Affordable Housing Trust Fund

Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board Approved Meeting Minutes September 10, 2019 A meeting of the Salem Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board was held on Tuesday, September 10, 2019 in the Board Room at the Community Life Center, 401 Bridge Street, Salem, Massachusetts at 6:00 p.m. Mayor Kim Driscoll called the meeting to order at 6:17pm. 1. Roll Call: Members present: Mayor Kim Driscoll, Mickey Northcutt, Ben Anderson, Cynthia Nina- Soto, Councillor Steve Dibble, and Councillor Christine Madore, Councillor Arthur Sargent. Others present: Amanda Chiancola, Senior Planner and Cathy Hoog, Executive Director of the Salem Housing Authority Executive Director of the Salem Housing Authority, Cathy Hoog is in attendance, the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board members introduce themselves. The Mayor asks Ms. Hoog to share her experience with the Board. Ms. Hoog discusses her experience in successfully applying for CPA and other grant funding sources for the North Andover Housing Authority, she also discusses opportunities she sees in Salem. Ms. Hoog says that the state and federal government are expecting housing authorities to be entrepreneurs, we have to be creative. Councillor Dibble arrives at 6:20 Councillor Madore asks if Ms. Hoog has experience with supportive housing and whether she has state and/or federal partnerships to facilitate supportive housing. Ms. Hoog responds that that the Department of Housing and Community Development is supportive and that she has experience in this area. Ms. Hoog notes there are various levels of supportive housing. Ms. Hoog explains any housing that requires partnerships with social service agencies that provide staff during the day is considered supportive housing. Ms. Hoog provides a local example, noting that the Charter Street property in Salem is considered supportive housing since it receives support from the North Shore Elder Services. Ms. Hoog says that she has reviewed the Community Preservation Action Plan and notes that she is impressed with the number of social service agencies in Salem. Councillor Madore says she would like the Housing Authority to pursue co-housing models. Mickey Northcutt says he has looked into this after discussing it with Patricia Zaido but it is challenging to mix populations when using subsidies, e.g. setting aside a portion of the units as 55+. Ms. Hoog responds that this is not something she has evaluated but finds it interesting, she is open to creative ideas. Councillor Sargent arrives at 6:24 Councillor Dibble says he has asked the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) to carry affordable housing money over to create a pool of funding that could be used to develop affordable units. Ms. Hoog responds that other communities do that, it just depends on what the CPC wants to commit funding too, she notes that there are a lot of social service agencies in Salem Page 1 of 3  that got funding and finds that to be impressive. Councillor Dibble asks how much Community Preservation Authority (CPA) seed money would be needed to develop affordable housing. Mr. Northcutt responds that the CPA money would just be for a local match, it would never be enough to build something. Ms. Hoog also explains that there are several variables including the size of the project. Councillor Dibble asks if the leveraged land and the due diligence funding from the Trust, e.g. the title work could be considered as the match. Ms. Hoog responds yes, she offers that another way to offset the cost is to mix in market rate units. Councillor Dibble says it has been at least two Mayor’s since the city has built affordable housing. The Mayor explains that the City has never built affordable housing, the city has supported affordable housing by supporting the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program- which the direction the federal government now goes in. Mr. Northcutt notes that for the last 30 years the federal governments have used LIHTC (rather than building housing). Ms. Hoog notes that communities have been incorporating market-rate units in affordable development projects to offset the cost, that has been the new wave to get away from needing to use the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC). Ms. Hoog says she is taking a look at opportunities to remodel Leefort Terrace and Pioneer Terrace. Councillor Dibble says he is pleased that the city hired Cathy Hoog. Councillor Sargent says he has heard there is a program that provides relatives living with a senior $1,500 month to be their caregiver, he wonders if people know about this. Mayor Driscoll responds that she thinks the programing he is referring to is for community members on a disability, in which their caregiver receives a stipend. 1. Approval of the minutes: a. Christine Madore makes a motion to approve the August 22, 2019 Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board meeting minutes with edits, seconded by Cynthia Nina-Soto and the motion carries unanimously. 2. Unfinished Business a. Data Analysis Update Amanda Chiancola says MAPC is still working on the final report and she is interviewing developers to get a sense of what Internal Rate of Return (IRR) a developer would need for an ownership project to be financially feasible. b. Update on Title Work, next steps for 56 Memorial Drive Amanda Chiancola informs the trust that the tile report came back clear, meaning there are no restrictions on the property. The City sent a letter to the neighborhood to let the residents know that they are evaluating the geotechnical conditions and surveying the property to determine whether developing affordable homes would be feasible on the property. Mayor Driscoll asks if the AHTF Board would be okay with her reaching out to the South Essex Sewerage District about their properties along Fort Avenue. The AHTF Board agrees that SESD should be contacted. c. Update on housing agenda items before the City Council Mayor Driscoll says the City Council will vote on second passage of the Religious and Municipal Reuse Ordinance on Thursday. The Planning Board provided favorable recommendation on the accessory living area ordinance. Ben Anderson gives a summary of the Planning Board recommendation. Page 2 of 3 Motion to adjourn by Ben Anderson, seconded by Mickey Northcutt —passes unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 7:07 p.m. Approved by the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board on 12/3/2019 Open Meeting Law M.G.L. c. 30A § 18-25 and City Ordinance § 2-2028 through § 2-2033. Page 3 of 3