Loading...
BAHT Meeting Minutes July 19 17Beverly Affordable Housing Trust Fund Regular Meeting DATE: July 19, 2017 CITY OF BEVERLY PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES Board: Beverly Affordable Housing Trust Date: July 19, 2017 Location: Beverly City Hall, Conference Room "B" Members Present Chair Aaron Clausen, Treasurer Bryant Ayles, Clerk Sue Gabriel, Richard Dinkin Members Absent: Mayor Michael Cahill Others Present: Assistant Planning Director Darlene Wynne, Environmental Planner Amy Maxner, Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP) Shelly Goehring, Guest Bob Butterworth from BEVCAM Recorder: Donna Musumeci Adjournment The meeting was called to order at 2: l Opm Meeting Minutes: Meeting Minutes were distributed just prior to the meeting. Clausen suggested we can approve at a later date. Handouts for the Meeting: 1) Wynne sent agenda and staff report memo to include discussion on Mission Statement and Beverly Housing Trust Guidelines and Priorities inclusive of a) Section II, Funding Priorities, b) Section V, Application process, and c) Section VI, Selection Criteria. 2) BAHT Fund Housing Guidelines and Application Package (done by consultant) 3) Summary of Draft Housing Strategies from Housing Plan Mission Statement: Draft for Review To provide for the creation, preservation, and retention of affordable ownership and rental housing in the City of Beverly for the benefit of low and moderate - income households through a variety of programs, including education and advocacy. Clausen said the trust has been in existence for 3 months and we should finalize the mission statement. More tweaking is needed to reflect the guidelines. Dinkin commented a mission statement is a marketing tool that should be short and snappy. Gabriel agreed it can be shorter once we better understand goals for the Trust. Clausen said we are missing the words access to for affordable housing, preservation, and brick and mortar programs. Wynne advised in the last meeting we suggested "maximize access to affordable housing ". Gabriel said mission statement should last the test of time. In ten years, we could be doing something different, it needs to be short to adapt to changing needs. All agreed to include "maximize access to affordable housing ". Priorities can be set annually. Clausen advised we take another stab at the mission statement, and that it makes sense to include maximizing access to affordable housing, and adding, for families and people in Beverly. Beverly Affordable Housing Trust Fund Regular Meeting DATE: July 19, 2017 Draft Affordable Housing Trust Guidelines & Priorities: Maxner invited to the meeting to assist with any questions around the transfer of CPC funds. Goehring invited to provide guidance for the BAHT. Group reviews funding priorities, the application process and the selection criteria from the guidelines. Funding Priorities The priorities were taken directly out of the city's Community Housing Plan. Goehring provided comments on the list of priorities: [This list references the list of Housing Plan goals provided to the Trust] #1 Goehring advised to be explicit on workforce housing, market rates and low to moderate income types. Need to define those incomes in the guidelines. Gabriel said these came out of the housing plan, not sure they should be priorities for the trust. There was a lengthy discussion on market conditions, incomes, comparisons of metro regions, and percentages to use. #1 will be reworked. 92 Suggestion to shorten, and have a strong housing to jobs balance in the language. Good to make the connection to the business community as at times employees have a hard time finding housing. #2 ties to #1 with incomes. #3 Keep to support the goals of the trust. #5 Remove. #6 Clausen added that this could be the #2 priority adding language on preservation of existing units. #7 Dinkin said he thought that this has been historically used to keep affordable housing out of certain neighborhoods. #8 Could add incentives or points when bringing in new resources, though Dinkin advised that Developers should come in with significant funding already_ Discussion on Other Affordable Housing Priorities Clausen liked Gabriel's comment that priorities should state what the Housing Trust is trying to achieve. Gabriel said priorities should be reordered based on the goals of the Trust. Group discussed having a number of categories within each priority. Goehring suggested we keep these priorities tied to the housing plan, and then under each one, list specifics as it applies to the Trust. Clausen felt when priorities change, so can the selection criteria. Gabriel suggested a matrix and perhaps a bonus system on some of these. Goehring suggested included scenarios in the priorities. Ayles said somewhere in the process need to evaluate length over strength, i.e. is it better to have 10 new units for 5 years, or 5 units for 20 years. All agree needs to be added in the priorities. Maybe it is best return on investment (ROI) for the trust. Dinkin says he is reluctant to use ROI with the government, and for the city, the return is not necessarily money. Clausen said maybe we maximize number of units. Gabriel asked is if it is the number of units that is important, or the number of people. Clausen said it depends, noting the Housing Plan did not find one demographic that has more need. Clausen suggested setting up two sets of priorities: one to maximize the number of households, and one that talks about affordable housing units over time - longevity. Goehring suggested being concrete on priorities for projects. Dinkin advised that awarding public money has to be crystal clear on the process and there can be no ambiguity. Beverly Affordable Housing Trust Fund Regular Meeting DATE: July 19, 2017 Clausen asked, do we go with small projects with larger costs, or large projects with smaller costs. The Trust will have to decide, there is need on both. Maxner noted that there is some concern among CPC members about giving all the housing funds over to the Trust. She added they have some interest in keeping money to support smaller projects, such as Habitat. Gabriel noted there needs to be a strong working relationship with the CPC. Any "handshake" solution to allocating funds may be dependent on the relationship, noting