Affordable Housing Commission - Regular Meeting

All right. So, well, why don't we just go ahead and get started now? We've got um we've got Sean and we've got uh Lori. Lori, um I'm going to seat you as a voting member, so we can get started here and myself and we've got Jim back online, Jim Cto. And we have a guest, George Frampton, uh online as well. Um are there any other people present? Okay. All right. So, hearing them, we'll do that. So, uh the first thing I would like to do, well, this is going to be a little bit tricky. Um so, the first thing we need to do is uh the approval of the minutes from um from March. However, uh I think only Amy and I, I mean, um Lori Lori and I were there cuz Jim, I don't think you were there last month. That's correct. Yeah. Let me just let me just um pull up Okay. Well, let me do let me do two things then. one is um I'll just go ahead and um with Lori, myself, Jim, and Sean um being present, we will go ahead and I'll make a motion to approve the minutes from the March 2025 meeting. Are there any um Oh, first make a motion. Is that if somebody can second it? Lori, you're probably going to be the only one that can second it. I second. Uh all in favor say I.

I. Okay. Any opposed? [Music] Abstain. Let me Sean and Jim. I don't I didn't Am I seated or am I not seated? Oh, yes, Sean. I forgot that you're not um Yes, Sean. I'm I'm sorry. Yes, Sean and Lori are both seated as regular members for this meeting. Okay, I approve. Okay. Um really nothing too controversial. Um we'll go to uh just some general updates. Um the really only thing that's happened in the interim there's you know a few things going on with um McKimmick um with I'm sorry with Mccullik and um the engineers and Fred have really made a lot of headway with uh uh getting the deed uh and the the lots split up. So, the two lots and Sean I can catch you up and and catch Sheila up as well on this um separately, but the two lots on McCullik are um now being separated so that we can then title them over and uh to Habitat for Humanity. The memorandum of un of understanding, theou um has been sent to Habitat um from um the board of selectmen and that's all in hand. Uh there's no issue there. Um we're really just now waiting on getting the zoning and planning um um ZBA approval for the road frontage. So there's no issue with there and there's um don't seem to be any obstacles in our way for getting that accomplished in the

next uh month in this month of April rather and then handing that over to Habitat um for their development. Um, uh, Habitat did, uh, the executive director, Sarah Leler, uh, she did say, um, you know, now's the time we need to start fundraising to start, you know, generating some interest and some funds for the build actual part of the project, which is the heavy lift, you know, on that. Um, although it's been almost a year that we've been working on this, over a year now that we've been working on the McCullik properties. Um, Michael Foglaniano and Fred have done a great job on getting everything squared away with zoning and planning. So, um, once that is done this, uh, I think the, uh, third Thursday in April. So, once that's done, then we will be on our way to handing that over to Habitat. Um, but like we have always said, the hard part is really generating the funds to actually build the houses on those those two lots. Um, so we get through all the, you know, ins and outs of zoning and planning and stuff and all that, permits and fees and stuff like that. um perk test and engineering um which uh the guys have done a great job at but now we really need to kind of come up with a plan for how we can help Habitat. It's not it's not going to be our job but um but we want to be able to help Habitat with how to raise the funds for the properties themselves or for the builds themselves. Um and typically those are you know about um you know 150,000 200 200,000 each. Um so um it's it's not an easy task. Um but we want to um we want

to help them out as much as we can. So any um any uh helpful information, any ideas about how you want to start doing that? Um, possibly what we had talked about before was having a like a subcommittee or a sub, you know, um, not necessarily made up of our commission members, but somebody on our commission taking the taking the lead basically on creating kind of a a subcommittee, if you will, to help generate interest in funding the um or providing support rather for Habitat to uh to build these houses. So, I don't know if there's any um feedback on that. Anything that you want to talk about there, Jen, what would be in your mind the expectation that this committee would help raise? Is there a certain dollar amount? Um well, when I when I um think about my time at Habitat, I would say it's, you know, it's basically for the two houses and in that location, um we're talking about a 14 to maybe 1,600 square foot house. So, it's not it's not a large house, but but it should it should at least uh have a family of four or something like that, you know, or four or five. And and so um accommodate a family of four or five. So, what we would be looking at is probably about $250,000. No, I gather in my head. But like in your expectation like Habitat, you know, to for us to show that we're helping them like what percentage of like the total cost do you think like like maybe 50,000 a house? Like I'm just trying to figure out what like our goal would be for this committee. I know it's not our job to find help them find money, but it it'd be helpful. Yeah. Um let me let me

