PRESENT AT CONVENING

Members of the Affordable Housing Board present were: Ms. Mary Ann Draut, Mr. Miles Circo, Ms. Sindy Reyes, Mr. Larry Neviaser, Pastor Leon Hall and Mr. Otis Sampson.

IN ATTENDANCE

Also in attendance were Mayor Robert C. Willey, President of the Council Mr. Ford, Councilmember Moonyene Jackson and Delegate Rudy Cane.

CONVENING

At 5:00 p.m. the meeting was called to order.

MEETING

Elm St. Status

Ms. Jackson-Amis joined the meeting at 5:50 p.m.

Mike Burlbaugh, Project Manager, updated the Board on the status of this project. He has continued to search for additional vacant lots, which he says are “few & far between,” and for houses to renovate in the West Side community. He has identified a 1,200 sq. ft. vacant lot at the corner of Port St. & West. St. He thinks it is probably not buildable because of its shape unless an adjoining lot at 25 Port St. can also be acquired. This lot is 4,600 sq. ft. and is owned by the Town of Easton Housing Authority, not the Town itself. It was suggested that Mr. Burlbaugh contact Don Bibb, Director of the Housing Authority to see if this lot can be acquired & put together with the smaller lot. If so, the lot would then probably be subdivided.

Three other properties have also been identified at 109 & 202 Port St. & 24 West St. One of the Port St. properties is a small duplex; the second has four apartments. The West St. property has seven apartments. If these properties can be acquired, a full blown exterior renovation of the exterior is envisioned with the apartments then turned into condominiums. Mr. Burlbaugh has made an offer to the owner pending a 60 day feasibility study & will be able to advise the Board at the next meeting as to whether the offer has been accepted.

Several questions were raised by the Board as to whether the renovation of the apartments to condos would count against the obligation outlined in the Findings of Fact to renovate owner-occupied homes. Another question concerned how the renovation of apartments would be counted, e.g., would the apartment building count as a substitution for one owner-occupied house or would a specified number of condos within each building count?

Mr. Burlbaugh also says he needs to talk with the Town to determine whether it is agreeable to make this type of substitution. The Board agreed to make a recommendation to the Town Council regarding the condo issue if it appears to be a viable issue.

The on-site plats for phase one of Elm St. have just been signed by the Town. Houses will not come out of the ground until next year. A "sneak peek” at Waterfowl generated a lot of visitors to the site. Mr. Burlbaugh is not marketing the affordable housing homes, but tells visitors that they will be available. Interested parties are referred to the Town. John Ford, Council President, agreed to advise the Town Clerk, Robert Karge, to ask staff who answers the phones to take contact information from interested callers so the Town can get back to them with information on pricing, application forms, etc. when it becomes available.

Elm St. Guidelines:

Residency-The residency guidelines, as revised, appear to be acceptable for both on and off-site. However, the boundary of the West Side Community needs to be revised on the north side, according to Council member Jackson-Amis. She has asked the Town’s Planning Dept. to correct this boundary and provide the information to her and the Board.

Income:

The income guidelines need further revision to take assets into account. It was recommended that an asset cap be established but no specific amount has yet been agreed to by the Board. The issue of first-time home buyers was raised. Should Elm St. off-site and/or on site be limited to first time home buyers? The Board agreed such a restriction would not apply to the off-site properties. After considerable discussion, the Board agreed to ask the Town Attorney to draft language addressing on-site home buyer applicants. The Board would like to encourage those who work in Talbot County to live here. The Board also wants to avoid situations in which an applicant could be approved for an on-site home in Talbot County and rent out other property he or she owned elsewhere.

Control Period & Foreclosures:

These issues were held for discussion with the Town Attorney at the next meeting. Several Board members will report on the results of their contacts with local banks and with other counties about these issues.

Selection Committee:

The Board discussed several options including who should serve as the Selection Committee & who should appoint them. It was suggested, but not formally voted upon, that the Selection Committee include a range of 4 to 5 individuals from varied backgrounds including Habitat, the Housing Authority, banks, a member of the community, etc. This option appeared to be favored over that of a single non-profit entity.

A question was raised about confidentiality. If the Housing Board appoints the Selection Committee, will that Committee be subject to the Open Meetings law? The Town Attorney will be asked to advise the Board on this question.

A Habitat publication that outlines financial guidelines and their selection process will be provided to the Board.

The Board next heard a presentation by Rudy Cane, Delegate, District 37A, Maryland House of Representatives, concerning affordable housing. A summary of this portion of the meeting will be provided prior to the next meeting.

ADJOURNMENT

The Affordable Housing Workshop was adjourned at 6:50 p.m.

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Mary Ann Draut, Chairman