that both groups want to maximize the use of the funds. Clausen clarified that there isn't a division between the groups, but it is important to ensure that the Trust follow the funding guidelines of the CPC when using CPA funds. Gabriel asked if there has been any data on what type of affordable housing has the greatest need. Clausen said low- income (30 -60% of area median income) rental for families. Clausen said we want to be open, but also as community be careful as projects are put on the books, that we can support and provide services. Goehring suggested in the priorities to have a percentage of certain types. Clausen said we have some indicators now, they are easy to get and can give us some trends, i.e. what is the average rent, what is median income for region, for Beverly, etc. The housing consultant did several months of work on this. Maxner questioned if we were to start collecting data, who would work on that? At this time, determined we don't need to track data annually, maybe every 2 -3 years, as projects take so much time to happen, maybe at 5 years we justify bringing someone in. All agreed. ADDlication Process and Selection Criteria Clausen noted the consultant suggested two rounds. He advised that the trust may prefer rolling applications, with quarterly meetings to receive apps and perhaps have a special meeting to be more responsive. He added, the trust may only need one round with the limited funds currently. Gabriel said we could have a year where no good project comes up but the next year a great one, so fund to the criteria, not a timeline. Ayles commented that with rolling applications, we could get one and check the box, deplete the funds then months later get a great project with no money left, need to consider the rounds. Gabriel suggested we announce a funding round with an amount of money we are willing to give out. Maxner advised CPC projects are authorized by the City Council, so it's not a guarantee. Ayles added that a benefit is CPC can bond. Goehring said perhaps that bigger projects could go to the CPC if bonding is needed. Clausen said, as far as framework, there could be an annual notice of funding, some limitations, no deadlines, call for projects etc. Maybe look at a letter of intent (LOI) format, ask for that in the application to see what the scope of work would be. Goehring advised that a colleague reviewed their guidelines and they believe the guidelines appear very restrictive from a development perspective. She noted that with most CPC and trusts, the funds are structured as a no- interest forgivable loan so that it is seen as equity into the development package. The more equity means less debt for a project, therefore becoming more affordable. The local money is used to leverage other money and often what makes a project possible. She added to expect any money back is a challenge. Discussion held on tax credits and equity. She notes the Anti -Aid Amendment requires you to show a public benefit. If there is no deed restriction, there is no public benefit. Also, on adding interest after years, who is going to administer that? Noting it is a lot of work. She suggested making the guidelines simpler. Wd Beverly Affordable Housing Trust Fund Regular Meeting DATE: July 19, 2017 Goehring suggested having Mickey Northcutt with North Shore CDC or Andrew DeFranza with Harborlight come in and show some pro formas to inform the guidelines. She noted they may not be as familiar with the Anti -Aid Amendment, but they could add how this might limit what they do. Goehring notes having parameters around a rehab program makes sense and with pre - development there may be some recoup of funds. But the lower affordability you are seeking the less likely they will be able to give any money back. Flexibility is important. CPC Funding Maxner said the trust should dovetail with the CPC and how they will they interact with the Trust. Some members of the CPC don't want to give all of the 10 %, they want to be able to award it to projects as well. There is some perception that the Trust is looking to allocate all 10% to go to mid to large projects, CPC wants to be there for the little guy. Gabriel said the Trust needs to build a relationship with the CPC. There needs to be a conversation about what each one will want to do. Clause said CPC will want to understand the Trust process for allocation of money, what the priorities are and how is the funding being tracked. Maxner said CPC wants to maximize all funds. Clausen asked if there was a good model to look at with Trusts and CPC working together. Somerville (gives 30 %) and Cambridge (gives 80 %) have good relationships, they see the Trust as a group focused on affordable housing. Also, Beverly has strong staff support to build on where some communities only work with volunteers. Goehring advised the Trust should ask CPC for more than 10% of the funds. She noted the Trust's only focus is on affordable housing, and while CPC only has to do 10 %, they can do more. There is a housing crisis in Beverly and relying on 10% or $90,000 is not enough. Goehring said the Trust currently does not have a certain amount allocated every year, so it will be hard to plan. The CPC needs to invest in the Trust so it can be effective. Outreach Suggestion was that someone sit on both CPC and BAHT. The Trust should have a meeting with the City Council, present the plan with a date to implement, and go through the guidelines to make the case. The Trust should make a plan to introduce this to the community (press release communications), and perhaps court a housing summit with all parties sometime in the future. All in agreement. Next Steps and Next Meeting: Next steps include working on solidifying funding priorities, finesse the mission statement, invite Mickey Northcutt, and Andrew DeFranza to next meeting to walk through a couple of pro formas. Goehring will get some good funding guidelines examples to share. Goehring will send along information on Somerville and Cambridge trusts. Wynne advised there is no meeting set up for August; will coordinate with the Mayor's schedule. Wednesdays at 2:00 is working; some may have a problem with attendance in August. Adiournment• Motion to adjourn by Gabriel. Ayles seconds the motion. The motion passes unanimously (4 -0). Adjourned at 4:1Opm.