talk to Sarah about that. That's a good point, Sean. I'll um I'll see if I can get from Sarah what her in instinct is on on that. Um yeah. So, let me get back to the commission on that for sure. I' I'd say somewhere north of 50,000 for sure per house. So, yeah. So, I'm thinking around around a hundred, good point. So, I I'll talk to Sarah about that and I will um send out an email to everybody. Um anything else on the McCullik properties? Any questions or anything that I may be able to provide? Uh Fred is is the expert on the McCullik properties, but um anything else on those? I had a question, but I'm going to save it till Fred is back. I'm just trying to Okay. Uh I know we've come a long way. I'm just trying to figure out what the next the next timeline might look like. So Gotcha. Yeah. Okay, Jim. Um that um Yep. And so similar on the um engineering uh work that's going on also for the two other properties on Kimick. Um so so those um are underway. There's not really too many issues um there yet. Um the um once uh Metaf and his crew have uh finished up with McCullik, they're going to move over to the Kimick property and start work there. That funding is already approved for them. Um so we will see from there. Um I don't really have any further information on the chemic properties. Yep. Okay. Any qu any questions on that? Jim, anything else further that you know?

No, not at this time. I have a meeting to follow up with this and I have not, but I would like to. Yeah, no problem. No problem. Um so so then um we did have um an opportunity has come up in Rogers Lake area which is a um I don't know if you all remember and Sean was probably new to you but the um when Fred and I went out and we surveyed all of the town-owned properties that were um um well town owned properties um that were vacant. Um there were many many in Rogers Lake, but they were very they were like under 0.1 acres. They were very small like scissors of lots, triangular, you know, little parking areas or something like that. Um one of the properties um that we looked at was10 acre and it is a little slice of a lot. Um they believe that the um it's 18 uh I don't have really top of my head right now um but it's it's um just off of the when you turn into Rogers Lake it's just up there on the left and um the ab budding neighbor would like to purchase it from the town and so um the Martha and the board of selectman were asking should um they sell it to this person or do we want to try and convert it into something uh that affordable housing could use. And so Fred and I's um Fred and I's opinion on that um to let everybody know is just that it's too small of a lot and it's too um close to a budding neighbors basically to build a proper house on um or any kind of a house on. Um the neighbor basically wants it just so that he doesn't have a

a budding neighbor. So, so um um and so we our opinion is that we would uh let the town sell it to um this person that wants to buy it. And so I just wanted to get the commission's uh thought on on that. It's um it's a very small parcel of land. It's a triangular lot and um it would be very difficult in our opinion to put a house on. Not like, you know, not like Kimick or or or Mccullik for sure. Any thoughts on that, Jen? Because I would agree that um if we don't have like 0.25 acre, which is about 10,000 square feet, I think it would be hard to put a structure on it. So, I agree with you and Fred. Thanks, Lori. Sean, you were going to say So, I agree with both of you, but could we add a little twist to it? And since it's open space that possibly could have been available to us, the money that they received for selling it to the neighbor, could we put that into a fund for affordable housing to use for a different project? That's great. Is there a great a great point? Jim, were you going to say something? I concur with both of these ideas. Yeah, I I I don't think uh putting, you know, that much horsepower into a house that would probably be extremely small, if at all, is worth worthwhile. So, like a like a s one single unit is is a it's a lot of horsepower to get to get one. So, yeah, I I agree with with both. Yes. Okay, great. And I'm sorry, did somebody else um join since I've been talking? It's it's Amy. Sorry. Oh, hey. Oh, hey Amy. Awesome. Thank you. Yeah. Sorry they couldn't get you the information in

