MAMMOTH LAKES HOUSING, INC.
Board of Directors Meeting

Monday, June 11, 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 6:02

II. Roll Call
Members present: Lindsay Barksdale, Stacy Corless, Zoraya Cruz, Tom Hodges, Jiselle Kenny, Kirk Stapp, John Wentworth, Donna Mercer (arrived 6:03 PM)
Members absent: Bill Taylor
Staff: Jennifer Halferty, Executive Director and Patricia Robertson, Grant & Financial Associate

III. Public Comments
Rick Wood made a public comment and stated that a dream of his has come true: that his youngest son was able to purchase a deed restricted one-bedroom condo. His son is a long-time community member who has lived here his entire life. He thanked Mammoth Lakes Housing for assisting in the process, and for helping the underserved, and unserved members of the community.
IV. Approval of minutes from the May 7, 2018 regular board meeting
Stacy Corless made a motion to approve the minutes. Jiselle Kenny seconded the motion. The motion passed 7-0. Lindsay Barksdale abstained.

V. Discussion of MLH Board of Directors Composition and the June 5, 2018 Elections
Jennifer Halferty, Executive Director, gave an overview of the pending election results and the Mammoth Lakes Housing Bylaws, which permit no more than 1/3 of the Board members be public officials, employees or members of a public entity, board or agency, or appointed by a public entity, board or agency. John Wentworth affirmed that he has been appointed by the current Town Council to serve on the MLH Board and that his term continues until the new Town Council is seated and reorganized. Kirk Stapp noted that he would like to continue to serve on the MLH Board, but that it will be up to the new Town Council. He noted that he will confirm with the Town Attorney if his abilities to currently serve on the MLH Board are impacted by his election to Town Council, despite not having been seated yet. Jennifer Halferty concluded that depending on how the Town Council reorganizes after the new members are seated, the MLH Board of Directors may have a vacancy.

VI. Recruitment for the Executive Director Position – staff direction and possible action
Tom Hodges noted that the scope of the organization’s role with the Town informs the requirements for the position. In the past, MLH completed housing development, but if that is not the case, perhaps we need a different skill set. He noted that the Town was planning to hire a Housing Coordinator to potentially work on development issues, but stated that a $100,000 commitment was not sufficient to address the issue of workforce housing. Tom Hodges asked if MLH should secure contracts with other entities including Mono County.

Stacy Corless agreed. She explained that without knowing what the future looks like, perhaps an Acting Executive Director position during this transition period would suffice.

John Wentworth stated that he didn’t know the status of the contract negotiations. Jennifer Halferty stated that MLH had still not received the draft documents from the Town for the contract negotiations committee to meet and discuss.

Kirk Stapp noted that there are a lot of programs outlined in the Community Housing Action Plan as well as the Town’s other adopted and accepted plans. He expressed the importance of getting the contract in place so that MLH could get to work on the strategies outlined in the Action Plan.

Lindsay Barksdale noted that Patricia Robertson, current Grant & Financial Associate, has been with the organization for the past five years and understands what we’ve been working on and the operations of the organization. She asked what does an Interim/Transitional Role look like? She wants to know what the future looks like for the Sierra Manor Road property. She asked if the Town and MLH were utilizing all of our resources in a collaborative and efficient manner? She liked the transitional plan scope that was proposed by the Raffa firm.

Donna Mercer explained that she liked the proposal from the Forest Group. She explained that we are in a time crunch, and hiring a search firm is expensive, and we have a local person who already lives here and is willing to take it on.

There was staff direction to prepare a transition process staff report for the next meeting, to include appointing Patricia Robertson as Acting Executive Director, timing to hire a temporary staff person, and the status of contract negotiations with the Town.

VII. Review and possible adoption of the draft Mammoth Lakes Housing 2018-2019 Fiscal Year Operating Budget
The Board discussed the budget. Jiselle Kenny made a motion to adopt the Mammoth Lakes Housing 2018-2019 Fiscal Year Operating Budget. Zoraya Cruz seconded the motion. The motion passed 8-0.

VIII. Update on The Parcel, formerly known as the Shady Rest Parcel, for workforce housing owned by the Town of Mammoth Lakes – informational item
Sandra Moberly, Town of Mammoth Lakes Community & Economic Development Director stated that a team of Town staff are meeting weekly. Currently, hazardous trees are being removed from the site, which will be donated to IMACA for their Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program. She explained that more information will be available at the August 15th Town Council meeting.
Kirk Stapp asked for clarification on when the public would be able to comment. Sandra Moberly noted that the public communication plan would be available at the August 15th meeting and explain opportunities for public engagement. She also explained that the Town is working with the County to implement an online platform to more actively engage citizens.

IX. Board Member reports
Tom Hodges commented that we need solutions now. Some of the strategies that he is interested in are short-term rental conversation to long-term rentals and a downtown zoning district that incentivizes affordable housing.

Stacy Corless noted that the Board of Supervisors has been busy with budget workshops. The Board will decide where to allocate approximately $1-2 million in excess revenue through a new process. She agrees that we need housing solutions sooner rather than later.

John Wentworth noted that housing was a significant campaign issue. He advised the Board that there would be a new council representative allocated to work on the MLH-Town contract since Colin Fernie will no longer serve on the Town Council. He also noted that MLH should expect to receive a letter from the Town attorney regarding the Town’s opinion of the Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) certification that MLH currently has, which allows MLH to secure grant funding independently.

Kirk Stapp noted that he has been on the MLH-Town contract negotiations committee and will ask the Town attorney if there is an issue with this moving forward. He noted that ESTA has had a very difficult time recruiting a new Executive Director and that they are considering to promote from within.

Lindsay Barksdale asked if we could agendize a discussion of the Housing Action Plan. The Board will hold a workshop of the near-term action strategies at the July 2 meeting.

Donna Mercer asked for more information regarding funding levels for housing and Mammoth Lakes Housing over time. Staff will provide her with this information.

X. MLH Monthly Status Report
Jennifer Halferty reported that MLH is receiving a high volume of rental applications, and there are currently 70 households on the rental waiting list. Staff has processed two USDA home loan applications, and it’s great that the word is getting out about this program.

MLH sold a deed restricted one-bedroom unit at Meridian Court to a household earning below 80% of the area median income, utilizing down payment assistance funds from the BEGIN Revolving Fund Balance. During closing a new 60-year deed restriction was recorded, securing the affordability. Also through this sale, MLH repaid the Revolving Loan Fund to Mono County. Staff will provide an RLF update to the Board of Supervisors at their June 19 meeting.

The contract negotiations committee has met twice. MLH is waiting for the draft documents from the Town so that the MLH committee can meet and review.

Jennifer Halferty announced that she met with John Head on his Arch Cabins project which is proposed to take place in June Lake, providing new rental units in Mono County.

XI. Adjourn: the meeting was adjourned at 7:51 PM.