Date: February 9, 2011
Location: 2nd Floor North Hearing Room, Hingham Town Hall
Called to order: 7:07 pm
Attendance: Tim White, Jim O'Brien, Blake Auchincloss, Gretchen Condon, and Gary Ludwig. Laura Burns joined the meeting after roll call.
With a quorum present, Tim White opened the meeting.
Announcements: There were no announcements.
Approval of Minutes: Discussion followed regarding the financial statements that were the subject of approval at the January 19th meeting. A motion was made by Blake Auchincloss and seconded Gretchen Condon to approve the minutes of the meeting of January 19, 2011, as presented. A vote was taken and all were in favor; the motion passed.
Treasurer's Report and Approval of Invoices: There was no Treasurer's report.
Discussion followed regarding the total amount of Strekalovsky Architecture invoices received to date. A motion was made by Gary Ludwig and seconded by O'Brien to approve the payment of Strekalovsky Architecture Inc. Invoice #2 in the amount of $8,641.00 for 80 Beal Street. There was no discussion. A vote was taken and all were in favor; the motion passed.
Massachusetts Chapter of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials Membership: Tim reviewed benefits of membership. Discussion followed regarding membership fees. A motion was made by Jim O'Brien and seconded by Gretchen Condon to approve the expenditure of up to $300 for membership in the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Association of Housing Redevelopment Officials, and to instruct Laurie Zivkovich to make application and add a link on the HAHT web page. A vote was taken and all were in favor; the motion passed. Laura Burns joined the meeting.
Lincoln School Apartments Update: Jim O'Brien stated that a mock up window was installed, the Board of Managers met the week prior on site with the residents, 60% of the design is done, the Board of Managers is balancing cost against available capital and considering phasing the project, the boilers are going back out to bid, and the annual reports will be filed. Discussion followed regarding the bidding process. Jim O'Brien also stated that the HAP contract has been approved, the Board of Managers will make payment on any shortfall on the upcoming debt service payment, and the audit is in progress. Discussion followed regarding the windows, physical layout and constraints, the impact of the air conditioning units, and the receipt of input from the residents. No formal action was taken.
Avalon Wait List: Tim White introduced the item. Jim O'Brien stated that he received correspondence from the Hingham Town Clerk regarding an individual who submitted her application for a unit at Avalon, was placed on a wait list, and claimed to have had her name improperly removed from the wait list by Blue Sky Advantage, the out-of-state lottery agent for Avalon. Jim O'Brien stated that he has been in contact with representatives of Blue Sky and that he has reviewed the application and lottery process utilized by Blue Sky. Blue Sky informed him that local preference status is not granted to applicants after the initial lottery. Discussion followed regarding the statutory requirements with respect to local preferences, the future need either to post in the marketing plan or put in the development permit that the preference continues with the property, the Trustees' contact with State Representative Bradley and DHCD regarding the issues, what "local preference" means, changes in residency while an individual is on a list, the mechanics of a lottery, other possible complaints regarding Avalon, notifying the Zoning Board about the issue, the impact of complaints on an issued permit, the consequences of a permit violation, the Avalon Affordable Housing Questionnaire, the lack of knowledge in the development community about the absence of the local preference after an initial lottery, the distinction between this individual's situation and a separate local preference issue, possible options for the Trust to pursue, and the absence of any direct contact with Avalon locally. A motion was made by Gretchen Condon and seconded by Blake Auchincloss to instruct the Trust to send a letter to the Avalon Compliance Manager regarding the failure of their lottery agent to properly maintain the wait list and request that this individual be reinstated to her proper place on the list or otherwise refer the matter to DHCD. A vote was taken and all were in favor; the motion passed.
80 Beal Street Update: Vcevold O. Strekalovsky, President of Strekalovsky Architecture Inc., joined the meeting. Also in attendance and part of the team was Sally Coyle, a landscape architect from Coyle and Caron. Mr. Strekalovsky distributed the Pre-Development Costs, 2 Affordable 6 Market Development Budget, 3 Affordable 6 Market Development Budget, and the Existing Building Development Pro-Forma as prepared by Lynn Sweet. He noted that the 2-affordable-unit scenario has a gap of $112,263 and that the scenarios with 3 affordable units and with renovating the house produce a substantially higher gap. Discussion followed regarding the treatment of the CPA funds on each model as well as the sources of revenue, community investment, raising money from other sources for a third affordable unit while the homes are being built, the need for another RFP to sell the site, selling the site as a permitted site and using Trust funds to buy down affordability, the inherent "affordability" nature of the market units, the market units themselves meeting a housing need, a natural restriction to keep prices down by restricting build out, a developer's profit as allowed by statute, adding into an RFP a required split of profit over a stated percentage, restricting the developer's profit in an RFP, the requirement for a pro forma in the application, and the inability to show a gap in the application. The general consensus was to show a Trust contribution as a line item to close the gap. Discussion continued regarding having a fairly complete LIP application in week to 10 days and inviting neighbors to a meeting prior to going before the Board of Selectmen. The general consensus was to send a letter to those residing on Beal Street, present the project to them at the next meeting on March 2nd and request to be on the Board of Selectmen's agenda for the meeting on March 8th. Mr. Strekalovsky clarified that the predevelopment costs of $67,000 are included in the pro forma.