a quicker quicker time frame. Um, right. That's all right. Um, so, so Amy, um, just to catch you up, we've got, uh, Lori and Sean and Jim, myself, and, um, we have a guest also, um, George Frampton also on online with us. And, uh, Fred and Anthony are unavailable today. Okay. All right. Um, so that's a great um, great point, Sean. Um, let me call um Martha tomorrow and see if I can um um put that in her wheelhouse and we'll see if we can um make something happen like that. That's a great idea. Didn't think of that. We um in fact one of the things um that the commission has been often thinking about we've discussed this in the past is is do we have a like do we have a fund so that you know number one we're not an LLC you know wasn't it's not like we were the uh old lime housing commission way back in or a few you know this is maybe 10 years ago so it's not that we don't have an LLC we don't have a um a a commission that actually has a you know money that we take in. Um but one of the things that we were trying to do was actually see if um like much like open space and uh the Lime Land Trust does is that when a property is sold um in Old Lime or approved rather for uh zoning for housing and things like that that they set aside either money or space for open space. And uh one of our positions has been that on in those

instances rather than or rather or in in addition to open space that um we could actually set aside some of that money or funds for affordable housing. So let's just say there's a 9 development going in on Buttonball Road, which you we know there is, but but let's just say there is that happening. um rather than having a $100,000 set aside for open space in that area, the developer would have to set or would be required to set aside some funding for affordable housing, be it there or elsewhere in town. Um so we've we've talked about that for a long time. it's not been included in zoning um or planning, but that is one of the things that I know that Michael Foglaniano is very interested in as um as he's on zoning and while zoning is going through the a rewrite of the entire zoning um regulations uh now, which they've just started um that that's something that we could potentially include in there. So, Sean, I think that would fit right in with this idea. All right. So, I'll I I will take that action item then and get back to um Martha and also um zoning to um to see if we can make that happen. Um but otherwise, um I think we're all in agreement that that particular piece of property is just too small to be worthwhile to try to build an affordable housing unit on. And I'm sure although I have not confirmed that um that habitat would say the same thing. Okay. So I don't think we need a motion on anything of that. I'll just I'll just take that action item to get back to the commission on

that. Okay. So let's um move on from there. um on any other project updates. Um Jim, do you have any project updates on anything that you've been working on with Fred? Not at this time. Okay. All right. I mean, everything looks like it's moving along as good as it can be and um and uh there's been no hiccups. Um everything looks like it's going forward to zoning and planning uh zoning board of appeals for the road frontage. Um and and that will be done in April and we can look forward to probably a May or June probably June transfer to uh to Habitat for the Mullik property. Uh any questions on the Mccullik properties or Kimick? No. Okay. Awesome. All right. So, as far as development opportunities, um, so we we just talked, we kind of merged that in with our conversation there, but, um, so as far as development opportunities go, um, one of the things, um, for, um, Sean and George's information, one of the things we try to do is look at the tax roles and things like that to try to find, um, try to find properties that, um, that the town owns or the town is about to acquire, foreclosures, things like that that we could then possibly use and um and transfer over to use as affordable housing. Um one of the ways that we try to do that besides going through the tax rules um which uh the current tax u collector uh Suzanne Thompson, she's been very helpful in generating those uh that data for us. Um so that's been really really helpful. Um but one of the other things that we need to do is um once we identify those

properties such as this uh property in Rogers Lake is to actually be able to do something with it. So we either have to acquire it, we have to get a builder for it or we have to get somebody to a lender or developer to do something with it. And so that's one of the things that um we are looking for funding for is to acquire some of these properties. And one of the avenues to do that is the small cities community development block grant. So it's SCC CDBG. And so the small cities community development block grant is something that comes up every year in the state of Connecticut. It's uh federally funded by HUD and um now to the Department of Housing for State of Connecticut. Um this year's um grant for the state of Connecticut is $13 million which is distributed to cities that are under 50,000 people uh residents rather and of course we qualify as one of those cities but we're very very small compared to some of the ones that are like 30,000 people like New London uh you know or things like that. So, it's a very competitive grant. Um, and as the those of you who know that we were on the call last year when we did this, the timing is very very short and the project has to be very very very clearly identified, extremely clarifi extremely clear and um and specific. So last year we were unsuccessful in getting a grant and um we basically were asking for an amount of money just to speculatively buy some property um uh land because you can you can acquire real property with this grant. Um and then speculatively then assuming that we would have somebody that would speculatively build affordable housing

