The Municipal Affordable Housing Trust, which is appointed by the selectmen but has operated independently of them, is now closer to becoming a selectmen-controlled board. At their meeting this week, the selectmen voted to appoint board Chairman Ron Ricci and Selectwoman Lucy Wallace to fill two vacancies on the trust. Selectman Leo Blair is already a trust member.
Before the vote, Blair told his fellow board members that it was time to take action on a goal he felt strongly about and had brought up before: seating more selectmen on the seven-member housing trust, as many as all five of them, in fact. “I think this board can and should take on a greater role,” he said.
“We’re approaching a time when we’ll achieve our 10 percent affordable housing goal,” Blair said, referring to state law Chapter 40B, which established that percentage as an affordable housing benchmark for municipalities.
In that light, Blair envisioned “some kind of affordable housing” as part of the Hildreth House renovation and expansion project, he said. That could be “transformative” for the town, he said, addressing seniors’ needs while perhaps helping to pay for the project’s second phase.
Blair has argued in previous meetings that selectmens’ clout is key if that is to happen and that the board should end its existing policy that limited their participation on the trust to one selectman. At their Oct. 20 meeting, they voted to lift the restriction.
The new rule sets no limit on the number of selectmen who can serve on the trust, although MAHT Chairman Bruce Nickerson, who was present at the earlier meeting, had cautioned against creating an all-selectmen roster. Wallace, a founding and former trust member, sided with Nickerson on that point. Blair countered that he was not advocating for an all-selectman MAHT, only that board members step up to fill vacancies, up to the point that they are all trust members.
Wallace, Ricci first to join
This week, Wallace agreed to serve on the trust and spoke up for her own nomination. “I’ve been involved in this effort before,” she said. “I’d like to see it through.” Underscoring the potential Hildreth House connection, Wallace pointed out that she is also the selectmen’s liaison to the Council on Aging.
Blair nominated Ken Swanton, who also expressed strong interest in serving on the trust and in promoting its role in the Hildreth House project. Given that the selectmen had already appointed Ricci to fill one of the two MAHT vacancies, however, Swanton ceded his bid for the seat to Wallace. “I’ll wait for the next vacancy,” he said.
Blair concurred. “I think it’s important that Lucy be on the trust,” he said. The board then voted unanimously to appoint Wallace.
