • Vote on adopting Affordable Housing Trust Fund Policies and Procedures: Ms. Tseng said she sent the most recent draft of Funding Policies and Procedures to the Trust before this meeting. The purpose of this document is for affordable housing developers to understand the preferences, guidelines, and application process when they apply for Trust funds. Ms. Reddington-Wilde recommended that under the “maximum award” section, it should specify that there is no “maximum award.” Mr. Finn asked if the intention was to frame this as a “cost share.” Ms. Tseng explained that it was, but the cost share is also discussed in another section and will remove the “maximum” to avoid confusion. Mayor Christenson asked that the phrase “lack of supply” be changed to “in the need for more affordable housing.” Ms. Tseng said she will make the recommended changes and as this is a living document, it should be reviewed periodically to accommodate for best practices. 215 Pleasant Street, Malden, MA 02148  Phone: 781-397-7000 Ext. 2001 info@cityofmalden.org Strong Past…Proud Future City of Malden, MA On a motion by Ms. Reddington-Wilde and seconded by Mr. Slater, the Board voted to adopt the Funding Policies and Procedures as amended on a 6-0 roll call vote, 1 absent: Mayor Gary Christenson: AYE Steve Finn: AYE Angie Liou: AYE Catherine Price: AYE Roxanne Reddington-Wilde: AYE Ward 7 Councillor Chris Simonelli: ABSENT Brian Slater: AYE • Metropolitan Mayors Coalition Regional Housing Taskforce: The Metropolitan Mayors Coalition met last week. Many updates were provided during the meeting, such as data from housing production and different housing choice bills that have been filed. MAPC is currently working on local implementation strategies by surveying what housing strategies communities have pursued or would like to explore. They are also working to provide guidance on the MBTA 3A Zoning. • Northeastern University Capstone Project: Ms. Tseng introduced Ahrehon Thompson and Zhengrui (David) Qiu from Northeastern University who are working on a capstone project that looks at zoning changes. Ms. Thompson, who has a background in land use planning, stated that the group is still in the beginning stages and collecting research and input from different community leaders and Councillors. Councillor Carey McDonald has been working with the group to look at possible zoning changes, specifically reducing regulatory barriers for building affordable housing. Ms. Thompson said the group is looking at an affordable housing overlay for this project and would like to ask the Trust some questions that would help them understand the goals of the Trust and their input on achieving this overlay. Mayor Christenson suggested that Ms. Thompson send the written questions to Ms. Tseng so she can coordinate the response. Ms. Reddington- Wilde suggested the group look at the past meeting minutes to provide some guidance on Trust related questions. Mr. Finn asked if the group is incorporating the MBTA 3A into their research. Ms. Thompson said that the MBTA 3A will influence and provide a basis for their research, but they will focus on how an affordable housing overlay could work. 7. Adjournment Ms. Reddington-Wilde made a motion to adjourn and was seconded by Ms. Liou. All Trustees voted in favor and the meeting was adjourned at 5:37 PM. 215 Pleasant Street, Malden, MA 02148  Phone: 781-397-7000 Ext. 2001 info@cityofmalden.org Strong Past…Proud Future