on it. So there's a lot of speculation. Um so this year um what I would like to do is to file a very um very specific um uh specific and determined application if we are going to apply for it because it is a lot of work. I I think I spent like three weeks of my life last year doing this but uh so so um I would like to to really figure out if we could or should um file an application with them. um for but we would we need to have a very specific purpose for this application. It can't just be we're going to try to buy some land somewhere at some point in some time, you know. So, it needs to be very much uh more specific than that. And this grant can be used for a variety of things. It's um it's actually a very very um uh broad uh categories of things. The only thing that it cannot be used for is to build a house. So you cannot use it to build a house. You can use it to rebuild a house. You can use it to purchase property, the land on which to build a house, but you cannot use it to build a new house. So um it's kind of weird in that framework, but you can also use it for sidewalks, uh lighting, sewers, um you can use it for a variety of things. So, I've actually spoken with um Frank Paparaldo from the Sound View Commission and um see if there's any interest there in joining a um application together to actually um look for some funding. Um so, we'll see how that goes. That was just a a um side conversation I had with him to see if there was any interest there. um because the town of Old Lime

has actually never successfully applied for this grant ever in its history. So um last year was our first application. It was kind of a mess. This year I'm going to still apply for it because I'm determined. But um uh so but I think that this commission could come up with a really good idea for how to um how to use uh some funding from the state to enhance, you know, and uh move our u move our purposes forward, whether it be I think the uh site planning for uh Kimick or something else u or the funding like I said for um for Habitat to help help them out. Um, so I don't know. I'm just throwing it out there if there's any ideas. Um, we need to have a very very specific dedicated mission here to get this funding. Um, and it's really kind of by the end of April that we need to do this. It's due the end of April. Um, the the intent to file is April 29th. the um actual um the actual 150 page document is not due till June 6th, but um like I could tell you I was last year at 11:59 p.m. emailing them stuff. Um so it really needs to be done in May for sure. Um but the intent to file is due April 29th. The actual application is not due, I would say, until May or end of May rather. Jen, this is a question. Go ahead, Sean. Sorry. Um, being on that training with you on Monday. Um, and last year you applied for money just to acquire property, but we didn't have any property cited. Um, unless we and we can't use it. I don't think we could use

it to give money to Habitat for Humanity because that would be towards building the house. Um, unless we have a a piece of land that we are looking to acquire, I I know you really want to apply, but I'm not sure we're ready because I don't know of any. And we have to have, you know, two hearings with the um the community to make sure that they're in support. And you know the intent I mean we could file the intent but the intent in intent would be very vague until we have until I guess until like June to find that property. But unless we find a property, I'm not sure I would put my efforts into doing the grant this year. I would put efforts into finding a land owner willing to work with us knowing it would take time to acquire that land to do affordable housing. Yeah, that's a very good point, Sean. Um, and and what we ran into for sure last last year was we had our eyes on some properties, but the owners, you know, were not on board. So, so I think that's that's absolutely correct. And George, you were going to say something. I'm sorry I cut you off. Well, I wonder whether the the money can be used for something that I mean, if it's so competitive and we don't have a a very specific attractive property, could be used for something a little creative that gets the attention of the of the uh people who judge it. For example, uh create a fund uh the money that would be used to uh purchase and flip one or two houses

um that came up for sale and turn them into um deed restricted housing. So, you take a a market-based property and for a fraction 15 or 20% or less of the fair market value, uh, in effect subsidize the sale to somebody at market, but it would become a affordable affordable or even a local resident, town employee or deed restricted. And that kind of thing has to always has to be pretty uh you know uh quickly done. So u it would be easy to write a easier maybe 150 pages to write a description of of such a fund small fund and wouldn't take a lot of time and would have a low chance of getting funded but is you know would look so different that they might take a shot at it or something like that. Mhm. Mhm. Isn't that what you did last year, Jen? Yeah, we took a took it Well, we took a shot at it. And uh Yeah, it was a shot in the dark, but they they they want you to specifically tell them an address. Yeah. So, they won't let you and and it makes sense, George. Like, we don't know. And it happens quickly and we need a fund. So, our problem is we don't have a fund and that grant won't cover starting a fund. Yeah. Yeah. And and I think Yeah. And and um so the we had so many um great ideas from this uh team uh last year for ideas, but they were just ideas and they weren't something concrete. And the um the nature of this grant and these are professional people doing this. though the the nature of this grant is that they want your exact address, your exact

