MAMMOTH LAKES HOUSING, INC.
Board of Directors Meeting
Monday, July 24, 2017
Rescheduled regular meeting at 6:00 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 6:04 PM.
II. Roll Call:
Members present: Lindsay Barksdale, Jiselle Kenny, Kirk Stapp, Bill Taylor, and John Wentworth
Members absent: Stacy Coreless for Larry Johnston
Staff: Jennifer Halferty, Executive Director
III. Public Comments
There were no comments from the public.
IV. Approval of minutes from June 5, 2017 Regular Board Meeting and June 13, 2017 Special Board Meeting.
Jiselle Kenny made a motion to approve the minutes. Kirk Stapp seconded. The motion passed 4-0; Bill Taylor abstained from the vote on the June 5, 2017 minutes, and Lindsay Barksdale abstained completely.
V. Board Member reports
Lindsay Barksdale apologized for her absenteeism. She attended the Final Needs Assessment workshop on Wednesday, July 19th and will provide additional feedback during that agenda item.
Kirk Stapp announced that on June 18th, John Wentworth, himself, and Jennifer Halferty had a meeting regarding the MLH-Town contract, deliverables, and timing. The new contract will be pushed out in terms of timing due to the ongoing Phase II of the Community Housing Action Plan. Kirk Stapp also noted that he attended the Town Council meeting and listened to Darin Dinsmore’s presentation. He was surprised that the focus was on tiny homes and that there was no discussion regarding the Shady Rest parcel. He expressed that 400 square foot tiny homes may work for seasonal employees but how do they work for families and long-term residents? He mentioned that they may meet some need, but it will be interesting to see how the idea unfolds. He noted that he attended the Housing Working Group meeting on June 20th and hopes that at the next meeting the group will have an opportunity to discuss our community values, so that we have them in mind as we move through this process.
John Wentworth noted that he has had conversations with the Town Manager and legal counsel regarding closed session discussions. Jennifer Halferty noted that the MLH Board already designated 2 representatives to participate from MLH, Bill Taylor and Kirk Stapp. This is an ad hoc committee and does not need to be agendized, so staff will arrange the meeting in the next couple of days. The Town Council representatives are John Wentworth and Shields Richardson.
VI. MLH monthly status report
Jennifer Halferty highlighted that the Town was awarded $500,000 from HCD under the HOME grant program for their first-time homebuyer acquisition program. The last award expired in January. Currently there is about $175,000 in their revolving loan funds, so this program continues down this path of success. She also mentioned that MLH oversaw a successful transfer of a deed restricted property from one local family to another. MLH’s tenants are in the process of purchasing the deed restricted home that they currently live in. There are some deed restricted owners asking about selling as well so, there is a lot going on with deed restricted homes right now.
Jennifer Halferty reminded the Board that she shared an article regarding the Governor, Senate Pro Tem, and Speaker putting together an agreement that after their August recess they would work on getting a housing packaged passed. Three Senate bills moved on to the Assembly: SB 2 which would form a permanent source of funding through a real estate transaction fee and has the potential to generate $250 million annually; SB 3 which proposes to put a bond initiative on the ballot for $3 billion dollars; and SB 35 to force cities to address their housing if they are falling short of their Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) requirements, their State obligations to generate housing. Assembly Representative Bigelow is in town next month, and he is doing a coffee with Chamber members. Jennifer Halferty explained that it is important for him to know how these bills could impact our community and economy and how we’ve taken advantage of bonds in the past.
Jennifer Halferty announced that HCD will release a special CDBG Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) in September. She also stated that the Strategic Growth Council met last week and approved the final guidelines for the Affordable Housing & Sustainable Communities Program (funded through Cap & Trade). The 2017 AHSC NOFA will be released October 2nd.
John Wentworth asked for an update regarding recent cap and trade legislation. Jennifer Halferty noted that is part of the housing package to increase the amount available, but the Cap & Trade program was extended through it to 2030.
VII. Review and adoption of of the MLH 2017-18 Fiscal Year Budget
Jennifer Halferty gave an overview of the budget. Bill Taylor made a motion to adopt the budget. Jiselle Kenny seconded. The motion passed 5-0.
VIII. Mammoth Lakes Community Housing Action Plan; Live, Work, Thrive update
Jennifer Halferty gave an update regarding the process. On July 19th the consultants presented the final Needs Assessment to the Town Council and the MLH Board of Directors. Now the community is moving into Phase II, for which the kick-off meeting was held on July 20 with the Housing Working Group to review the scope of work, intentions, desired outcomes, and where we are heading through this process. Ideally, the Housing Working Group will develop 15-20 strategies, which is similar to other communities. The final plan will be released in November.
