TOWN OF EASTON, MARYLAND
Easton Town Hall
Affordable Housing Workshop
January 4, 2007
Members of the Affordable Housing Board present were: Mr. Miles Circo, Ms. Sindy Reyes, Mr. Larry Neviaser and Ms. Carlene Phoenix.
Also in attendance were Mayor Robert C. Willey, President of the Council Mr. Ford, Council members Ms. Scott-Taylor and Ms. Jackson-Amis. Also present were Ms. Sharon VanEmburgh, Assistant Town Attorney, Town Manager Mr. Robert Karge and Long Range Planner Mr. Thomas.
At 6:35 p.m. the President of the Council called the meeting to order and led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance.
MEETING
Mr. Circo discussed the proposed launch of the Easton Affordable Housing Program and outlined a time line review.
Mr. Circo stated that the goal is finalizing the details on the Elm Street off site homes which are the first available affordable housing homes.
Mr. Circo stated that the intention is to announce the program in January then hold Town meetings in each Ward with the respective Council member present to explain the program and the application process. He stated that they intend to alert the community with newspaper announces, public service announcements on radio and cable and posting the information on the website.
Mr. Circo stated that the Home Buying/Home Mortgage Seminars are envisioned to be with the local bankers to take the mystery out of the home buying experience and to explain the process. He stated that the applicants should get a commitment before the home buying period begins.
Mr. Circo discussed the application period which the Board intends to be March 1 through April 13 then the Lottery phase which would finalize the homes available and notify the applicants of the Lottery Drawing Date and subsequently notify the selected applicants.
The next phase would be the purchase process and the final settlement.
Mr. Circo stated that they intend to do this entire process twice a year which would eventually be a standard process. He stated that this will be a basis for an ongoing program.
Discussion occurred regarding who would accomplish specific tasks. Mr. Circo stated that the Board is up against a time line with homes nearly available off site.
Ms. Jackson-Amis discussed her concerns with the twice a year lottery process. Mr. Neviaser clarified that there would be two application periods with as many houses offered that are available at that time.
Ms. Jackson-Amis suggested a Saturday workshop as well as flyers and letters to existing homeowners in the vicinity.
Ms. Phoenix discussed how to get the right people to these meetings to hear the pertinent information.
Mr. Ford suggested specific duties. Mr. Circo stated that the general press release should be created by the Affordable Housing Board to get the facts straight. Mr. Neviaser and Mr. Circo will accomplish that.
Discussion occurred regarding the elements of the Elm Street Affordable Housing agreement and the west side homes.
Ms. Jackson-Amis discussed her concern regarding qualified applicants. She stated that we need to let applicants know in sufficient time, that they may be able to qualify for a new program that we have coming on board.
Mr. Circo stated that the price of the homes needs to be determined in order to communicate to the community. He stated that applicants have until the end of March.
Ms. VanEmburgh stated that there will be another round of applicants again in May or June.
Ms. Phoenix suggested pre-home buyers counseling during the workshops. She stated that she has sent interested residents to the bank to get pre-qualified.
Ms. Jackson-Amis suggested ways to notify residents such as flyers and information to church.
Ms. Scott-Taylor stated that she will write the flyer.
Mr. Circo stated that meetings need to be scheduled all around town.
Mr. Ford suggested that the Councilmember in their respective ward, spearhead the scheduling and location of workshops for their part of the community. Mr. Ford asked if at least one member of the Affordable Housing Board be present at each scheduled meeting to help explain the program.
Mr. Circo stated that a master schedule should be kept and members of the Affordable Housing Board should make themselves available.
The Town Manager, Mr. Karge clarified that the application has been on the website for sometime and applications have already been received.
Mr. Circo asked that the scheduled meetings be posted on the town’s website.
Ms. Scott-Taylor stated that she will contact Easton Cable and WCEI radio station with the dates of the workshops in the various wards.
