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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMHC 06/19/2019A meeting of the Board of Directors was held on Wednesday 6/19/2019. Present were Chair, Randy Waters; Secretary, Sean Grammel; and member, Marilyn Lewis. The meeting was held in the MBC meeting room at Town Hall and called to order by Randy at 6:32 PM, though no quorum was present. Two guests joined the Board at the meeting: Mark O'Hagan and his son/assistant Quinn. Mr. O'Hagan attended to discuss his study of affordable housing opportunities in Mansfield. Mr. O'Hagan explained that most town -owned properties were on wetlands, which explained their vacancy. However, he identified two sets of properties as the most appealing for further development: the Erick Road site and the "Reservoir Area." The Erick Road site is at the intersection of Erick and Bonney Roads, close to several existing multi -family buildings. He thought this would be a good place for upwards of 30 apartments in a multi -family building. In reference to the property, he said "I'd buy it tomorrow" and said that a price of $180,000 for the land is a "wonderful opportunity." The "Reservoir Area" is a group of properties off of Reservoir Street, near the Columbine Road house that Habitat built. There are clusters of town -owned properties, on which he proposed building "bungalow" style homes with 1,600 square feet, 3 bedrooms, and 1.5 baths. He suggested buying groups of contiguous town -owned properties and building several homes on each enlarged plot. Mr. O'Hagan also identified two adjoining plots at Hope and Church Streets as interesting. He thought the two plots could support 4 to 5 single-family homes that would fit the character of the neighborhood. However, the area is very visible, with the library and Memorial Park next door, and could political challenges to development. Mr. O'Hagan then quickly explained the pros/cons of some other parcels. The parcel at Shields/Hope abuts Mansfield public housing and could support housing, but may be on wetlands. A School Street parcel required road construction and could be on wetlands. The Pratt St parcel had a "great location" but was "pretty wet." A large parcel off Pine Street could support a number of homes but required infrastructure improvements, including septic testing/tanks and road construction. A parcel on Lauren Lane could accommodate one home, but it would need a variance for a non -conforming home. Mr. O'Hagan then walked the Board through the financial aspects of the Erick Road property and the Reservoir Area homes. For each proposed project, he projected the Board's costs and then estimated profits under different scenarios. Each scenario changed the number of market - rate homes versus affordable homes. Randy asked how long one of these projects could take from start to finish, and Mr. O'Hagan estimated one year, if the town/area were supportive and no additional complications arose. Randy then asked which of the two main projects would be a better first step. Mr. O'Hagan suggested the Reservoir Area. He said the Board could start the project with less upfront money, could do the project in multiple stages to space out the financial burden, and would have more flexibility. Mr. O'Hagan also suggested the possibility of the Board obtaining the necessary permits for the Reservoir Area homes and then selling the project to a developer, who could then build the affordable homes. This would result in lower costs because the developer would be using private funds, and not funds derived from the town, which would mean fewer bureaucratic requirements. He said the Board could convey the Comprehensive Permit and put out an RFP for someone to build 10 homes. He said there is "no question you could recover your money' by selling a Comprehensive Permit for 10 units. Marilyn brought up the idea of working with the Mansfield Housing Authority and Mr. O'Hagan thought that could be a good idea. He said the Housing Authority could access funding and then work with the Board to receive some units or manage the units that the Board builds. The Board thanked Mr. O'Hagan for his thorough presentation, and Mr. O'Hagan and his son left at 8:01 PM. The minutes for the May 2019 meeting were not reviewed due to lack of a quorum. Similarly, no Treasurer's report for May 2019 was approved. The Board did not discuss a date for a next meeting. Randy moved adjournment. Passed unanimously at 8:09 PM. Respectfully submitted, Sean Grammel, Secretary MANSFIELD HOUSING CORPORATION o A meeting of the Board of Directors was held on Wednesday 11/20/2019. Present were Chair, Randy Waters; Vice -Chair, Lou Amoruso; Secretary, Sean Grammel; Treasurer, Connie Baynes; and member, Lee Ann Cerretani. Absent were members Marilyn Lewis and Jeff Wagner. The meeting was held in the MBC meeting room at Town Hall and called to order at 6:37 PM. The minutes for the October 2019 meeting were reviewed. No changes were proposed. Lou moved to approve, seconded by Lee Ann. The motion was approved unanimously, with Randy abstaining because he was absent for the October meeting. The Board discussed the lottery for the available housing units. The lottery was scheduled for November 20, but was called off because there were not enough qualified applicants. Connie asked if there would be an update or a new lottery scheduled in December. Randy mentioned that the Board has concerns about being involved in similar lotteries in the future and that we should partake in the process. Lou mentioned he received an email from Mr. Walsh when he needed help figuring out what to do for finding applicants and Lou had suggested that he speak with the person he's paying to run the process (Liz Rust). The Board then discussed the potential land acquisitions around town. Connie suggested we needed a process to decide which is the best. Lou mentioned that the town has also looked at the Reservoir Area for development. He also mentioned that the Town Manager had requested the summary that the Board had purchased from Mark O'Hagan. Connie questioned if we should invite the Town Manager to a meeting to discuss cooperation between the Town and the Board, rather than competition between us for the properties. Randy suggested that the Board have a meeting and come to some decisions first before providing our information to the Town. Randy proposed tabling a meeting with the Town Manager until January or February, and all were agreeable to that idea. Lee Ann then asked about her role as the new Treasurer and Connie provided some background about the procedures and obligations of that role. The Board discussed a date of 12/18 for the next meeting. Sean moved for adjournment, seconded by Lou. Passed unanimously at 7:16 PM. Respectfully submitted, Sean Grammel, Secretary