they want engineer plans, they want site plans, they want sewer plans, you know, they they want all of this upfront, but yet you don't have the money to do that because you don't have the money to do that. So, and then actually the funds are not released. Uh let's just say we were uh to be successful in in getting this grant, the money is not released until November. So, so, uh, you actually don't get the money until November. So, Sydney, so it's it's just, um, even if we said, okay, at, uh, uh, my old house was 125 Shore Road, so 125 Shore Road, we need to rehab that place and we need to, you know, build this and that, and we're going to deed restrict it for 15 years. It's all good. Well, you're not getting the money until November of this year, even though you already have to have to have the plumbing work done today, you know? So it's so it's a it's a conundrum for sure. So u so so what we had thought last year was that the way to uh go with this is the acquisition of real property rather than the rehabilitation of an existing house or property that the landlord may or may not want to be deed restricted for 15 to 20 years. So, um, so anyhow, that's those are the two things that we had, um, thought about. And so um whether or not we can you know get a deedrestricted property uh acquired with this fund, we would have to actually identify that property now like in April in order to actually um put it on the books and then we would have to have a developer develop it into affordable housing after that. So that's that's kind of the where we are with that. Um, so and welcome Sheila. I I see you've joined them. Um, very nice to

meet you. Um, so thank you. Very nice to meet you as well. I I thought I must have misunderstood. I thought that the rest of us were meeting in person. So I'm sitting in this nice conference room with an echo. How did you get in the building? All their other meetings. I went all the way down to the end door. And so if I go out of camera, it's just me switching to my phone and I'm headed back home. But I'm going to stay put for now. No. Um there were several people trying to get into the building uh this evening and they waited till well after five o'clock and they couldn't get in. So they uh so we're now all remote. So Oh, bummer. And this this did start at 5:30 though, correct? No, five five o'clock. I'm really sorry. I'll get it together. I promise. Well, you're lucky because you got in the building, so that's cool. I mean, maybe. That's okay. Well, welcome. My apologies. Thank you very much. No worries. No worries at all. No worries at all. I'll I'll catch you up. Maybe we can talk tomorrow. No problem. Um so, okay. So, that's So, that's good. So, that on So, on on that, then what Sean and I will do is um is um try to try to figure out if there's an clear path basically for applying for this uh small cities grant. Um uh one of the requirements just to back up a few steps is that there is a mandatory training and it just so happened that Sean and I happened to get um get into this training um and it uh was yet it was uh the other day Monday. Um and so you have to if you don't go if a representative from the town does not attend the training the town is actually ineligible to apply for any grant whatsoever um for this small cities grant. So um it's a series of mandatory steps that the department of housing of

Connecticut has to take or does take. And so one is the mandatory training. The second is the intent to file um which is a simple form um that I will do whether or not we do intend or not to a file would I will do that. And then the uh then the third thing is that you have to have a certified um that they call it a certification process and that doesn't happen until actually September and October of every year. So, you can only be certified in September and October, but the grants are handed out in June on June 6th. So, um it's just a little bit of a backwards process um for me to um to figure it out, but um but uh nevertheless, I did I did get certified last year. Um so I am certified um but I'm the only one certified in the town of Old to do that. And so that the so then what what what will entail is that any grant that this town of old line wants to apply for under this small cities community development block grant SC CDBG um would have to basically come from myself and um and so now Sean is actually also trained so now Sean can do that as well. Um but but we need to be very very clear on what we're asking for. Um and you know my position um for the town of Old Lime is that although I'm on the affordable housing commission that this grant could actually be used for other things as well. It doesn't have to be used for housing. So, um, so that's why I was in touch with Frank, um, you know, as far as Sound View goes and, um, the issues down there around sewers and septic and sidewalks and lighting and