Ms. Susan Devlin, Habitat for Humanity will help with the application review. Mr. Circo stated that she does this on a regular basis. It was suggested to include all the financial institutions to be included in this process. It is understood that a commitment from a lender must accompany the application.
Mr. Circo recommended price points for the standard homes. Family sizes and median incomes were discussed. Low income houses are to be priced at $97,000 and moderate income houses are priced at $140,000. A family of four would be able to get a mortgage with a reasonable down payment if their income is $22,313. Mr. Circo stated that the Affordable Housing Program hopes to see a rental component evolve. Mr. Circo stated that the Elm Street homes need to be discounted because there is already another $200 homeowner’s fee that has to be factored in. They will only be available for the moderate income residents.
Ms. Jackson-Amis stated that she has some concerns with these maximum figures.
Mr. Circo stated that they need a determination for the prices for the houses off site.
Ms. Jackson-Amis questioned how the income figures compare with HUD’s income levels.
Mr. Circo stated that the median income is what varies. Mr. Circo stated that Talbot County’s median income is over $50,000 where the median income in the Town of Easton is $44625. The HUD number for Talbot County is approximately $50,000. He stated that the median income is not the average. Mr. Circo stated that the community will need to know how much they can make in order to qualify for the program.
Ms. Scott-Taylor asked what constitutes a family.
Mr. Bibb stated that he believes that both names on the deed are considered a household.
At 7:55 p.m. Ms. Reyes, Ms. VanEmburgh and Mr. Thomas departed the meeting.
Ms. Jackson-Amis stated that she needs time to think about these qualifiers. She stated that she is concerned how this will affect the applicants for the houses on Port and West Street which are defined for low income recipients. She stated that the price tag on the homes seem reasonable.
Mr. Circo stated that if this program and the press release are to go forward, everyone needs to be in agreement. He stated that he hoped to have the press release go out next week.
Ms. Jackson-Amis stated that she would like to take a day or so and discuss this with someone with expertise in this area that would help her to shape her understanding to be real clear where she would like to make suggestions and recommendations. Then she would like to communicate her consensus with the Council by e-mail by Tuesday or Wednesday.
Ms. Scott-Taylor discussed public notices in the paper being paid for by corporate sponsors. It was the consensus that due to the time element and possible conflicts of interest that the notices should be the Town’s responsibility. Mr. Circo stated that there are some funds that have been set aside from previous agreements.
The Town Manager, Mr. Karge stated that there is no money budgeted and there is currently less than the $50,000 that was originally contributed due to other expenses. He stated that these ads are extremely expensive and it would not take long to eat up all your money. Mr. Karge suggested targeting what needs to be done and settle on it. He stated that an article in the newspaper does not constitute an official notice nor does an individual mailing.
Ms. Devlin suggested targeting churches and community sites as getting notice out to the public.
Mr. Circo stated that the official public notice does not have to occur before the application acceptance period. He stated that the press release can be geared to getting everyone to come to the town meetings.
Mr. Ford stated that this process will be in effect for a long period of time and if interested parties do not hear about it the first time, they can participate in the upcoming lottery.
Ms. Jackson-Amis stated that she hopes that we do not deplete the money already contributed by developers and that she thought it was for rehabilitation not administrative costs.
Mr. Ford read from the Affordable Housing Ordinance which stipulates how funds can be allocated.
The Town Manager discussed how funds had been agreed to be distributed from the Findings of Facts from the Cooke’s Hope Ordinance.
Mr. Circo stated that he will be working on the press release to be submitted to the Council.
Ms. Jackson-Amis and Ms. Phoenix will work on the notification to the community organizations.
Ms. Scott-Taylor will contact WCEI and Easton Cable about the press release. She stated that she will also work on the flyers which will notify interested parties about the town meetings once she receives dates from council members regarding their respective wards.
Ms. Jackson-Amis tentatively scheduled her meeting for the last Saturday in January.
ADJOURNMENT
The Affordable Housing Workshop was adjourned at 8:40 p.m.
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Kathy M. Ruf, Town Clerk