The Marblehead Housing Authority Board again delayed a vote designating WinnDevelopment as a partner in a $67 million project at the Broughton Road public housing community.
“Strategically, you’re in a better negotiating position if you don’t designate,” said Emily Achtenburg, a housing and development consultant working for the MHA.
“Once they have a designation it allows them to feel empowered and to negotiate from a position of strength,” she said.
The MHA and Winn remain at odds over who has decision-making power during the development ownership period, according to Achtenburg.
“We want this to be a joint project. That’s not what Winn wants. All the significant issues — design, affordability, management — should have the approval of the housing authority.”
Achtenberg added: “I personally would like to have some sense that we’re on the same wavelength about the decision making. They have not gotten back to us on the decision making roles.”
Chair Jenn Schaeffner expressed concern that the board hasn’t received any details about the negotiations. She proposed an extra meeting in the next couple weeks to “really understand what it is you have negotiated this far. I feel like I only have half the picture, frankly. We are stewards of this property. We want to be able to see everything that you have seen.”
As of Sept. 23, that extra meeting had not been scheduled.
If Winn is designated as the developer, the next step would be to develop a memorandum of understanding. The project could take three years to complete, including 18 months of construction.
During construction, Broughton Road residents impacted would be temporarily relocated to other public housing units or provided with subsidized housing options in the private market, according to Kurt James with Marblehead’s Fair Housing Committee.
At a Sept. 17 meeting, MHA residents complained about conditions in some of the units. Elaine McGrath, who lives at the Roads School, read a two-page statement and said apartments were “stained and dirty,” that there was mold, and a lack of adequate maintenance staff.
McGrath said tenants had mentioned these complaints before, but they were not included in the MHA’s annual plan, which the housing board approved unanimously at the meeting,
“If the statements of the MHA administration about the importance of tenant input and
collaboration are sincere, then tenant information and suggestions need to be reflected
in the annual plan,” McGrath said. “Otherwise, it leads to cynicism and lack of engagement by tenants, and a lost opportunity to work effectively together.
Also, MHA Director Cathy Hoag announced that the Salem Food Pantry’s food truck will now be coming to two MHA properties twice a month with free food.
The MHA’s next regularly scheduled meeting is Oct. 15, at Marblehead High School. People are invited to come at 5:30 p.m. for a meet and greet with new board member Kristin Dubay Hortan. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m.
