Affordable Housing Trust Fund

Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board June 14, 2023 Meeting Minutes Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board Meeting Meeting Minutes June 14, 2023 A meeting of the Salem Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board was held on Wednesday, June 14, 2023, at a Remote Zoom meeting at 6:37 p.m. Members present: Councilor Jeff Cohen, Chair Filipe Zamborlini, Council President Megan Stott, James Willis, Jack Butterworth, Vice Chair Chris Malstrom, Mickey Northcutt, Mayor Dominick Pangallo Members absent: Lynda Fairbanks- Atkins, Councilor Caroline Watson-Felt Members arriving late: none Staff present: Senior Planner Cassie Moskos, Neighborhood Stability Coordinator Lori Stewart, and Deputy Director Amanda Chiancola Chair Zamborlini called the meeting to order with a roll call at 6:39 p.m. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. Discussion of Trust Funds Councilor Cohen moved to take the agenda out of order to redo the votes from the May meeting. Seconded by Mr. Butterworth. A roll call vote was taken with the following results: Councilor Cohen Yes Councilor Stott No James Willis Yes Chris Malstrom Yes Jack Butterworth Yes Filipe Zamborlini Yes Mickey Northcutt Yes Mayor Pangallo Yes Mr. Zamborlini summarized the votes from the last meeting as follows: $500,000 for construction projects $100,000 for staffing one new full time and converting a part time staff member to full time to work on certificate of fitness and short-term rental enforcement. Councilor Cohen informed the Board that he spoke with the Finance Department to inform them of the Boards intent to fund the positions in the Health Department to allow for the money to flow to those positions. He then made a motion to allocate $100,000 for health department staff and $500,000 Page 1 of 4 Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board June 14, 2023 Meeting Minutes for construction projects. Seconded by Mr. Willis. Chair Zamborlini asked if there was any discussion or questions from the Board. Mr. Northcutt asked why only $500,000 was allocated for construction projects. Chair Zamborlini stated that $100,000 was to implement laws already on the books and felt that $500,000 was a good starting point for construction projects. Mr. Malstrom added that the Board wanted to fund their priority of the rental registry and still have money for other priorities. Mayor Pangallo was curious if the 0.5 position was to convert a part time position to a full-time position. He was informed that it was. Councilor Cohen stated that a working group met and started a discussion on the Board’s allocation. They recommended the $500,000, but wanted to know what other options were for the remaining money. Mr. Northcutt responded that those responses made sense, but he felt that ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) money should be spent on capital projects. Mr. Malstrom responded the rental registry was a high priority of the Board and the ARPA money was a way to pilot the program. Councilor Stott echoed Mr. Malstrom’s statements. Chair Zamborlini added that there is a massive backlog, and a resource was needed to get it going. Mayor Pangallo wanted to know if there was a job description, matrix, revenue brought in. Councilor Cohen responded that Mr. Greenbaum had been at the previous meeting and that his opinion, based on a part-time activity, that and additional 1.5 persons would get his department caught up. Councilor Stott echoed Jeff’s response and added that the data will be there for future funding decisions. Chair Zamborlini asked if there were any questions on the $500,000 construction allocation. None were received. He also asked if there were any preferences on the application. Ms. Moskos stated that unless she heard otherwise from the Board, she would move forward drafting the application based on Worcester’s application. A roll call vote was taken with the following results: Councilor Cohen Yes Councilor Stott Yes James Willis Yes Chris Malstrom Yes Jack Butterworth Yes Filipe Zamborlini Yes Mayor Pangallo Present Mickey Northcutt No The motion passed. Page 2 of 4 Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board June 14, 2023 Meeting Minutes STAFF UPDATES A. Update from Housing Stability Coordinator Ms. Moskos introduced Lori Stewart, the Neighborhood Stability Coordinator and informed the Board that she was present to provide an update on the work she was doing along with a project ask. Ms. Stewart started by stating she met with city partners and recipients of CDBG (Community Development Block Grants) funds. She has received over 300 calls and walk-ins, she categorized the topics of discussion around supply, legal, and resources. She stated it was a close tie between supply and legal. She also informed the Board that she had issued a letter to landlords about the City’s right of first refusal program; she was