HomeMy WebLinkAboutMHC 01/15/2020cr=
A meeting of the Board of Directors was held on Wednesday 1/15/2020. Present were Chair,
Randy Waters; Vice -Chair Lou Amoruso; Secretary, Sean Grammel; Treasurer, Lee Ann
Cerretani. Absent were members Connie Baynes and Jeff Wagner. The meeting was held in
Room 2A/B at Town Hall and called to order at 6:33 PM.
The minutes for the December 2019 meeting were reviewed. No changes were proposed. Lou
moved to approve the minutes, with Lee Ann seconding. The motion was approved
unanimously, with Randy abstaining.
There was no Treasurer's Report because the Town Hall was under construction and the
Accounting Office was inaccessible. The Board did discuss the bond for liability that was
received.
The Board then discussed its plans to cultivate affordable housing. The Board had seen reports
of a new commercial development in the Reservoir Area and the Board discussed the impact of
that development on affordable housing in that part of town, including pricing of lots and the
feasibility of additional construction vehicles in the area.
Lee Ann mentioned the possibility of doing 55+ housing in the Reservoir Area. Lou discussed the
need for proper pricing to meet affordability thresholds and the process that 55+ Mansfield
residents would need to undertake to qualify. Lou then mentioned an idea from the Master
Plan Committee, where the town could offer older residents a smaller home in exchange for
their larger ones. Lee Ann asked about the affordable housing laws that govern programs like
that and suggested the Board study up in order to create the best plan moving forward.
Lee Ann mentioned that affordable housing in two complexes was due to come off the
affordable housing list soon and wondered who could talk to the owners to ask for that housing
to stay on the list. Lou suggested it would be the Town Manager or Select Board.
Sean then asked for any thoughts on Jeff's idea from December on flipping a house. Lee Ann
said there was a house downtown that could be flipped into multiple units, although it was in
rough shape. The Board thought flipping was a possibility, but there were many unknowns to
the process, including the risk of sinking money into a project that goes south.
Randy then circled back to the idea of buying up parcels of land in the Reservoir Area, through
cooperation with the Town Manger and Select Board. He suggested the Board could get homes
built as a non-profit developer. He also mentioned West Street as a possibility.
Lou said he liked the Reservoir Area, but worried that the price would be more than $30K per
lot because the Town has ownership of all those lots.
Randy suggested that we have a meeting with the Town Manager and see if we could work with
him on these plots of land, particularly since the Town has been letting them sit vacant. Lou
said he had heard that the Town Manager had spoken with the Planning Board about those
plots of land.
Randy suggested pushing the envelope to show the community in that area that we would be
looking to improve the neighborhood. He said this could be an opportunity not just for us, but
for the town as well.
The Board discussed a few different dates for the February meeting, if the Town Manager could
meet, since Wednesdays were already devoted to Select Board meetings. Sean moved for
adjournment, seconded by Randy. Passed unanimously at 7:30 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Sean Grammel, Secretary