To the editor:Â
We co-chair the Egremont Housing Committee, which supports the Municipal Affordable Housing Trust on the May 2 Annual Town Meeting Warrant. We would like to explain why the Trust is essential to creating affordable housing in Egremont and to clarify some confusion about the issue.
The Trust will allow Egremont to respond in timely fashion when opportunities arise to create affordable housing, such as when a desirable property goes on the market. Currently, taking action would require approval at a town meeting, which is impractical. This is one of the principal reasons that over 100 Massachusetts municipalities have established these Trusts since the law recognizing them was passed in 2005.
The Trust will be managed by a five-member Board of Trustees appointed by the Select Board. The Trustees will be knowledgeable about banking, real estate, real estate law, residential development, or affordable housing. One member must be a member of the Select Board.
The Trust will be transparent and accountable to the public. It will be subject to the Open Meeting Law. Trust funds will be held by the Town Treasurer. The Trust will report regularly to the Select Board and be audited annually by an independent auditor.
The Trust is not a tax. It has no power to impose a tax, a surtax, or any other kind of mandatory fee. The Trust simply receives money and property from private donors and public funds such as grants. While it can also receive funds allocated by the Select Board, that would require separate approval at a Town Meeting, and there is no such request on the warrant.
The Trust will not build affordable housing. Construct Inc., Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity, CDC of South Berkshires, and others actually build affordable housing. The Trust will work with organizations like these, not duplicate their work.
The Trust is not the Community Preservation Act (CPA). The CPA is not on the warrant, either in connection with the Trust or anywhere else on the warrant.
The warrant, a summary of the warrant articles pertaining to the Trust, and a detailed Q&A appear on the Housing Committee section of the Egremont website.
Affordable housing is essential to the future of Egremont. We urge your support for the Trust on Tuesday, May 2 at 6 p.m. at the Catamount Base Lodge, Hillsdale Road, South Egremont.
Doug Mishkin
Judi Goodman
Egremont
The writers are co-chairs of the Egremont Housing Committee.