park benches and Halls Road and things like that. Not nothing to do with the overlay, but um, just other things that, you know, these funds could be used for other things as well. Uh so what I was thinking was that I would just um ask uh their commissions if they were interested in also applying for this as a joint sort of effort for the town of Old Lime, not necessarily for housing, but for the town of Old Lime. And what what do you guys think? Well, I think it would go good with the sewer projects. Yeah. Jen, um if I can clarify, I have a question. Sure. Um the you mentioned sidewalks. Um I'm not going to get into the details right now, but there is an area in our town that people walk on all the time. It's not safe uh for kids who walk on it or for the public. And it's something I wanted to bring up in the future. Um, not not in the affordable housing forum, but uh to Martha, is this grant applicable to sidewalks that are not associated with a housing plan or, you know, an affordable housing project? 100%. Yes. Okay. I'll limit my comments here then and I'll talk to you about this another time. Okay. Thanks. Yep. And um like I said, I'll I'll I'll file the intent to file um uh next week. Um so we we at least get our foot in the door. The door's not closed, so we you know, we're in there. And then but if the commission here has any other specific ideas that we could utilize

those funds for um or potential funds for um then let's definitely we definitely have to discuss that at the May meeting. that has to be solid on during the May meeting. So um so anything you can come up with um between now and then. Not saying like you know we we don't want to waste the funds obviously but um we definitely want to take advantage of what you know the state of Connecticut is providing already and then the department of housing and the uh HUD uh federal funds have have provided. And um you know, one of the things that annoys me is that that the funds are there. Just nobody has taken advantage of them. So, so um let's just get on it. It's just going to be paperwork and we just have to have a great use for it, purposeful use, you know, for it and uh um we could potentially do some good for the town. So, that's uh that's where I'm at on it. Hi, Jen. It's Lori. Just two questions and clarifications. one, I remember we talked about um the town having a grant writer like maybe a year ago. Did anything come of that so that you don't have to spend so much time? Uh absolutely not. Good point. Um but so there is a um potential grant writer that I believe zoning is utilizing um but that person has not been approved or has not gotten funded at all. Um and it's it's very good. Um one of the things that um is uh uh evident to me is that all of the grant writers that I've encountered so far um be it from Rivercog or otherwise um their fund their payment is from a successful grant application. So if they if they write a very good and and if they're successful

in getting a grant, they actually can get up to in this case for the uh small city's CDBG grant um 8% of the funding. So it's a lucrative business if you can do it. Um but uh that's it's a commission like if successful commission basis. So it's you know so if you don't get the grant you don't get any money. If you do get the grant, you get 8% of the grant, you know, so or up to um in this case up to this uh 8%. Or I think it's up to $30,000, something like that. But so it it's a lucrative uh business if you are very good at it. Um but uh but you have to be successful. If you're not successful, you don't get anything. Yeah. My second question was just that you and Sean attended a meeting on Monday and is he um able to help write grants or what was the meeting for on Monday? The training. Oh, so this was so this was um the mandatory training for the small cities community development block grant. So the SCCDBG grant um you must attend this mandatory workshop. It's it's not really training. It's a work, they call it a workshop. There's like 20 presenters in four hours that present things. Um it's the same as last year. Um almost the exact same slides were used as last year. Same thing. So um but the Department of Housing from State of Connecticut puts that on. And if you don't register and attend that, you are ineligible to apply for a grant from the state of Connecticut or or for this grant. for this grant from the state of Connecticut. So, it's a Thank you for attending. Yeah. Yeah. It's a Yeah. And I roped Sean into it. And so, but we uh we just

have to have coverage, you know. So, I need more than me, you know. Um so, we just have to have some backup on the team for uh for making sure that that uh you know, if people roll off like Michael rolled off. So, you know, we just have to have coverage for those kinds of things. Um si similar issue that I'll bring up just now. Um along those same lines, um uh Lori is that uh Rivercog um is also a membership based um so it's the River Cog. So it's River Community of Governments, Council of Governments rather. So, Rivercog, it's called um RCOG and the housing subcommittee of River Cog um has a representative and an alternate from Old Lime. And right now, our representative is Michael Foglaniano, but of course, he's now resigned. So, um we we are now going to need to select a new member uh for Rivercog and an alternate for Rivercog um for the housing committee um on Rivercog. And so I attended the meeting last week um with Michael. We're it's all it's all remote so all Zoom. And so we attended the meeting uh last week. Um but it's up to I believe Martha um to um uh Schumacar to uh appoint somebody to Rivercog um to the housing commission. Um and in the past like I said it's been um Michael Foglaniano. I am fully capable of attending those meetings. I know the people there and that kind of stuff from Habitat etc. But um but if there's anybody else on the commission that is interested in um joining that either as a representative or as an alternate um if you could let me know that would be that would be great. It's only like once um maybe sometimes twice a month but usually only

