Local Housing Partnership
and
Provincetown Housing Authority
Judge Welsh Hearing Room
September 8, 2006
8:00 a.m.
LHP
Members present: Arturo Alon,
Scott Campbell, Tim Hazel, Melissa Jones,
and Noah Taylor.
PHA
Members present: Nancy Jacobsen,
Pam Parmakian, and Molly Perdue.
PHA
Members absent: George Bryant and
Harry Opsahl-Gee
Staff: Keith Bergman, Patrick Manning, Maxine
Notaro and
Doug Taylor
The PHA
meeting was called to order at 8:10 a.m. by Nancy Jacobsen.
The LHP meeting was called to order by Tim Hazel
at 8:10 a.m.
AJ Alon arrived at 8:15a with apologies and Noah
Taylor arrived a bit later.
Meeting Agenda
Future
goals on Affordable Housing
Nancy announced that they were there with a
request for $15K and $20K. Tim Hazel
said I thought we were going to talk
about incentives?
Patrick Manning clarified the meeting purpose by
saying that the request for $15K will go along with the $20K to pay for housing
consultant, John Ryan. $20K is
ear-marked for his services and the auxiliary costs for food and room for the
summit will come to about $15K. Patrick
said that because neither boards had quorums, we just moved ahead until we got
a full complement for voting.
It was difficult to persuade Tim Hazel that this
money needed to be expended. "We
have to pay a guy $15K who is already working?
And what about all the other housing summits held - what did they
accomplish?"
Pam P asked Keith Bergman (KAB) how - now that
both boards have recently filled - can we be part of it? KAB told Pam and the others that you’re the
hosts. John Ryan is coming today to
look over the meeting site (Provincetown Inn).
The summit will have a presentation by John Ryan for about 2 hours and
he’s not sure who is going to facilitate these groups. KAB said that they would be run in a similar
fashion as the school conferences and then break up into groups. The only way this is going to be worthwhile
is if we can get other people into the mix and we seem to have the momentum
going now.
KAB – it may well be that you can sprinkle
yourselves out among the different groups at this workshop. The summit is the start and by December a
plan of action will be hammered out, i.e. properties we want developed and how
we’re going to proceed. Last night in
Hyannis there was a Cape Cod Task Force and what was discussed was whether each
town should go forward individually – or should something be done
statewide? One of the statistics under
our goals is to construct 200 or 250 units of rental housing. We need to arrive at a community consensus
on how to raise that kind of money. Do
we amend our zoning by-laws? – or how do we get where we want to go.
AJ noted (as had Tim previously) we’ve had these
summits before and we have had no results.
He almost feels it’s a stall.
We’re back to the same table and why aren’t we doing something about it?
Molly said we have momentum and if we can
provide more momentum then we can move this project forward.
Tim said the key is to stop condo conversion –
we’re almost tapped out – we have had
plenty of conversions in the past that could have been used. Patrick interrupted saying, "This is a
discussion that’s gone on for quite a few years with no concrete
results." Doug Taylor interjected,
"But this is now a crisis!"
Patrick said the options are - do you build new
– or do you stop conversions? You have
to have the backing of the town or you can’t move forward.
KAB – matter of what permanent support structure
we put into the plan for affordable housing.
We’re looking at $200K/year translated into 1 or 2 full-time
people. Other towns have approached the
issues in different ways but it’s more than one position and probably two full
time positions. You need a permanent
structure in place to implement this.
AJ said, "What are the results of all the
past summits? Where did all that
information go?" KAB said we had
one at the last presidential election.
Delahunt, and a few politicians attended and their parting shot was,
" Let us know when you have a site and we’ll help you." In 2002…
we adopted the CPA tax, we’ve amended the Zoning by-laws, but we were
unsuccessful in putting a tax on property sales because there was no momentum. The community at large and local real estate
people downed it. Nantucket embraced it
and we need the support of realtors.
Some things we can control and some we can’t.
Patrick, defending the past summits' benefits,
said that what has come about is amnesty and we also put in place that you can
get a tax exemption for affordable units.
So these things have come out of the summit. This is very inclusive.
Pam will be discouraged if we can’t establish 2
articles for the fall town mtg. KAB
thinks of the conference as a way to
build the community. "Otherwise
it’s a crap shoot."
LHP
Motion: Approve $15,000 for the housing
summit.
Motion: Tim Hazel Seconded: Scott
Campbell Vote: 5-0-0
PHA
Motion: Approve $20,000 for the housing
summit.
Motion: Pam Parmakian Seconded: Molly
Purdue Vote: 3-0-0
Tim Hazel wondered if the Community Preservation
Committee (CPC) has agreed to put any money toward this? Patrick said, "No. They’re tapped out for approving available
money."
Pam would like the CPC to advertise for
applicants to access funds at fall town meeting. Pam would love to recommend that they do this.
KAB said that the BoS is supportive of setting
up rental subsidies. We had a good
working group meeting with the Interfaith Council and several other
groups. What we should do is the main
question. Other things are still on the
table – and we’re looking into those with needs for now – as a means of holding
it together.
Patrick said that the Interfaith Council charges
no fees to help individuals. Right now
they have limited office space and they will be given space at the Grace
Gouveia building.
Tim Hazel wants to encourage help for displaced
residents and Pam said they can approve the money for the Interfaith Housing
Council and then set up guidelines, i.e., only for Provincetown residents who
have lived here for at least a year and a few other parameters - but first we
should approve the amount and then establish the guidelines. Pam felt the guidelines should be loose so
that a lot of people could be accommodated.
KAB said that a grant agreement is in the works
right now saying that housing needs for Ptown residents only. Molly said it would be great if all the
housing groups were on board - as in NOW.
Tim would also like to see that.
Motion: The LHP approves $20K from the Affordable
Housing Trust Fund for the Interfaith Housing Council.
Motion: Tim Hazel Seconded: Arturo
Alon Vote: 5-0-0.
Motion: The PHA approves $20K from the Affordable
Housing Trust Fund for the Interfaith Housing Council.
Motion,
seconded and approved unanimously by the PHA
Vote: 3-0-0.
It was decided by the assembled that another
group meeting would benefit both committees (LHP & PHA). It will happen on next Friday at 9:00 a.m.
in Town Hall. It is a regularly
scheduled meeting of the LHP; together the two groups will try to write two
articles regarding affordable housing for the fall town meeting. Patrick thinks the LHP should have
representatives on the CPC; two of the members will attend the next meeting of
the CPC on Tuesday morning at 9:00 a.m.
There was then a mini discussion on promoting
good relations with the CPC and a lot of interaction on underlying issues. Molly said, "We’d like to know where
they stand and how they feel. Their
perceptions. Nancy thinks the key is
strong participation.
Molly – to get back to the $20K – how do we get
back to the CPC? One suggestion: go to Pru Sowers and try to get a piece in
the paper about the LHP and PHA contributions to the Interfaith Council.
There was also a discussion on the CPC having
$1M available from an unused source which had been previously approved.
Doug Taylor cautioned that speed is needed. The warrant for the fall town meeting closes
exactly one month from today - thus the meeting on Friday the 15th
at 9:00 a.m.
Molly just wants something to happen. We need to take care of someone NOW.
Tim doesn’t see it as a band-aid. Molly said if we don’t put pressure on the
CPC right now then we’ll lose.
Tim encouraged keeping the existing property and
revamping them for use now.
The final request was that - Anyone who can go
to the CPC meeting on Tuesday should attend as a member of the public.
Adjournment
9:20 a.m.
Respectfully
submitted,
Evelyn Gaudiano
Approved by ____________________________on
______________, 2006.
Arturo Alon,
Chair