Housing Commission Minutes
November 9, 2004
Present: Rayna Caplan, George Georges, BJ Scheff, Bryce Wolf
Minutes: The minutes of October 12 and October 26, 2004 were approved.
Bills: A bill for $35.36 for maintenance at Sunnyside was approved.
CPC Proposal: Scheff presented the Commission’s revised CPC request for FY 06 funds totaling $309,500. The proposal adds funds to the amounts previously appropriated to build the Lot 41 Sunnyside project, with only planning funds requested for Lot 42. $150,000 will be sought to apply toward market-rate buy-downs. She will have Chris Coleman recheck the cost estimates this afternoon before submitting it to the CPC. The revised proposal was unanimously endorsed.
Minuteman Regional High School Homes: There was brief discussion regarding Minuteman’s financial straits and apparent desire to sell two homes it currently owns and leases on Mill St. in order to cover a budget deficit. The Commission agreed that while the homes were desirable for affordable housing, they would likely cost too much to be actionable at this time, and not a reasonable use of the Commission’s current limited resources. It is assumed that because the school has not yet finalized its plans, there are likely to be further discussions between the town and school regarding the ultimate disposition of these homes and adjacent property.
Lot 41 Sunnyside Architect: Mark Whitehead reported that the town had now received two formal proposals for architectural services, one from Blackstone Block Architects, the other from A Point Design, Inc. It was agreed that Blackstone appeared to have more experience with modular construction and was familiar with state designs; their fee of $24,500 was also significantly less. The Commission voted unanimously to accept the Blackstone proposal, with the stipulation it include the architects’ participation in at least one meeting each with the Conservation Commission, the Planning Board, and the Board of Appeals as part of the scope of work. Chris Coleman will be informed of this decision and he and Mark will negotiate the final contract.
Minuteman Commons: Whitehead explained that the issue of the designation of the one second floor unit without elevator access as affordable will have to wait until DHCH can inspect the final construction and make a determination. The developer has agreed to hold back one market rate unit in case DHCD does not accept this particular unit.
Town counsel is currently reviewing the proposed special permit, as drafted by Whitehead. The condominium documents have not yet been provided to her. She is still working on the affordable unit documents, especially regarding the resale fee. The developers will be meeting again with the Planning Board on Nov. 17. Wolf will attend.
Inclusionary Zoning: Whitehead noted that the Planning Board will be discussing the issue of inclusionary zoning at its meeting Nov. 10th. Wolf will attend.
Regional Meetings: Several upcoming regional meetings on affordable housing issues were noted. Most appeared to be daytime meetings, and most appeared to focus on issues not especially germane to Lincoln.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 a.m.
The next meeting will be Nov. 23 at 7:30 a.m.
| 