working on a landlord forum and was looking to get almost all city departments involved; lastly, she was working on the back end of the condominium conversion ordinance. She went to mention her desire to discuss some ideas for spending the Boards remaining ARPA allocation. The first idea she had was around tenant organizing and a second was eviction clinics. She stated that eviction numbers have exceeded where they were pre-pandemic. Chair Zamborlini asked if these activities fall in the category of stabilization and rental assistance. Ms. Stewart confirmed they do, that supply is not the only way to save housing. Evictions stay on people’s records forever. Mr. Willis added that RAFT is not enough, people are maxing it out. Mayor Pangallo stated he would like to see eviction diversion be given more credence and evaluation by the Board. Chair Zamborlini asked what the financial ask would be. Ms. Stewart responded that it would not be large, around $25,000 for tenant organizing. Mayor Pangallo asked how it would work; Ms. Stewart responded that she did not have the program fully mapped out, but there are other examples to follow, and the money would be used for space rental, materials, technical assistance, etc. Ms. Chiancola stated that she looked at the CDBG numbers and $10,000 helped 25 households. B. Condo Conversion Ordinance Ms. Moskos informed the Board that a Committee of the Whole meeting was scheduled for June 21st to discuss this item. Councilor Cohen asked the Board members to reach out to Senator Lovely and Rep. Cruz. Chair Zamborlini asked if Staff would be able to draft a letter for the Board to send to Senator Lovely and Rep. Cruz. C.Inclusionary Zoning Ms. Moskos stated that staff had begun the scoping process. Ms. Chiancola added the Board would serve as the advisory committee. She recommended that due to time constraints, the City get an inclusionary zoning ordinance passed and then come back and tinker with percentages at a later date. She added that it can be done by utilizing the ordinance from 2019/2020. Mayor Pangallo asked what MAPC (Metropolitan Area Planning Council) could provide. Ms. Chiancola said they can provide options, but the vetting of those options is what takes time, time the Board does not necessarily have. Councilor Cohen stated that Boston went from 10% to 13%. Ms. Chiancola responded that Boston is a different community than Salem, but we would run the numbers. Chair Zamborlini asked if the timeline was ok. Ms. Chiancola stated they intended to file in September. Chair Zamborlini followed Page 3 of 4 Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board June 14, 2023 Meeting Minutes up by asking the Councilors if that was feasible. Councilor Stott responded that the Council would not stand in the way of it. NEW BUSINESS A. Board Composition Ms. Moskos thanked the members that attended regularly and reiterated that this board has had quorum issues. It is a large board with 12 seats, meaning 7 members need to be present to have a quorum. We have ten members appointed now, so there is not much room for error. She would be very appreciative if members could communicate as soon as possible if they cannot attend a meeting to allow for the posting of appropriate notices if necessary. Chair Zamborlini asked Councilor Stott if it was correct that there was an item at City Council to amend the board’s composition. Councilor Stott responded that a request to revise the ordinance to remove the elected officials was at OLLA (Committee of Ordinances, Laws, and Legal Affairs). Councilor Cohen indicated his support for Councilor Stott’s motion at Council. B. Future Items Ms. Chiancola asked if the Board was interested in having Lori write up a plan to bring back to the Board. Councilor Stott responded that if the request was in the $25,000 range, then she would like more information, especially in the areas of rental assistance and any additional information on RAFT (Residential Assistance for Families in Transition) (Residential Assistance for Families in Transition) funds allocated in the City of Salem. Mayor Pangallo stated he would like to see a plan for eviction diversion program more than a direct cost as the City does have its own rental assistance in place along with RAFT funds. Mr. Willis added the Board is looking for a bare-bones proposal. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mr. Malstrom made a motion to approve the April 4th and May 10th meeting minutes. Seconded by Mr. Willis. A roll call vote was taken the motion passed unanimously. PUBLIC COMMENT None was received. ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn by Mr. Butterworth, seconded by Mayor Pangallo. A roll call vote was taken the motion passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 7:52 p.m. Approved by the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board on x/x/2023. Respectively submitted, Cassie Moskos, AICP Senior Planner Page 4 of 4