A vote approving funding for affordable housing on Court Street is in question after it came to light that two officials misspoke when they described the scope of the project at Town Meeting earlier this month.
Meeting representatives overwhelmingly approved an article to spend $960,000 in Community Preservation funds to subsidize the construction of six affordable housing units at 132-134 Court Street. The cost of the 34-unit project, helmed by developer Rick Vayo, is estimated at $4.5 million.
The April 8 approval came after Community Preservation Committee Chair Bill Keohan and Director of Planning and Development Lee Hartmann told Town Meeting members that the state would credit Plymouth with 40 additional units towards its subsidized housing inventory even though only 10 affordable units were being built, six at the town’s expense and four at Vayo’s expense.
Keohan and Hartmann incorrectly said the project would entail 40 housing units, even though the plans call for 34 – 24 condos and 10 apartments.
The town has since learned that the state will only count 10 units – the apartments – towards the subsidized housing inventory. Keohan told the Community Preservation Committee Thursday that he thought all the units would be rentals.
The subsidized housing inventory matters because if 10 percent of a community’s housing is classified as affordable, state law allows developers to circumvent some zoning restrictions. Currently, Plymouth is far from that 10 percent threshold. Keohan estimated that 6.9 percent of the town’s rental units are affordable.
The mistake prompted Select Board member Harry Helm to accuse Keohan of “misrepresentation.”
“It was clear at Town Meeting that there is a need for affordable housing but also what are we getting for what we pay for?” Helm said at Tuesday’s Select Board meeting. “This misrepresentation, the difference between six units and 40 units, is egregious.”
Helm did not implicate Hartmann but did go on to accuse Keohan – who was not in attendance – of dispensing inaccurate information in the past.
“This is not the only incident of misrepresentation, misinformation coming from the chairman of the CPC,” he said, referring to the Community Preservation Committee. He did not immediately respond to a request for specifics.
Helm said he wanted next Tuesday’s Select Board meeting to include a discussion with Keohan about “what is going on with the CPC,” and a possible vote to remove him from his volunteer position. Committee members deliberated whether to hold that meeting April 30 or May 7 but did not reach a decision.
Keohan said Friday that he had not heard from the Select Board.
He declined to comment further beyond what he said at Thursday’s Community Preservation Committee meeting. Keohan apologized to the committee, to Town Meeting members, and to the Select Board for the inaccuracy of his presentation at Town Meeting.
“I want to apologize to the committee and I’m apologizing to Town Meeting and the Board of Selectmen that my presentation on that article pertaining to [sustainable housing inventory] was not accurate,” he said.
Helm was not the only Select Board member to chastise Keohan during Tuesday’s meeting. Charlie Bletzer pointed to another alleged miscue by Keohan, regarding the procurement of a demolition contract by the town.
Town Manager Derek Brindisi told the board that Keohan had violated procurement rules in that instance.
Brindisi did not elaborate at the meeting but later told the Independent, “We learned that Bill Keohan procured demolition services without following Chapter 30B,” referring to the state law that requires municipalities to obtain three bids for contracts. He said the violation could have been avoided had Keohan consulted with the town’s procurement office.
Neither Brindisi nor Keohan recalled when the violation happened. Brindisi said he believed it was last summer. Keohan thought it was a year-and-a-half ago.
Keohan explained to the Independent that when the Community Preservation Committee acquired a property near the intersection of Long Pond Road and Tall Pines Road, it had an oversized shed on stilts on the property torn down for $14,000. He said the committee asked for three bids, as required by law, but only two bids came in because the third emailed bid got lost.
The Community Preservation Committee voted to bring the article on the Vayo project back to Town Meeting in the fall with the understanding that only 10 of the units would count towards the town’s affordable housing inventory.
It is unclear if or how the Select Board intends to proceed against Keohan, as Helm did not respond to a request for comment. Keohan said he has yet to hear from the board.
Fred Thys can be reached at fred@plymouthindependent.org.