Housing and Community Development Committee — Minutes, Jun 11, 2024

City of Somerville, Massachusetts City Council Housing and Community Development Committee Meeting Minutes 6:30 PM Tuesday, June 11, 2024 This meeting was held via Zoom and was called to order by Chair Strezo at 6:32pm and adjourned at 7:07pm with a roll call vote of 3 in favor (Councilors Clingan, Mbah, Strezo), none opposed, and none absent. Others Present: Miranda Rubin - Program Compliance Officer, Alan Inacio - Director of Finance and Community Development, Kimberly Hutter - Legislative Liaison, Madalyn Letellier - Legislative Services Manager Roll Call City Councilor At Large Kristen Strezo, City Councilor At Large Wilfred N. Mbah and Ward Four City Councilor Jesse Clingan Present: 1. Approval of the Minutes of the Housing and Community Development Committee Meeting of May 7th, 2024. Committee Minutes (ID # 24-0651) ACCEPTED RESULT: City Councilor At Large Strezo, City Councilor At Large Mbah and Ward Four City Councilor Clingan AYE: 2. Requesting approval of the proposed 2024-2028 Department of Housing and Urban Development 5-Year Consolidated Plan, One Year Action Plan, and Community Participation Plan for Community Development Block Grant, Home Investment Partnership, and Emergency Solutions Grant programming. Mayor's Request (ID # 24-0636) Alan Inacio and Miranda Rubin presented on the Consolidated Plan. Councilor Mbah asked about Emergency Assistance and how that will get factored into the plan in terms of need, he went on to ask about the relationship with this report in connection to the city and overall investment and property value gains. Director Inacio responded highlighting how the federal legislation gives out funding as a part of the annual Congressional budget. From there funding gets adjusted based off what the state hands out and the city reallocates the lesser funds during the annual review. Councilor Mbah also asked about funding given out during COVID. Director Inacio responded with additional funding that was distributed through COVID, and The Cares Act distorted the numbers. Councilor Clingan went on to ask if there is any funding available for relief fees that a Homeowners Association fee would not cover in an affordable housing complex. Director Inacio responded that there are tiers based off income for what assistance is available. RECOMMENDED TO BE APPROVED RESULT: Page 1 of 2

Housing and Community Development CommitteeMeeting Minutes June 11, 2024 City Councilor At Large Strezo, City Councilor At Large Mbah and Ward Four City Councilor Clingan AYE: 3. By Councilor Clingan That the Director of Infrastructure and Asset Management address the structural safety and rodent issues with the city-owned building on Skilton Avenue. Order (ID # 24-0664) Items 24-0664 and 25-0665 were taken up together. RECOMMENDED TO BE MARKED WORK COMPLETED RESULT: 4. By Councilor Clingan That the Director of Infrastructure and Asset Management devise and share with this Council a long-term plan for the city-owned building at 10 Skilton Avenue. Order (ID # 24-0665) Items 24-0664 and 25-0665 were taken up together. Councilor Clingan made note that the city owns the property and is in the processing of assessing its condition. Councilor Clingan spoke on the issue with rats at the location and is wondering about the immediate update and what the longer-term update is about tearing down the building or not. Legislative Liaison Kimberley Hutter said SMART Boxes are being deployed to that area to help mediate the issue. The remaining efforts are long term and will be included in the capital investments plan. On these items Councilor Strezo asked a follow-up about the plans to increase the cleaning and disposing of trash that are close to the dog park in that area. Legislative Liaison Hutter relayed she can connect with the Department of Public Works (DPW) around maintenance to the site. Councilors Clingan, Strezo and Mbah all weighed in on possible uses for the building. Councilor Clingan talked of affordable housing, Councilor Strezo echoed those thoughts and added the possibility of a teen center, and Councilor Mbah spoke to the possibility of using it as a space for the unhoused community. RECOMMENDED TO BE MARKED WORK COMPLETED RESULT: Referenced Documents: • Housing - 2024-06-11 Shortened Slides ConPlan (with 24-0636) • Housing - 2024-06-11 2024-2028 ConPlan DRAFT 6-5 (with 24-0636) Page 2 of 2