Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-11-04 Human Relations Advisory Committee Minutes' LCD CLERK HUMAN RELATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE2005 FEB 10 AA 10: 3 5 MINUTES. November 4, 2004 at Police Station First Floor Community Room Present: Margaret Soli, Chair, C. McDonald, P. Kelley, Nancy Najmi and Chief R. Silva members and Bob Brown. Lynn White, Executive Director of the Reading Housing Authority, addressed the meeting to outline and explain affordable housing in Reading and particularly as administered by her agency. The affordable housing guidelines differ on the Federal and State level. New guidelines are issued each year on the Federal level and every two years on the State level. Now for seniors the maximum income is $46,300. This is the median. If the income is higher, one can still apply. The same is true for families. The RHA serves very low income people. Seniors pay 30% of the rent, maybe $300; families pay 27% of adjusted gross taxable income. The RHA also handles Federal family program, Section 8, and has 125 vouchers to service. These are going to be cut for lack of funding. The RHA tries to expand its programs and when it buys or builds, it does so for the very low income people. There are three other affordable programs, Archstone at Spence Farm, Longwood Farm and Maple Wood Village near the Registry which is an over 55 development. In each there are a certain number of affordable units. The RHA has nothing to do with them. Eligibility for the. sale or rental of these depends on the median income which is currently $82,600. We assume there will be a lottery. If one's income is 80% or less of the median or about $66,000 one can apply. With an income of $66,000 one could be eligible for a,mortgage of $234,000. With a mortgage of $234,000 the principal and income monthly payment is $1,355 to which must be added condo fees, insurance and taxes. Perhaps not too many people will regard this as affordable. Longwood Farm is supposed to have 16 affordable units; Archstone 25% or 51 units, but it is appealing for a reduction. Archstone will probably be rental. RHA has offered to help with a lottery but there is an organization known as CHIAPA which frequently does this for developers. There are complications in reselling an affordable unit. There has been one for sale at Sumner Cheney which was resold with CHIAPA. RHA has no such thing as a $0 rental. There is a minimum rent of $50. The waiting list is long. At the RHA each list was closed except the senior list. All my lists are open. RHA gives a Reading preference of the lists. As for the senior waiting list, there are 80 units and not too long a list. Under State regulations we must have 13.5% (or 11 units) as young and disabled tenants. Young is under 60. There is a new Hospice House of which we have little information. Next to the old police station, the housing is State family subsidized program that is people cannot move the vouchers to another location. There are 10 units in the 705 family program. There is no asset limit in the RHA programs. The assets of a tenant are reviewed and 1% of the gross assets is attributed as income on the basis of which the rent is determined. The RHA is in its third year of 0% increased funding from the Department of Housing Development. RHA has a reserve and retained revenues. Of 250 housing authorities only 60-70 have similar retained revenues. RHA owns $6,000,000 in real estate which it acquired conventionally. Under Section 8, HUD determines the fair market rent. Cedar Glen is a private development under a Federal 202 program. Some units are subsidized. There is no local preference. Peter Sanborn is also a private 702 Federal development which provides some housekeeping and some medical and hygiene services. For the 125 vouchers RHA gets a budget of $1,000,000 more or less to administer them. Some of them are used of 4 room apartments and some for others. We have to balance the accounts daily. There is a centralized list of 45,000 applicants. RHA had its own list but 3 years ago 60 or 70 housing authorities agreed to.participate and create one list for them all. HUD is cutting funds for the section 8 program. Some agencies did not have money. On January 1 we will learn if we lose funding. There is a question whether there may be an affordable housing development on Walker's Brook Drive. In general the RHA does not evict a tenant if it can be avoided. All attendees were grateful for Ms. White's excellent presentation. Charlie McDonald suggested that she should make a television presentation on the Reading TV. Her talk ended at about 8:55. Margaret Soli, Chair expressed the gratitude of the Committee to Ms. White and several matters of business: (a) Peter Heckenbleikner had suggested that the Selectmen may reduce the size of the Committee to 7 to facilitate having a quorum. The consensus was that this is a good idea. (b) She has spoken to. Wilma Fraser to come to the meeting on the First Thursday in February.which will be early enough to plan for the METCO lobby day. Wilma may ask Jean McGuire to come. She hope we can publicize this through the Clergy Association, Social Justice groups at the several churches and school PTO's. (c) We should think about the Anytown program and contact groups at the high school such as the Amnesty International group, The Gay Straight Alliance and Unity. The cost for one to attend is $250 and perhaps we could help with some funding. It was greed not to meet in December and in lieu of the regular January meeting to attend the Martin Luther King celebration and to try to get people out for it. Prior to adjournment Bob Brown informed the group of the plans by.Sandy Trainor for a lighting event on the Common asking for a neighbor to neighbor organized effort to bring luminescence to the Common with groups of neighbors coming together with candles to visit the Common. Details will be in the. Advocate with a telephone number to call. The committee adjourned at 9:05 pm. Respectfully submitted, Paul A. Kelley, Secretary.