Peterborough’s new Affordable Housing Subcommittee will coordinate efforts and initiate the development of affordable housing, with the intention of enhancing the economy of the community, according to Economic Development Authority Chair James Kelly.
Select Board members approved the formation of the subcommittee, which will be within the EDA, Tuesday night, and Kelly said its mission will also include working with area employers, with the aim being “to attract and retain a diverse workforce which includes young people and families.”
“You guys have work to do, you better go right now,” Select Board Chair Tyler Ward said following the vote.
The EDA established the subcommittee in 2021, and will have five members with staggered three-year terms. Members can be residents, property owners or business owners, and one member has to be an EDA member.
According to the subcommittee’s documentation, the group’s goals will be to forge and maintain relationships with employers, keep inventory of all affordable housing in the area and identify opportunities for affordable housing and rentals. The subcommittee also seeks to act as a “catalyst” to move those opportunities forward.
Select Board members also voted Tuesday night to approve a change to the previous bond repayment schedule, due to an unforeseen complication. The board in November voted to refinance three of its outstanding loans, through the issuance of refunding bonds through the New Hampshire Municipal Bond Bank, to save $445,350 over the course of repaying the loans. The refinance would come at no additional cost to the town.
Town Finance Director Lily Gilligan explained that in the board’s previous decision to refinance, one of the loans came with a decision to take savings up front by pushing off a payment due in February – a Rural Development Loan from the United States Department of Agriculture that was issued for the town’s wastewater treatment plant. At the time, the board decided to go with the option of rolling the $381,226 payment due in February into the refinancing of the loans, resulting in a lower overall savings over the course of repayment but also resulting an immediate cash flow benefit.
Gilligan informed the board that a $3.4 million grant from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services required the town to make the repayment as scheduled, and not doing so would jeopardize the grant. The board then voted to amend their previous refinancing decision and make the payment at the end of February.
“We don’t have any options, really, do we?” Select Board member Bill Kennedy said.
Town Administrator Nicole MacStay clarified that the expense was already built into the town budget, and that while it would have been beneficial to keep that money for overall cash flow, this change would have no effect on taxes.