North Adams Housing Program Transferred to City
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A 25-year-old affordable housing program has been transferred to the city's control — but not without opposition from its chairman.
The long planned transfer of Housing Opportunities Inc. has been in the works for over three years but was abruptly tabled last month by Chairman Christopher Tremblay had. However, during Monday's meeting, other board members overrode him to dissolve the program and transfer its assets to the city on a 3-1 vote.
Tremblay brought up lingering concerns he had via telephone during the meeting at the North Adams Housing Authority meeting room at 150 Ashland St., saying he felt that that HOI still may have a purpose in the city. He said its assets sit on desirable land and it could hire administration and can seek funding to further its mission.
"I have a lot of questions and a lot of concerns, and I think this program could be administered and could be brought back to what its intent and original function was," Tremblay said. "This could be put back to use, and it is clear that we have a need in our community for low income and affordable housing opportunities."
HOI, established in 1988, has shared a board of directors and administrative staff with the Housing Authority.
Executive Director Jennifer Hohn said the Housing Authority cannot use staff funded by U.S. Housing and Urban Development to run HOI anymore. She said this may have been OK in the past, but HUD does not approve of the arrangement. Also, it would not be possible to hire staff with the funds HOI has.
Hohn questioned Tremblay's change of heart and said she thought he had been on board with the dissolution for the past few years. Just a year ago, Tremblay had agreed to the transfer because the program was unsustainable.
Hohn added that the program largely was a failure.
"We have one mortgage that is actually in good standing and apparently there was a component of this program that didn't work," Hohn said. "There is no educational component for first-time homebuyers, and we put a bunch of people in houses who were not ready to be homeowners. They didn't pay their mortgages — bottom line this is a failed program."
Hohn added that the Housing Authority does not have the resources to continue the program and the city can use the property for block grant purposes, go through the public bidding process, and liquidate the unneeded property.
Tremblay said he did not know of the specific agreement HOI had with the city. He added that he was concerned about where the money was actually going and said he never saw any documents from HUD urging the Housing Authority to dissolve HOI.
Hohn responded that the property can only be used for block grant purposes and some of the properties have no structures on them and cannot be used by first-time homeowners.
Tremblay also felt that Mayor Richard Alcombright pressured the board into making decisions, specifically in regard to a vacant River Street property owned by HOI that the North Adams Ambulance Service had been interested in.
The board did vote in February to accept $12,000 from the ambulance service for the lot, which was assessed at $36,000. However, an abuttor, who had previously no issue with the sale, and his close relative contacted the board and the mayor's office in June indicating that they wanted to protect the property and would take legal action.
Tremblay felt that Housing Authority attorney Stephen Narey and Hohn took directions from the mayor and noted that he had an email from the mayor asking them not to sell.
"I am very disappointed that we are being bullied into a position that we shouldn't have to take," Trembley said.
Narey denied the claim and said his only meeting with the mayor was about the initial contradictory complaint by the abutter who was concerned using the land for parking would bring blight to the neighborhood.
In June, a board member asked to rescind his vote because of a possible conflict of interest. This culminated in the withdrawal of the sale.
Robert R. Moulton Jr., representing the ambulance service, spoke at the meeting and said all abutters were clearly notified and he is ready to take legal action because the board did not honor the sale.
"To say that the North Adams Ambulance Service is going to contribute to the blight and that is why their neighbors don't want it is a bunch of bunk," Moulton said. "To say the abutters were not notified is a bunch of bunk ... anyone that doubts that will take a lie detectors test."
Hohn said HOI supported selling the land to the ambulance but there were concerns over the legal ramifications of selling it under false pretenses and under assessed value when the abutters were willing to pay more. She said legal action could slow down the dissolving of HOI.
Narey said now that HOI has dissolved, the case will go to the attorney general and if denied, the application will have to be revised. If approved, the transfer will go to the state Supreme Judicial Court for a final ruling.
In the past year, Nary's firm has joined with that of City Solicitor John DeRosa and it will have to be determined if his involvement in the process from this point on will be a conflict of interest. If this is the case, either DeRosa or Nary will be replaced by an independent attorney.
Tremblay also asked about three unpaid mortgages of HOI properties.
Hohn said the city's Community Development Office is working with the individuals involved and trying to restructure payments in order to keep them in their homes.
"We are supposed to make every effort to try to keep someone in their home and not to make them homeless," she said.
She added that much of the information is personal and should not be discussed at a public meeting.
She noted going for foreclosure could drastically increase the amount of time it would take to dissolve HOI and would be expensive.
Tags: affordable housing, Housing Authority,
