Lincoln Housing Commission Minutes
September 28, 2004
Present: R. Caplan, A. Kalisky, BJ Scheff, B. Wolf
Minutes: The minutes of August 10 and September 14 were approved.
65 Tower Road: Repairs to 65 Tower Rd., including exterior painting, as directed by Earl Midgely were authorized. It was agreed that while the work was needed and anticipated, a system should be established to oversee this sort of maintenance.
Minuteman Commons: Wolf reported that she, M. Whitehead, and the developers had met with town counsel last week to begin the review of the various condominium documents. Town Counsel now has copies of the draft restrictions, marketing plan, etc. for review. The Commission briefly discussed the manner of assessment of condo fees; typically they may be based on unit square footage or sale price of unit. Special assessments may be differently assessed. All have implications for ultimate unit affordability.
State of the Town: The Housing Commission’s report is now finalized and is on to the printer. An effort will be made to establish long-term projected housing needs, together with various build-out scenarios for the town. Scheff and Wolf will meet to go over this.
Senior Housing Task Force: Kalisky asked as to the status of this working group. Scheff stated that she has not yet heard anything, but will inquire.
It was observed that the St. Joseph’s rectory may become available at some time in the future. Given its proximity to the Ryan Estate, perhaps the property has potential for additional senior housing.
CPC Meeting: Scheff reported that she had made a presentation of the Commission’s action list, which included the Sunnyside properties, condo buydowns, etc., roughly as follows:
65 Tower Rd. renovations $65,000
Complete 1st Sunnyside project (incl..
architect’s fee) 115,000
30 Sunnyside renov. & apt. unit 158,000
2 unit buydown option at
Minuteman Commons 600,000
Altogether, the amount appears to exceed the total funds the CPC has available this year. The CPC is now in the process of looking at overall proposals from the several eligible town boards. Kalisky and Scheff will refine the Housing Commission’s.
Sunnyside: Costs estimates continue to rise. Not only are we going to need to pay for some architect assistance, but state regulations will require us to pay prevailing wage rates to construct the foundation & related site work.
Lincoln Foundation: Scheff reported that Katharine Preston has asked for a proposal from the Commission. It was suggested that the Foundation might work toward establishing an overall housing fund. There was a general discussion of fundraising needs and options, including Sunnyside and other possible projects, as well as the role of volunteer organizations in developing and managing the town’s affordable housing.
Affordable Housing Inventory Monitoring: At the present the management and monitoring of Lincoln’s affordable housing falls into a number of hands:
Existing:
2 Rte. 2 houses: formerly owned by State, HC monitors resale & remortgaging.
Battle Rd. Farm condos: monitored by Lincoln Fdn., receives 4% resale fee.
Town rental houses: Bldg. Dept. and HC
Greenridge condo: Lincoln Fdn., as for Battle Rd. Farm
Codman farmhouse 2 units: formerly HC, now Selectmen, rented to CCF.
Pierce House apt.: not HC, but part of LIP approved list
Lincoln Woods: independent
New:
Minuteman Commons: Lincoln Fdn., HC? not determined.
Accessory apartments: Acc’y. Apt. Task Force seeking to develop program.
Non-profits: Can properties owned by non-profits (Mass. Audubon, Food Project,
etc.) count?
Hanscom?
Query: How are waiting lists to be maintained? Can some be combined?
The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 a.m.
The next meeting will be October 12, 2004 at 7:30 a.m.
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