Mr. Strekalovsky next distributed and reviewed the proposal submitted by Merrill Associates regarding the railroad tracks and stated that it would be under his firm's contract as an extra. Discussion followed regarding bringing the proposal to the Board of Selectmen for approval and requesting cost sharing, based on track lineal footage, as the Selectmen's parcel is owned by the Town. Discussion followed regarding the hearing location. A motion was made by Gary Ludwig and seconded by Jim O'Brien to accept the proposed Agreement for Professional Engineering and Permitting Services Permit for Construction on Railroad Right-of-Way dated January 28, 2011, from Merrill Associates, Inc. in the amount of $3,000.00, subject to the approval of the Board of Selectmen as to the Selectmen's Parcel and the payment of a proportionate percentage of the cost. A vote was taken and all were in favor; the motion passed.
Ms. Coyle presented and reviewed a revised site plan dated February 9, 2011, noting the basis for the changes, the different kinds of plantings, and the existing trees. Discussion followed regarding having fewer walkways, each homeowner having a sense of a yard or an exclusive use area, porch orientation, trash pickup, possible mitigation of operating costs for affordable owners, deleting the dumpster from the site plan, the handling of condo fees in the pro forma, and reserve requirements under Fannie Mae. Mr. Strekalovsky agreed to follow up on the treatment of condo fees in the pro forma and determination of realistic levels of condo fees generally, and to follow up with the Town regarding its road construction requirements for Town plowing of development roads.
Mr. Strekalovsky next distributed the Assessment of Existing Structure report prepared by his firm and reviewed the pro forma based on renovating the existing home and the resulting gap. Discussion followed. A motion was made by Laura Burns and seconded by Gretchen Condon to proceed with permitting the demolition of existing building and replacing it with cottages. A vote was taken and all were in favor; the motion passed. Discussion followed regarding the location of the affordable units. Mr. Strekalovsky stated their location should be shown on the plan that will be submitted to the state. The general consensus of the Trustees was to locate them in the cottages marked 3 and 8. Discussion continued regarding zoning, what must be shown in the LIP application, grading on the site, road elevation, buffering, the absence of a budget to create a buffer, and leaving a natural buffer. The Trustees requested that a rendering be prepared depicting the finish grade and elements. A motion was made by Blake Auchincloss and seconded by Jim O'Brien to proceed with the site plan as presented entitled Site Perspective dated February 9, 2011, and Cottage Community L-1 last revised for HAHT meeting 2/9/11, with further study of the walks, trash disposal, the location of the 42' tree, and a buffer, and showing the location of the affordable units as Cottages 3 and 8. A vote was taken and all were in favor; the motion passed. Discussion followed regarding local preference.
2010 Annual Report Approval: Discussion followed regarding the revised draft of the 2010 Annual Report and the inability to make revisions to the mission statement. A motion was made by Tim White and seconded by Gretchen Condon to approve the revised Annual Report as presented, except for any revisions to the mission statement. A vote was taken and all were in favor; the motion passed.
Future Expenditure/Budgeting Discussion: This item was tabled to a future meeting.
HAHT Loan/Grant Program; Special Projects Group of the South Shore Funding Request: This item was tabled to a future meeting.
Hingham Housing Authority - Capital Needs Discussion: This item was tabled to a future meeting.
Next Meeting: The next meeting will be at 7:00 pm on Wednesday March 2nd, 2011. The consensus was that Laura Burns and Jim O'Brien would serve as the subcommittee to prepare for the neighborhood meeting.
Adjournment: A motion was made by Laura Burns and seconded by Gary Ludwig to adjourn the meeting. A vote was taken and all were in favor; the motion passed. The meeting adjourned at 9:51 pm.
The following items were submitted directly to the Board of Trustees at this meeting:
1. Predevelopment Costs, Development Budget for 2 Affordable 6 Market Rate Units dated 1/26/11, Development Budget for 3 Affordable 5 Market Rate Units dated 1/26/11, Existing Building Development Pro-Forma dated 1/27/11.
2. Beal Street Plans: Site Perspective dated February 9, 2011, Cottage Community last revised February 9, 2011, Preliminary Floor Plans dated January 19, 2011, and Preliminary Elevations dated January 19, 2011.
3. Assessment of Existing Structure Report dated February 9, 2011.
4. Proposed Agreement for Professional Engineering and Permitting Services Permit for Construction on Railroad Right-of-Way dated January 28, 2011, from Merrill Associates, Inc.
Respectfully submitted by: Laurie Zivkovich, Administrative Assistant
Approved on: April 6, 2011