HomeMy WebLinkAboutMHC 07/15/2020A meeting of the Board of Directors was held on Wednesday 7/15/2020. Present were: Chair,
Randy Waters; Vice -Chair, Lou Amoruso; Secretary, Sean Grammel; Treasurer, Lee Ann
Cerretani. Absent were members Alberto Ramirez and Jeff Wagner. The meeting was held
virtually and called to order at 6:35 PM.
The minutes for the January 15, 2020 meeting had not been circulated and so were not
reviewed or approved. Randy then began recording the meeting at 6:38 after telling everyone
that he was going to start doing so.
Randy then informed the Board that Connie Baynes had submitted her resignation from the
Board. Randy said her resignation had been expected, but she had officially submitted a letter
about a week before the July 15 meeting.
The Board then discussed any potential land acquisitions. Randy mentioned he thought Jeff
was going to look at a potential property, but he was not sure. Lou said he had spoken to
Shaun Burke in the Planning Department, who suggested the conservation agent could look at
the land at Centennial Court before the Board move forward in buying it. Mr. Burke thought we
could put a house there, maybe a two-family, but that a four -family unit would be "far beyond"
what could fit there.
Randy thought the Centennial Court property had a high price tag and other options were
more economical. Lou agreed, saying he had hoped the property could fit a four -family unit,
but that now looks to be a "slim and none situation."
There was no Treasurer's Report because Town Hall was still inaccessible. Lee Ann did say that
the balance sheet should be similar to what it was previously, with maybe a little extra interest.
Lee Ann also mentioned she did get the bond for the treasurer's position and she paid the
insurance.
Randy then opened the floor to any new business or new ideas. Sean reported that Olivier
Kozlowski had emailed him. Mr. Kozlowski is a board member for the Mansfield Housing
Authority and he had asked about joining us for a meeting, to discuss any ideas we could
develop together.
Lou added that real estate prices had not come down during the pandemic and that houses
were being sold very quickly on the market. He suggested looking at helping people whose
homes were being foreclosed on, if they met affordable housing qualifications.
Randy said we could buy properties and let the MHA manage them. In Natick, the affordable
housing trust helps the Housing Authority with funding certain projects, which then helps the
town. Randy thought a partnership with the MHA would benefit Mansfield, since we could
buy/own properties and we could then benefit from getting Section 8 vouchers to cover the
cost of expenses.
Lee Ann then circled back to the idea of helping people with financial assistance before
foreclosure. She asked how that would work logistically and Lou mentioned focusing on
whether the applicant met affordable housing qualifications. Randy questioned the viability of
that plan since if the applicants already had a problem with a mortgage, they may have a
problem with another loan.
Lee Ann then asked about the Reservoir Area properties. Lou said he wanted to talk to the
Town Manager first, to see what the Select Board was working on. Randy asked if the Board
thought a meeting with the Town Manager would be productive. Everyone agreed, so Randy
proposed sending him an email to get on our agenda, whenever his schedule would
accommodate it.
The Board discussed a few different dates for the next meeting. Lou moved for adjournment,
seconded by Sean. Passed unanimously at 7:04 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Sean Gramme], Secretary