The consultants have requested a change to the scope for Phase II. The amended scope includes 3 additional work sessions for the Housing Working Group, of 3 hours each. This will add an additional $16,000 to the cost, which the contingency will not cover. The Housing Working Group discussed this at the kick-off meeting to see if they could commit to the additional time. Mammoth Mountain (MMSA) agreed to fund the study up to $250,000 and the total, including the additional $16,000, is at about $150,000. MMSA requested retention of 25% of the balance of Phase II, with the final payment made upon completion of the work and “consensus by the Working Group on the Plan presented to the Council.”
Jennifer Halferty explained that MLH has the contract with WSW Consulting and an MOU with MMSA regarding the reimbursement for work completed. The Board discussed the enlarged scope of work.
John Wentworth noted that this project is very important to the community and recommended that the Board allow for MLH reserves to cover any uncertainty in the contracted amount.
Kirk Stapp made a motion that Jennifer Halferty enter into an amended contract on behalf of MLH with WSW for $16,000 to enlarge the scope of the work. In relation to this, amend the MOU with MMSA to include the $16,000 contracted increase and language regarding the retention policy that should be between $16,000 – $20,250 (25%) and to clearly identify the trigger point to have the retention paid. John Wentworth seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0.
Lindsay Barksdale stated that she was very pleased to hear the consultants commend the work of MLH in securing an “unprecedented” level of grant funding of $44 million dollars in collaboration with the Town. She had a question regarding the consultant’s statement that Jackson Hole housed 80% of locals but still had a housing crisis. Bill Taylor explained that he spoke with the consultant about this statistic and noted that the comparison is not apples to apples, for example differences in geography play a role. He explained that the consultant emphasized that it is not so much the number that is important, but how the number changes over time and the community’s perception of that change.
Lindsay Barksdale also noted that the Needs Assessment called out the high utility costs in Mammoth Lakes. She asked if MLH considered solar and wind sources into account when building. Jennifer Halferty explained that this would depend on the property location. The most recent project MLH undertook was the STAR Apartments which was a green initiative and met State objectives for high efficiency insulation, windows, and appliances.
John Wentworth stated that he was impressed by Melanie Rees’ presentation and the cooking analogy that she used to explain how to create a good action plan. He noted that it is important for MLH and the Town to work together to document the current practices being undertaken to implement the housing program in the Town of Mammoth Lakes. Jennifer Halferty will coordinate with the consultants to make sure that this occurs at the appropriate time during the process. John Wentworth explained that there is the expectation that the final Community Housing Action Plan will go before the Town Council in November and that there will be a series of action items and deliverables. He explained that Town Council members are encouraged to attend some of the upcoming meetings so that they are up to speed on what is happening in this process.
IX. Discuss and possible direction the Executive Director for legal research related to an initiative related to funding for affordable housing—Kirk Stapp
Kirk Stapp explained that he has been lobbied by community constituents about the possibility of a voter initiative to lock in 1% of transient occupancy tax for housing among other suggestions. John Wentworth explained that he thought this would be premature, considering that the Community Housing Action Plan will have specifics which will help define funding opportunities. He stated that he believed there was not enough information available at this time to justify to the Town Council why such an initiative is necessary. Jennifer Halferty explained that MLH could fund the legal research, since not all of the revenue is Measure 2002A. Kirk Stapp expressed that he agreed that waiting for the Action Plan to be complete was appropriate, but underlined that councilmember turnover continued to be a hurdle for housing. This legal research would be exploratory and part of the due diligence process, nothing more. There was consensus to bring the item back.
CLOSED SESSION
X. Pursuant to Government Code Section 54957, the Board will hold a closed session to consider performance evaluation, title: Executive Director
XI. Pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.8, the Board will hold a conference with its representative in regard to property acquisition pertaining to:
Property: 238 Sierra Manor Road, APN 035-210-014-000
Negotiating Parties: Jennifer Halferty representing MLH (prospective buyer); Mammoth Property Partners (Seller)
Under Negotiation: Terms of sale (price, payment terms)
The meeting was continued until Thursday, July 27th at 8:30 PM in Suite Z.
July 27th, 8:30 PM
Pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.8, the Board will hold a conference with its representative in regard to property acquisition pertaining to:
Property: 238 Sierra Manor Road, APN 035-210-014-000
Negotiating Parties: Jennifer Halferty representing MLH (prospective buyer); Mammoth Property Partners (Seller)
Under Negotiation: Terms of sale (price, payment terms)
Announcement of Action Taken in Closed Session.
No Action was taken.
XII. Adjourn: The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 PM.