[yrhasc] Public right to know stuff and YRHC Dec.18 Draft Minutes

Thu Dec 20 13:02:45 EST 2007

In a message dated 12/20/2007 11:34:17 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
judyp at tpda.com writes:

Good information, thanks, Mark.

I was reading the minutes of the YRHC and I have a question that is only  
partially related. I heard recently that all houses on the island now have to  be 
built as year-round, with insulation, etc. Of course anything built through  
the YRHC would be, but I wondered if that was true. Does anyone know?

I am also glad to see the YRHC is looking into existing homes on the  island 
since some have been sitting for a while and an offer might be  considered 
that wouldn't have been last year. I also wonder if since the Beach  Ave house is 
grandfathered as a multi-family (is that correct?) if it has  potential for 
some kind of multiple ownership, like a condo, that would work  for 3 parties. 
That would make the price per unit very reasonable. Right now I  know the word 
"condo" on Long Island conjures images of high-priced luxury  units, but many 
old buildings in Portland, many with only 2 or 3 units, have  been converted 
to condos in the past few years and the prices per unit have  been in the mid 
to low 100's. That it has been a powerful tool for young  people to move from 
rentals. Two of our former tenants on Brackett street took  advantage of this 
and are paying only slightly more than they were for rent  (and our rents are 
very much middle-of-the-market.) Just a thought.

J

Hi  All,  Attached are Draft minutes from the Tues. YRHC  meeting.    Also 
the following thoughts on what is public in  our communications and meetings:

The  letter of the law in Maine about meetings, discussions, and perhaps 
e-mails  as I interpret it is so strong that if followed to the "T",   almost 
nobody could talk to anybody about anything and little  could ever get done except 
in a properly posted meeting in  a public place.   

Let  us continue to reflect on how we do our work and get it as reasonably  
close to open and legal as we can.  I have been as guilty as  others in trying 
to move ahead sometimes without thinking about what is the  proper procedure.  
 It is endlessly challenging no matter how long  you have done it.  We are 
all trying to do good stuff for others with  little spare common time to do.

I  have modified the following quote I recently received on this  issue:

A  reminder: a nonprofit's (we all - YRHC and YRHASC operate under the  
nonprofit YRHCorp as well as under the Town of Long Island)  stakeholders are the 
public in which it serves.  Directors are  answerable to the public, and are 
supposed to represent the public when  addressing the association.  All 
documents are to be open to the  public, and are actually required by law to be 
presented to the public  within a timely manner upon request.  Emails are included 
as a public  document as of the whole Enron debacle (previously they were 
considered  private).  Whether an email is requested or not, it is still a  public 
document because it was a communication to the association from a  board 
member.  Feel free to get work done with e-mails,  but be  aware they are not 
necessarily private communication.   I  expect that anything I do by e-mail (for 
public work) is open to be shared  if needed or wanted.

Other  interpretations are more than welcome.   We grappled long and hard  in 
the beginning of the Town with variations of these issues.   I  think our 
intent to continue to strive to make it work properly is all  anyone can ask.     
Thanks,  Mark

____________________________________

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Attachment converted: Macintosh  HD:YRHC  Draft Min dec 18.doc (WDBN/«IC»)  
(0011B62B)
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-- 

Judy Paolini
TPDA
207-871-1813 office
207-329-6153  cell
judyp at tpda.com

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All:

My guess is that a structure built with insulation is probably more about  
meeting current building codes and energy efficiency, considering the price of  
fuel these days.  In the old days, codes were much more lenient, and / or  
enforcement of them rather lax.  My impression of the three unit property  was 
the same as yours Judy.  If allowable given current zoning etc., why  not pursue 
this as an option?  The issue seems to be, who has adequate time  to follow 
up to determine this, on top of all of the other various  items!!  Mark, as 
Housing Administrator, can you identify and  charge different folks in the 
community each with an individual task to  follow up and report back to you on?  
Then you can dedicate your  time more to being Father Hen rather than Go For.  
Although I will be  getting back into actively taking appointments at work, if 
an appointment is not  scheduled, I will have free time and am willing to take 
on some tasks.   Only kicker to this is that free time occurs spontaneously as 
I learn of my  appointments by email just the night before.  The next few 
months are  usually very slow business wise, and with our economy such as it is, 
probably  even slower than usual.

Sandie

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