once a month. They gave a lot of great information about like the state legislature bills, things that are happening at the state um department of housing, that kind of stuff. Not all of it pertains to us as far as old lime goes, but a lot of it is very informative and um and you know, it's just kind of good to get a steer in that direction on what the state is planning on doing or what other towns in our area. Um, Riverco, they're basically out of Essex, so it covers kind of southeastern Connecticut, I think 16 towns, uh, in our area. So, um, so it's very pertinent to us, you know, as a as a town of Obine. And, um, and I believe that Lime has a representative on it from, uh, their selectman's office as well. What time of day is that? Is that in the evening during the day? Uh, no, it's during the day. Yeah, it's um, yeah, unfortunately, Sean, it's it's um, you know, it's kind of like midday, I would say. It was like 10 to 10 to 12, something like that. Yeah. Yeah. So, for working people, it's kind of I'm sorry. Go ahead. I'm sorry. I cut somebody off. It's It's Amy. Um Michael and I went um and and dealt with them several years ago and they were really helpful and great. Yeah. So, super super knowledgeable experts in housing specifically. They do have some. Yeah. Amy, would you be interested in being an alternate on that? Sure. Okay. I think that would be I think that would be valuable um with all your

background as well. So, um, so let let me, um, see if I can get that through and I'll I'll contact Martha about I'll add that to my Martha list for for talking to her tomorrow. So, it'll be good. Very good. Okay, cool. Um, any other conversation on anything to do with that as far as development um, projects go or state of Connecticut issues? No. Okay. Is there has anybody received any correspondence or um new business that they want to discuss? Okay. Well, I'm going to um back up just a a wee bit and um say very much welcome Sheila and Sean to our team. Um we haven't met before and so um and I want to thank George for being here as well as our guest. And um but I think that uh the commission is really looking forward we're such a small group so it's only a few of us so um we're such a small group so I um want to make sure that um we all engage with each other in an open manner and make sure that you know nobody's going to challenge anybody here. It's just going to be completely open and uh we have to do what's best for the town of Old Lime and to progress uh our our mission basically to create a diversity of housing in Old Lime and make sure that that is accessible for people. um if you haven't already um been able to um partake on our website which uh Fred and I will be updating um but um in probably in the next like 3 weeks I would say but um if you haven't seen it we have our um

POCD plan which is on the website and uh that has to be updated every 5 years and next year that'll be coming up again as our another renewal. It's required by the state of Connecticut that we have a uh housing plan and um that is on our website. It's it was a lot of work to put that together. Um, and if you could take a look at that and give me feedback on that, I want to start um trying to um understand where we need to update that um for the town of Old Lime um going forward because uh when we put that together years ago, it was a rush. It was a huge uh you know rush job. We had a consultant. We had you know kind of fancy graphics and all that. But um we probably won't have that this time. So I want to be able to um make sure that we put our thought into it and the whole commission that we've been working with for the last five years to put our thought into this new plan or the revision of the plan basically. I don't think we need to update it tremendously, but I do it does have to be updated. So um so we'll get new numbers and stuff like that from the state as to what our housing population is, uh what our demographics are going forward. Um for the background of the uh the folks on the call um our our uh AMI which uh area median income our AMI is in the uh 85,000 and north uh area. So that is um actually one of the highest in uh in the south southeast outside of Westchester and and um and the southern Connecticut area. So we have a very high AMI.

However, the need for housing in Old Lime is in the 40 to 60% AMI range. So we like everybody cites these numbers that oh 80% AMI for I think I saw on a website a couple days ago oh firefighters and the teachers and that kind of stuff. There are 80% AMI. Um our need in Old Lime is the 40 to 60% range. So there is a population in Old Lime that is really struggling to uh to and they're paying over 50% of their income to afford to live here um in a house. So um so our need is in the 40 to 60% AMI range. We're we are not necessarily trying to build homes or provide accommodations for people making $87,000 a year. which is 80% of AMA. Um we we want to actually target us that other population that is looked over and that's in the lower the lower range of AMI. Um so it's not necessarily a mission affordable housing, you can call it what you want, single starter homes or family starter homes or uh things like that. It's um affordable housing really to me means you know making it that someone in that range in our need 40 to 60% of AMI um can actually afford to live in old lime um on a you know on a good basis. So um you know that's just my opinion that's not that's not our mission. Our mission is still to be uh you know affordable housing by the state guidelines and the federal guidelines means 80% of AMI. Um but the need in old lime clearly is in the lower ranges of

