Housing Trust Fund Board, Regular Meeting

1. 0:03It's very simple. You just have to kind of run it on the floor. Okay, I'm assuming I have someone to make a motion to nominate Jeff. >> I make a motion to nominate Jeff. >> Thanks, Skyler. Now the vote. All in favor? Sorry, I need someone to second it. Sorry. >> [clears throat] >> Does someone make a second second the nomination? >> I can second it. >> Okay, Jeff is second. Okay, all in favor? >> I. >> I. >> I. >> I. >> Okay. Jeff, I. Okay. That passes. So then the next thing, kind of homework, is just to read the bylaws for the Housing Trust Fund. So the Housing Trust Fund is uh nestled under HCPI, the Housing and Community Development Planning Agency. Um and so since that board, they are technically the board that has like the real city power. So the mayor serves on
2. 1:07that, the town council president, two council members, the planning board chair, and the Housing Authority chair. Um and so what's kind of nice about it is that they do the heavy lifting in terms of bookkeeping and cutting checks and stuff. And our role is to we kind of create the budget, we give it to them to approve. Y'all make decisions about what you want to fund, projects you want to focus on, and then HCPI has to be the one to approve any final decisions or anything. So our bylaws are included in their bylaws. So um I will follow up with the link um so you guys can read them through. They're like two pages, so they're just good to know. Um and so their meetings are once a month at the end of the month. And so usually we meet the second week, so that if we have to vote on decisions about funding or something, then we can give that to the HCPA in time. Um and so on that note, when we make resolutions, we do need to have in-person forums. So right now we have six members, so a
3. 2:09quorum is four. Um if you have an excuse like you're ill or like a work conflict and you have to attend online, that can count towards the quorum count. Um but if you would just you don't have like an excuse like that, then being online you can participate, but it doesn't count towards the quorum. So. Um Okay. >> Is this going to be our regular meeting the second >> If this works for you all, um okay. Cool. >> The city calendar is pretty booked, but >> Yes. [laughter] >> So, uh if you guys want to move the time to 5:00 or 5:15 or 6:00, we can change There's room for that, so. >> That will be online, you said, moving forward or in >> No, we're meeting >> I said >> Okay, yeah, that works. But if you guys want to move the time around, we can move it a little bit, so. >> 5:00 would work for me, though. >> It would? >> Yes. >> It would? I'm flexible, too, so. >> Okay. >> Um I'll check with Usha. I would like 5:00, cuz >> Yeah. >> Um
4. 3:10So I'll check with them. Okay. Um Kelly or Tepper, do you have any problems on the time? >> I'm fine with 5:00 or 5:30. >> Okay. >> Um 5:30 works for me, yeah. >> Okay. 5:00 wouldn't work? >> Um 5:00 would work, too. >> Okay. Well, then I will propose with I'll invite Usha and Margaret if they can do 5:00, and then we can move it to that. >> Sounds good. >> Um okay. So in your packet, I'll pull it up. Um is this Housing Trust Fund overview. Um share this. So, Cali, this is what you saw at the April meeting. >> [clears throat] >> I'll send it in email. Um it's really just like a a run through of the operating procedures, the advisory committee,
5. 4:14um some accomplishments that Housing Trust Fund's done so far, and then includes our budget. Um the budget. So, the important thing to know is that we began with um the funds from the anti-displacement grant, which you're familiar with. Um and so, we had seed funds of about 600,000 for the trust fund. And the plan was always to spend down the trust fund, and then to add in city revenue um through at the time we thought the cannabis tax was an idea, or the lodging tax, or some other funds. So, we've been spending down, and we're getting closer to like the the bottom of the Housing Trust Fund. We're about like 150, but we got a little more. We got 200,000 left in there, but we haven't been increasing the funds um the way we had expected to, um partly because I think the cannabis tax and the short-term rental tax didn't bring in as much as the city thought they would. Um and then I think also there's just
6. 5:17been a lot of change in politics um since 2020 and 2021. Um so, one of the challenges and tasks for our board is like this year to think about what does that mean for the Housing Trust Fund that we're going to be having a decreased budget with less revenue coming in? Um in the past, the city was putting in money each year. Um they were putting in they were kind of increasing their amounts. So, 2 years ago, they put in, I believe, 30,000 in. Um I think it 30 or 40. Something around there. But then >> Let's see. >> last year they gave us like half of what they had been giving. >> Mhm. >> Um so yeah, that's a good question for us to think about. Um is that bigger frame. >> Was there any this year or was it Is not time yet? >> It's not time yet. So, typically we make our budget, we kind of draft it in July and finish it up in August, and then it
7. 6:21goes to the city um and HCP in September. Um so, this gives us just a little bit of heads-up to like in the next couple of months be thinking about it. Um and thinking about I put in this like packet I'll send again. Some housing trust funds run in different models. So, um we're unique in that we're such a small city that has one. Most like places that have housing trust funds are in much bigger cities. And so, they have a lot more revenue streams coming in. But Massachusetts does have a lot of housing trust funds in small towns. Um and one of the things a bunch of their towns do is that they spend building years or they kind of build up funds, build up funds, and then in like maybe year five they spend a big chunk of it um on say like an example is like Great Barrington has a housing trust fund. And so, like four years they're just kind of getting 10,000 here, 10,000 there, whatever. And then year five they put in like $150,000 to purchase a plot of land for Habitat
8. 7:25houses. >> Okay. >> And then the bank balance went back down, you know, like So, that's a way that some of the smaller ones do it. Um >> [clears throat] >> what we have been doing So, the housing trust fund um was set up to fund my salary um at and then the um the program through each year. So, the main program we've been doing is Hudson Roots, which is the rental assistance um fund. And that's been a really good program. Um and it's been working really well. We did give less this year because we got less money um promise. We do it through promise, and they did they did find other funding for this year, but it's not every year. So, this is just kind of setting the stage that this will be a conversation we come back to. Um and I'll kind of think of some ideas or ways we can think about this together. Um and it's not something we need to solve today. >> Well, we do anticipate there will be less than level funding. >> Yeah.
