Orange County NC Website
In the next five years there will be at least 150 new units added to the Land Trust, many of <br />which will be 1 BR and 2BR condominiums. We will need to increase our marketing staff to <br />manage this volume. <br />We also expect that many condominium units will turnover frequently, placing a perpetual <br />burden on the organization to find new buyers who meet the eligibility guidelines. <br />We ask that the local governing bodies determine a process to address these issues -either <br />as separate boards or together. Although these affordability and maintenance challenges are <br />not a crisis, the more homes that get added to the Land Trust without addressing these <br />issues will only increase the risks that the model will fail to meet our expectations in the <br />future. <br />It was suggested by one of the elected officials that the Land Trust homes be used by <br />DTCC students for training in repairs in order to save money on labor. <br />Eric Hallman asked about the alder Land Trust homes and maintenance and Robert <br />Dowling said that the problem is that no one is talking about maintenance. The Land Trust has <br />a lot of units that came on at the same time and they will all get old together. He said that other <br />organizations deal with maintenance on a case-by-case basis. He said that they need to have a <br />policy and they need to set a standard. <br />Bill Strom said that he appreciated this information. He said that no one imagined that <br />this model would be so successful when they first started out. He said that the number of units <br />is approaching 300 units in the pipeline. He said that when there was a bond referendum for <br />affordable housing, it was very different and the Land Trust was not successful. He asked if the <br />Land Trust has looked into ways to use the Orange County bond money. <br />Robert Dowling said that it is more of a question about maintenance. <br />Jim Ward made reference to the 1.5% guaranteed appreciation and asked if there was a <br />fallback clause in case something happens to the market. Robert Dowling said that the times <br />where this happens tend to be very short periods of time. He said that he does not have all of <br />the answers, and they will continue to tweak this. <br />Robert Dowling answered several clarifying questions for Jim Ward. <br />Jim Ward made reference to Robert Dowling's question about whether he is being a <br />good steward of the municipalities' money. He said that the municipalities need to put in place <br />the kind of financial oversight that would answer this question. <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that, in response to Robert Dowling's plea, he would like to <br />suggest referring this to the staffs and asking the Managers to get together with Robert Dowling <br />and find answers to questions about accountability. He also suggested that the Mayors and the <br />Chair write a letter to the congress-beings about the inequity of the staggered income. He <br />asked Robert Dowling to outline what such a letter might look like. <br />Robert Dowling pointed out that the median family income declined from last year by <br />$1,600 as published by HUD. <br />Commissioner Jacobs expressed appreciation to Robert Dowling. <br />Jacquelyn Gist left at 9:20 p.m. <br />