New affordable housing group rolls up sleeves

SALISBURY — The members of the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee met for the first time Monday evening, Nov. 17, to get an idea of the scope of the job.

The charge from the Board of Selectmen is a two-page document with nine areas of major concern that need to be addressed by the new committee before the town can proceed with the stated goal of constructing or converting 200 units of affordable housing by 2020.

First Selectman Curtis Rand, on hand to welcome the committee members and brief them on their responsibilities as public officials, said of the town’s prior efforts at creating affordable housing stock, “It’s different for us as a three-person board [the selectmen]. We were looking at a situation with high land values, a fairly built-out infrastructure, landowners who don’t wish to sell or only at a very high price.�

Selectman Jim Dresser, representing the selectmen on the new committee, said that last summer the board had called for volunteers to form an informal task force to assess the demand for affordable housing and the impact the lack of same has on employers and volunteer organizations.

That task force came up with the roughly 200-unit figure, spread between four economic categories.

Committee Chairman Rod Lankler gave his committee a pep talk. “One reason I got involved is that the selectmen will support us. This is a committee that will do something. This is not an intellectual enterprise.�

Lankler, who chaired the Luke-Fitting committee (which was charged with making a decision on the location of a new transfer station) said one reason that group had good attendance and positive results is the meetings were conducted at a businesslike pace. “We generally kept them to an hour or so.�

And after setting Monday, Nov. 24, 5:30 p.m., as the next meeting time, at which members will bring their ideas on how the committee should divide the tasks mentioned in the charge, Lankler uttered the magic words, “Motion to adjourn?