9. 8:26Yeah. >> Particularly because of the budget issues that we're facing. >> Yeah. And >> the fund can't accept fund like HC whatever. Sorry, I never remember all the acronyms. Can't accept funds on our behalf or like as a like 501c3 or is that I'm just like thinking about like yeah, how how funds besides grants like can an individual make a donation or something? >> Yeah. >> We've talked about that once before, but I don't we didn't get it going. >> So, my understanding is that so, our attorney is the HCPA attorney, Chriselle. We can't solicit >> Okay. >> fundraising, but we can accept donations. >> Yeah. >> Um so, we had like gotten a couple of donations from some of the local banks that are pretty small. Um but we can't do like a fundraising drive, you know? >> Well, we we can let people know we
10. 9:28exist. >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> But like >> There's a way. >> Yeah. But Greater Hudson, like someone else could do a drive. Right. Right. And so that's >> Okay. >> But like that was one of the things that like cuz Tom, DPH Bio, was um he was there on the board and he's like, "Okay, well, we can't If we can't give as much money to Hudson Roots, we can at least promise like you know, our support them." And you know, so there's like ways to kind of achieve the goals. >> Mhm. >> Um but yeah, we can't directly >> Understood. >> solicit funds. Um >> But that's just Okay, that's good to know just cuz that's a loophole a little bit. >> Yeah. Yeah. Um but I think on the point, Jeff, like I feel like when we first created the Housing Trust Fund in like 2021, 2022, we did a lot of community engagement work and like events. And then I think it's, you know, we've like decreased that over the past couple years. And I think part of like
11. 10:30having new folks on is like thinking about new ways to like go back to the community and talk about, you know, what we can do or and also things we can do without a lot of money. >> I have a meeting. >> [laughter] >> Um yeah, so on that packet again that I'll I'll resend, there's like the budget for this year and um there is most of it's figured out. Um the big thing is that um we do have a small line that we haven't really touched. Uh it goes small budget line um that is like kind of open for contingencies or small projects. Um but in general, our main project has been Hudson Roots um so far. And then the other things like the committee has done again without really spending money, but for example, we did a lot of thinking about like zoning policy and they were thinking about the ADU policy, which you know, is now became law through the council and
12. 11:34there's grants and stuff like that. So, there's other ways the committee can have impact without just having, you know, money to spend. Um okay, so then kind of the last thing um I wanted to go through was looking at goals for this year. Um any of that I can pull this up for that. Um people online can hear my things. >> Can you share your screen or is it >> Um yeah, I am trying to. >> Oh, okay. >> Give me one sec. >> Sorry. >> No, no, that's fine. Um the study like we kind of share the like whoever is the meeting shares the tab and we all have different settings for it. So, Okay.