that and I would say in New London County that is actually the range too not just old lime. So my my rant for the day. So George, you're on mute if you wanted to say. Sorry. No, that's that's that's very that's very useful. I mean, as the 2022 housing plan says, has less than 2% affordable housing and hasn't created any for more than 20 years. So that's a pretty big challenge for a community that wants not to go downhill. Yeah, we're at one we were at 1.6% back then. Um we are lower than that now because of COVID because a lot of people snapped up properties um during COVID. So uh so we are below 1.6% now for sure. [Music] Sean, you were going to say something? No, I I sent you a text with an idea for the grant that you can look at after the meeting. Okay, awesome. Thank you. Okay, well so that that um brings us to um really any other new business. Is there anything anybody else wants to talk about? Okay, hearing none. Um could um our next meeting will be on May 7th. Hold on, Jen. Jen Sheila has Sheila had her hand up, but you can see I'm sorry I didn't see you. No, no, no, no. That's okay. I um I don't use Teams a whole lot so I'm just clicking things. Um it's not really new business. I just uh again everyone I apologize for getting the time mixed up. Um however, is there anything that you need help with in securing that intent to file or is there anything that we can do because it

sounds like these things are a whole lot of work for you. Uh the intent to file is very straightforward. is just a a PDF form online. So that's no problem. The work is in putting together a package for what we're going to deliver and that will be I mean really we should be working on it now to identify not not just identify the project but actually get all the ducks in a row basically if you will. um the application being so large um includes information like um for in I'll give you for instance on how tedious this is um there were there was four probably four or five pages on what are the history of projects that the town of old lime has done before from the state of Connecticut money that that was used and how successful were they and when did you use the money so so it's a lot of stuff that doesn't have anything at all to do with us. It has to do with like the town of Old Lime and it's it's just a monotonous uh list of questions that have nothing to do with your project. It has to do with how successful has the town of old lime been in spending government money in the past. And give me an example or three examples of things that were done where the state of Connecticut gave you money and you spent it, you know, and you know, so I was trying like the Mile Creek Bridge. I'm like, you know, pulling my hair out trying to figure out like what projects, you know, but there's there wasn't um to to me there w there wasn't a person in Old Lime that knew any of that. You had like I had to go to the town clerk. I had to go to this the tax place. I had to go to the selectman's office, you know, to figure out like what projects did the town of Old Lime do in the past three years. So

I have no idea, you know, I only cuz I live on Mile Creek, so I know they built a mile creek bridge. So Right. So So there's all all kinds of little things like that that are um a peripheral information. I would say nothing to do with the project. It's all to do with how well is your town going to um abide by the rules and regulations of the money that we entrust you with? And it's it's all wellounded, you know. It's all wellounded, but we don't have a town manager. So there is no one in the town that you can go to that knows those things. So yeah. Okay. So So is there anything that we could be doing to be prepared for the May 7th meeting considering we may go forward with applying for the grant? Is it just looking? I I would only think if if um if Sheila if anybody on the commission has any um ideas about the um a specific plan or a specific development opportunity that those would be the only things, you know, otherwise I'm probably going to shift it over to Frank and Sound View and see if if he wants to get sewers and sidewalks done. Okay. All right. Thank you. Yeah, absolutely. Thanks for asking. All right. Uh, any anybody else have any questions? Okay. Well, look, can I have a motion to adjurnn? So, moved. Thank you, Sean. Second. Second. Thank you, Sheila. All right. And uh we will see everybody next uh month. And uh in the meantime, if you have any um further comments, just shoot them my way. Thanks, Jen. Hope to be there in person

next month. I will. I'll be there in person next month. I promise. All right. Thanks, guys. Everyone. All right. Thank you. Nice to meet you, Sean. And is this Lori? Nope. Sure. Okay.