Two New Appointments To Amherst Housing Authority Board Of Commissioners

Town Manager Paul Bockelman, in a memo to the Town Clerk dated May 2, nominated Mark Barrette of Chestnut Court and James Linfield of Country Corners Road to serve as commissioners on the Amherst Housing Authority Board of Commissioners. The nominations were subsequently approved unanimously (4-0 with one absent) by the Town Services and Outreach Committee at their meeting on May 4, and have been forwarded to the full Town Council for their approval.  That vote will likely take place at the next regular meeting of the Town Council on May 15.

Barrette will serve as the tenant member of the Housing Authority and Linfied as the state appointee.  Both were nominated for five-year terms expiring June 30, 2028.

Tenant Member
Since the passage of the Charter, the Legislature passed, and the Governor signed into law Chapter 358 of the Acts of 2020. This law, which became effective on May 15, 2021, requires communities to appoint a tenant member to its local Housing Authority Board of Commissioners after notifying its public housing residents of the vacancy. The Housing Authority complied with the notification requirements of the law and tenants interested in serving submitted their names to serve as the tenant representative. All candidates were interviewed, and Mr. Barrette was appointed. The term of the tenant member is five years.

State Appointee
The State has not appointed a representative and has left the position vacant. This means the Town may make the appointment. The Housing Authority Board of Commissioners notified the Department of Housing and Community Development of the vacancy. The Department did not appoint a person to fill this vacancy within 120 days. Since the vacancy has gone unfilled, the Housing Authority asked the Town to fill the vacancy. The opening was advertised on the Town Bulletin Board. All candidates were interviewed, and Mr. Linfield was appointed. The term of the State Appointee is five years.

Profiles
The Town Manager provided the following biographical profiles on each of the nominees.

Marc Barrette is a tenant/resident of the Amherst Housing Authority and will fill the tenant position on the Board. Barrette will hit the ground running, building on his experience as a Commissioner at the Belchertown Housing Authority, so he has the knowledge and experience of the purpose and role of the Board. He is volunteering his time with the Amherst Senior Center to organize an LGBTQIA+ group and, possibly, initiate events much like the Rainbow Coffee Hour that he initiated in Belchertown.

James Linfield will fill the Gubernatorial position on the Board. Mr. Linfield brings over thirty years of property management and real estate development experience to the Board. He worked in housing development at WayFinders, Inc. where he concentrated on affordable and subsidized housing. He brings a perspective that work on the residences owned and managed by the Housing Authority must be done with a keen sensitivity of the residents, since it is their home. He said that he knows a lot; but is not a ‘know it all’.

About the Housing Authority Board of Commissioners
The Duties of The Amherst Housing Authority Board of Commissioners are as follows:

1. To preserve and to expand decent, safe and affordable housing for low and moderate income households, elders, and persons with disabilities.
2. To support programs, services and resources that promote economic self-sufficiency, and improve community quality of life, tenant empowerment and responsibility.
3. To maintain quality of service delivery and ensure equal opportunity in housing.
4. To operate programs and deliver services that maximize financial and human resources while maintaining fiscal responsibility.

The Amherst Housing Authority is dedicated to providing quality housing to eligible households. The Authority is a public agency operated with state and federal funding and is overseen by a five member Board of Commissioners.