13. 12:50Um Kelly Severson, can you see? Okay, great. So, I wanted to just walk you guys through So, our comprehensive plan was um adopted in the fall and there was a whole housing section and we can kind of think about um what in here stands out to you as things that are really well worth working on now and also kind of feasible that's like in our um in our capacity to work on. Um so, you guys have the copy there. Um let's see if I can take this off of this. Okay. So, um again, I'll share this with you after we're over, but the big objectives were looking at
14. 13:53our zoning code, increasing capacity, and then creating an anti-displacement framework. Um So, land use strategies up there in zoning code, um something important to know is that the city um so, we got a a grant um to do a rezoning. Um and right now, I'm working on like the contract materials and stuff, but we're going to be putting together like a committee to help guide the zoning update. And this is something that can be really impactful in thinking about how to make it easier to develop or you know, do small ADUs or you know, kind of just make it easier for people to make housing. Um and so, this is a way that I think our committee can be involved in thinking about some things for Yeah. That. Um Similarly, there's the affordable housing overlay idea of adding to the zoning. Um basically, if you're doing affordable housing, it's easier to get things passed through um
15. 14:55>> [clears throat] >> planning orders in the BI. And then, form-based code is part of that. That's like a different zone. Well, that's all that zoning. >> Can I interrupt you a second? Can you list for us um like what it some point point provides us the barriers uh the zoning barriers that are that exist now? >> Sure. >> That we cuz I think it'll help. >> Yeah. Um Kelly, do you want to say anything about that? Like you work with some of those zoning barriers that exist right now. >> Oh, yeah. I mean, you know, you can't have additional dwelling units, so in your So, if you wanted to build an additional dwelling unit like in your backyard or turn like your garage into an apartment, that's not allowed in our zoning, which as we know, like there's so many carriage houses and back buildings in Hudson, so that's like a whole housing stock that like we are missing out on. >> Understood.
16. 15:57>> And then, I mean, in general, a lot of the fire code and like electrical code I guess that's kind of different. But anyway, um that's the main one that I know, Michelle. I don't know if there's like other ones. >> Um Yeah, I think a big thing is that our So, we have like such a historic city, right? And it's like smaller buildings and denser and walkable. Our zoning code is from like I think it's the '60s or the '70s, and it actually puts like a very suburban kind of framework. So, think about Let's say there's like a lot on Columbia Street, and we're like, "Okay, we could get money to do a duplex there or something." The zoning code wouldn't actually allow you to do a duplex that matches all the other street like houses that exist. It would kind of make you create this like skinny boxcar thing. Like the zoning code doesn't actually match what we have. >> Understood. >> Okay. Um and so, it requires like a lot of or it kind of requires a lot of um like green space per dwelling unit. So,
17. 17:02let's say you wanted to maybe kind of like have a certain maybe like a a triplex and there's like a shared garden or something, it'd be like, "No, there's not enough green space." Or whatever. So, stuff that's like there's good reasons for it, but then over time, it makes it just really hard to do anything. Yeah. >> Also, one one other [snorts] thing is like to have a zoning law that like if it's affordable housing, I remember we were talking about this is like the historical zoning doesn't apply if you're building an affordable housing unit cuz adhering to the historical board or I don't even remember the name of it is like actually really uh difficult. >> Yeah, we were just talking about that. Yeah. And I think >> [clears throat] >> I think people sometimes hear this stuff and they think that like it could be like oh, just put housing up everywhere. We don't care about how things look, but that's not really the issue cuz like the actual zoning the actual zoning doesn't match what people want,
18. 18:04you know? Um Does that kind of help answer that? >> No, no, no, no, it does. I've wanted everybody else to cuz I mean I'm I'm living some of it. But I think it's important to you know, just just oppose to what we're looking at so we can understand how to maneuver. >> And are they making it tangible for people to understand? Um so yeah, so these are something that again doesn't cost us money, but something that we can think about and kind of put input into and also help out with like ways to make this more relevant. It's such a like jargony concept, so how do we make this um something that like people can want to engage with and talk about because it affects all of us like the way we build and we live in and stuff. Um so the next topic on here is about capacity. Um I think this is a really interesting time to think about this. So, thinking about the city and I I mean that like lower-case C as well capital C is capacity to handle affordable housing
19. 19:07issues because the housing authority is going through this big redevelopment. It's going to kind of change some of your capacity and stuff. Galvin is changing as an entity. So, I think that's an opportunity to change up or bring in more, you know, and you know, thinking through this city like you know, what do we need to place here? Um So, I think this is something, you know, worth thinking about, some things that are um Some of these things are about for developers, like how to make it clearer for developers to kind of do affordable housing. Some of it, honestly, is like thinking through if someone's looking for housing like the best thing I can do is give them like 15 different phone numbers to call. And like that just takes up so much time for people. Um and to get on all those waiting lists, it's it's like it's not simple. And so, that's something else we want to think about, like how can we make kind of pool what there is and make it easier for people to access
