MAMMOTH LAKES HOUSING, INC.
Board of Directors Meeting

Monday, April 9, 2018
Regular meeting at 6 p.m.

COUNCIL CHAMBER, 437 OLD MAMMOTH ROAD
MINARET VILLAGE SHOPPING CENTER, SUITE Z

Minutes

I. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 6:05 PM.

II. Roll Call
Members present: Lindsay Barksdale, Stacy Corless, Jiselle Kenny, John Wentworth, and Kirk Stapp
Members absent: Bill Taylor
Staff: Jennifer Halferty, Executive Director and Patricia Robertson, Grant & Financial Associate

III. Public Comments
Ruth Traxler, Associate Planner for the Town of Mammoth Lakes, commented that the Town is applying for an AmeriCorps volunteer to work on housing. This is a competitive program and the Town should know if March is they are awarded. Lindsay Barksdale asked if the Town would be required to provide housing for the volunteer. Ruth Traxler answered that the Town’s units may be an option depending on availability.

IV. Approval of minutes from the March 19, 2018 special board meeting
The approval of the minutes was moved to the May meeting.

V. Ad-Hoc Nominations Committee presentation of Nominees and their appointment to the Board of Directors
John Wentworth asked how the ad hoc nominations committee decided to interview five out of the ten applicants. Jennifer Halferty explained that the committee used a matrix with the qualifying criteria from the Community Housing Action Plan and the Bylaws to determine which candidates to interview.

Jiselle Kenny explained that the Board nominees represent a diversity of backgrounds to address current and future housing needs, as well as unique opportunities for outreach to their respective communities.

Tom Hodges introduced himself. He has lived in the area since 1990 and works for Mammoth Mountain Ski Area. He knows the background of the housing issues that the community faces and that there is no “silver bullet” solution. But he is excited to be on the Board and to bring his ideas.
Donna Mercer introduced herself. She has lived in Mammoth for 18 years. She works for Eastern Sierra Transit Authority (ESTA) and knows firsthand how expensive and difficult it is to live and work here, and also hears about issues from employees who ride the bus. She noted that when employees have to work 2-3 jobs in order to afford rent and food they cannot provide premier customer service to the guests. This situation hurts everyone. Donna stated that she believes when a community comes together to make decisions that changes for the better can happen.

Zoraya Cruz introduced herself. She has lived in Mammoth Lakes for 19 years. She currently attends Cerro Coso Community College and looks forward to learning more about housing solutions and sharing them with the community.

Kirk Stapp made a motion to appoint the nominees to the Board of Directors. Jiselle Kenny seconded the motion. The motion passed 3-0. John Wentworth and Stacy Corless abstained due to the bylaws which prevent more than one-third of the Board of Directors from being a public official, or appointed by a public official.

VI. Board Member reports
Jiselle Kenny announced that there is State legislation moving through the chambers to help those who are experiencing domestic violence but are in need of housing.

Stacy Corless announced that the Local Transportation Committee is holding an Unmet Transit Needs Workshop at the Town of Mammoth Lakes’ Planning and Economic Development Commission meeting this Wednesday, April 11th at 2 PM in Suite Z.

John Wentworth reported that he attended the Mountain Ventures Summit in Telluride, CO where he learned a little about what other mountain town communities are doing about housing. He recommended that the new Board members read the book “Living and Working in Paradise” by Bill Hettinger.

Kirk Stapp reported that he attended the ESTA board meeting. They are currently undergoing a search for an executive director. There were five finalists but they all declined, citing various reasons including housing. The recruitment firm will continue the search, and ESTA may need to adjust the salary range of the position. Donna Mercer noted that ESTA had hired five bus drivers from Bishop but lost three of them due to the commute, and limited housing options in Mammoth. Kirk Stapp also reported that there are a lot of young people living in their cars and using the athletic club to shower before work.

VII. MLH Monthly Status Report
The Board reviewed the report.

VIII. Approval of Resolution 18-04 honoring Larry Johnston
Kirk Stapp read Resolution 18-04 honoring Larry Johnston into the record. Tom Hodges made a motion to adopt the resolution as amended. Lindsay Barksdale seconded the motion. The motion passed 8-0.

IX. Discussion and staff direction on succession planning for the potential recruitment for the Executive Director Position
The Board discussed the proposals provided by the Forest Group and Raffa as well as the sample process provided by the Town. There was staff direction to bring back more definitive information on the timeline and costs, and to see if both groups could answer some questions for the Board at the May 7th meeting via teleconference.

X. Information on the 2017 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) awards, including next steps for MLH’s intended adaptive reuse property located at 238 Sierra Manor Road
Jennifer Halferty reported that it appeared that the CDBG grant for the 238 Sierra Manor Road property would not be awarded, though an official announcement by HCD had not yet been made. Staff is working on additional funding sources for the conversion of this property from commercial to residential. She explained that other MLH properties have reserve accounts for maintenance, debt service, other expenses and that the Board should consider creating a reserve account for this property.

Tom Hodges asked if the commercial spaces were 100% leased. Jennifer Halferty explained that all of the commercial spaces were leased and there were two garage vacancies that just came up last week.

Donna Mercer asked for clarification on the donation of the property to MLH. Jennifer Halferty explained that $50,000 of the value of the property was donated to MLH by the prior owner, the Alpers Trust.

There was staff direction to bring back a long-term schedule of anticipated revenue and expenses for the property for the next five years.

John Wentworth made a motion to create a reserve account for 238 Sierra Manor Road. Jiselle Kenny seconded the motion. The motion passed 8-0.

XI. Discussion of the Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) Certification
Patricia Robertson gave an overview of the staff report, which outlined the history and definition of CHDOs as well as some of the guiding community documents.

Jennifer Halferty gave some background information regarding the types of grant funding available to a CHDO.

John Wentworth wondered if being a CHDO was a good return on investment since it limited the elected officials’ capacity to select Board members. He also questioned the Town’s ability to have accountability if the Town Council representative cannot vote on the appointment of new Board members. Jiselle Kenny noted that by having a Town Council representative on the Board, that Board member had accountability over the contract with MLH. The same is true for Mono County.

Stacy Corless noted that the MLH Strategic Planning session would be a good time to continue the discussion of whether or not the CHDO certification should be a priority for the organization in the future.

XII. Update on the procurement of the Shady Rest Parcel by the Town of Mammoth Lakes – informational item
Dan Holler, Town Manager provided an update on the purchase of the Shady Rest parcel. He explained that the Town had the deed. There would be a staff update on options for development processes provided to the Town Council on May 2nd.

XIII. Adjourn: The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 PM.