At contentious meeting, Select Board earmarks funds for affordable housing

Call it the shot heard round the Zoom. 

Talk of senior housing spurred a profane interjection and urgent appeals from affordability advocates at a recent Select Board meeting. 

The panel heeded advocates’ calls and tabbed yet-to-be-collected mitigation money from the Newbury Court senior living community for over-55 projects. 

Discussion still featured tense moments when the board’s lone “no” voter faced one backer’s rebuke.

“Nobody is saying, ‘Hey, wait a second, we’re not supportive of seniors, we’re not supportive of housing,’” Select Board member Cameron McKennitt said at the July 14 meeting.

Acton Housing Foundation President Frank “Rich” Feeley, attending remotely, was moved to weigh in. 

“Bulls—,” he said. 

The comment drew startled reactions in the meeting room. McKennitt didn’t address it and declined to comment when approached by a reporter after the meeting.

The spat punctuated the session, regardless, and followed weeks of urging from housing leaders who say the town should use expected mitigation payments from Newbury Court’s parent organization to boost affordable options.

“We need a win,” said Matt Johnson of the CHF and the Acton Municipal Affordable Housing Trust. “In the affordable housing community, we can’t just sit here and have our little bits of hope taken away from us.”

Officials negotiated an agreement with New England Deaconess Association as the not-for-profit prepared to ask voters to rezone a parcel beside Newbury Court’s current campus.

Mitigation payments

The deal promises up to $3.9 million, depending on how many new units Deaconess builds. Concordians backed the zoning at Town Meeting by a 389-56 vote. 

Select Board member Mary Hartman said the board negotiated its agreement with the intent to use payments for senior housing. She said Deaconess had to pledge money more broadly for “the special needs of Acton’s elderly citizens” due to IRS regulations.

Select Board members said they still think housing is a worthy cause, but the group was divided on whether to restrict a future Select Board.

Payments won’t start until residents move into the Newbury Court expansion. McKennitt said that could take several years, and the town could face a more pressing need. For example, another pandemic could strike, and Acton might need funds to help sick seniors, he said. 

Johnson and CHF colleague Moira Walsh said the board should memorialize its original intent.

“I’ve seen institutional history die here before,” Walsh said, pointing to the Junction Village affordable housing project. “We cannot let this die at this table tonight.”

Senior needs

The Select Board voted to establish a gift fund “with a priority” for over-55 housing. Hartman said this gives future leaders “a sense of our intention.” 

The move is non-binding, but Feeley told The Acton Bridge he’s comfortable with the decision. “We can use this record if a future Select Board tries to divert the money to other uses,” he said.

Council on Aging and Senior Services Director Daniel Petitt said the Deaconess deal “reflects a recognition of the importance of investing in our older adult population.”

He said there are “many worthy areas of need,” and he would welcome the opportunity for the COA to be part of conversations about how to allocate payments. 

Acton’s proportion of older residents is rising. COA Board Chair Christina Kendrick said the panel will discuss mitigation money at its next meeting.

She said she couldn’t speak on the group’s behalf, but she’s heard seniors note Acton’s lack of affordable housing. 

Transportation is also top of mind, and Kendrick said the COA’s van fleet can’t meet everyone’s needs. Acton offers senior tax breaks, she said, but they don’t go far enough. 

Kendrick said she hopes COA staff members like Petitt have a seat at the table when Deaconess money gets allocated. “If anyone knows what the needs are of seniors,” she said, “I feel like the strongest would be the COA.”