20. 20:09um information or potential housing and stuff. Um And I think also like having more conversation between and then bond like the different groups that do housing programming. Um Joni at Promise did a good job of like reaching out to about all the different groups and like, "What rental assistance do you have? What What do you have? What are the rules?" and putting together like one guide. But, I think there's more we can do to make it like if someone has a question about I need help, we can make it easier for people to understand how do you access that. Um Let's just take it building by building. This one is This one has a little bit. Um and then we also we have a lot that's on the books that basically asks the code enforcement department to make a inventory of all the buildings that are vacant and then to find owners if they don't if not doing anything with the buildings. There's
21. 21:10been a lot of challenges in actually implementing that. Um, but one of the things is that the county has a housing task force and um, they have a grant that's going to be doing like a big study of vacant buildings in the county and thinking through different strategies to activate them so that if they're just like sitting there for some no reason like we can help get them back to be like maybe affordable housing. So that's something too where like this committee can kind of give some input into the county's study with that. Um, and then this one and I just like in the framework is one of the most it's more creative and a little bit harder to implement but let me give you that. Um, there's like a adaptive right to stay in return policy which looks at people who are displaced from a city due to cost and like what would that mean to try and make it easier for them to get like
22. 22:14priority housing. Um, I I think there's a lot of pros and cons to get this and when we made the comp plan I was like uh, there's a lot of things to think about like it's a lot really hard to cuz we and Rhonda and I talked about this a lot. Um, and one of the things that you know, we thought about in the past was like people don't want to be on a registry or list or have to be like, you know, like or how do you prove that you lived somewhere? And it gets very complicated but we just threw it on here as something that food for thought of like how do we make sure that people get in the housing who need the most who wanted to be in Hudson. Um, >> How do you How do they do How do they get priority? >> Right. >> Preference. >> And then there's [clears throat] also fair housing law and then yeah. Um, community land trust formation um, we can talk more about that. Um and joining hands that create permanent affordable long-term housing. Um and then these last two, um the first one is thinking about
23. 23:17financing tools to help homeowners and landlords make small rehabs. So, we've been getting some small grants from the state to do housing rehab projects for homeowners, and there's a new one for small landlords. Um the thing about these grants is that it's a lot of work to get them, and they're slow, and there's a lot of barriers. But like, are there ways that, and maybe this is one of the things of like thinking about how to build up the capacity of like the New Galvan entity, you know, whatever Bard's doing with that, like can we kind of build up more capacity so that the right group has these grants and running consistently. Um or if there's a financing pool, it's like a revolving loan fund or something, cuz that's a big issue, too, is that for homeowners or small landlords, the costs are so expensive. Um any thoughts on that? I'm thinking about this for a second. >> Yeah, I think it's something good to look at, and particularly the other um the other part of it is that you have
24. 24:22difficulty getting somebody to actually do the work. All of those things come into play. So, you need to have the money ready when you do find someone. >> Yeah. >> So, just trying to get a steady pipeline is is a good idea. >> Yeah. Um and the last one is thinking about how we can do more kind of education. >> Right. >> Um Another thing that we have too is that there's been so many new residents in the city, and I don't know a lot of them, and like, you know, how do we kind of reach out to the long-term residents and also newer residents about what are their needs, but also where are their gaps in people's understanding about the housing issues and stuff and um this is something that I'm like really interested to hear everyone's thoughts are and how we could what we could do moving forward. Um >> I'm curious if it would at all be possible to set up like I feel like Hudson and housing is like everybody knows about that as one of the
25. 25:25main issues and similar to the ways that like people are sustaining donors to Kite's Nest and all these another local or the library or like if there's a way to engage the public like that way, especially with the like statistic that there obviously is a lot of money here and like people really respond to like oh $20 a month but you know, that adds up depending on how many people you have. >> Right. Right. >> I don't know if that works within like how we're financially structured but I do feel like that's a very successful model in our town. >> Right. Yeah. >> [snorts] >> Yeah, that's I think about. Um Yeah, so basically um wanted to give this to you guys as to like look at and you can spend the next between now and our next meeting like reading it over and thinking about what
26. 26:28you think is most energizes you or like what do you want to work on? Um I think probably like one or two things is probably all we can handle on. So we don't want to give you guys too much. Um and uh Sorry. Yeah, I think those are kind of the the thoughts or like thinking about long-term funding and thinking about other projects or both we can take on. Um That's all I really have for today. Do you guys have any um things you want to ask or bring up, or talk about? >> Okay. >> Yeah. Pepper, Kelly? Okay. Um so our next meeting is a month from now, June 10th. Um we can move it to 5:00. I'll confirm with Margaret and Rachel. >> Okay. >> You'll hear from >> But I'll I'll I'll I'll I'll uh >> Means and means and thoughts board. >> Yeah, I'll try and I'll try to make it online, too. >> Um
27. 27:29And I'll send this stuff in the packet just so you have some things to read and think about. Um And Any public comment? No? Okay. Um share, do you want to call a meeting to order? To end? >> Uh Do I have to only do motion? We just called a meeting to end. Yeah. Yeah, this meeting is adjourned. >> Okay. >> Yeah. >> Awesome. >> Good to see you. >> Thank you all. >> Thanks for coming, Laura. >> Yeah, thanks Pepper, thanks Kelly. Feel better, Kelly. >> Thank you. Bye. >> See you next month. Bye-bye.

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