In response to Town Council member Barbara VonVillas’ comments at the last Council meeting, and her recent Letter to the Editor:
The Middletown Affordable Housing Committee (AHC) is charged with looking at town-owned properties for affordable housing, not privately-owned property like Rosebrook Commons, so I am not wrong when I state, in the 10 years the AHC has been active, not one town-sponsored shovel has gone in the ground.
Privately-owned developments have nothing to do with Middletown’s AHC. Mrs. VonVillas was incorrect when she disputed my statement at Monday’s Town Council meeting. She neglected to say in her rebuttal I had specifically stated “town-sponsored” projects.
She referred to Rosebrook Commons as a shovel in the ground. Rosebrook is not town-sponsored. It is a private venture on land the town does not own. That project was never in the AHC’s charge, and neither was West House, so again, I am not wrong: the town has no shovels in the ground.
After five years on the AHC with nothing to show for it, I’m not happy. I’m also not happy that the only two proposed affordable housing projects, a mix of condos and single family homes at East Main Road, and 12-15 apartments at Town Center on West Main Road, will not be available for anyone earning under 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI).
Mrs. VonVillas was also mistaken about the number of available affordable units coming online at Rosebrook Commons. Of the 144 units, only 51 will be affordable. The remainder will be more expensive workforce housing and market rate units.
I am really upset that East Main Road is slated for those earning 80% to 120% percent of the AMI. For the first two years the AHC discussed East Main Road, the plan was always to provide first-time home buyer opportunities for our young adults and families to help them remain in Middletown as they enter the workforce and start their own families. Too many of our young adults are forced to leave the town they grew up in due to the lack of affordable places to live.
Several AHC meetings ago, on the night before housing consultant Frank Spinella was to present to the AHC the preliminary plans for East Main Road, the paperwork sent the to the AHC by email spelled out the AMI limits. Those numbers were being disclosed to us for the first time.
It was then we learned somehow the plan for this development changed and was not going to be truly affordable, especially not for our young adults and families earning less than 80%-120% of the AMI. When I reminded Town Council President Paul Rodrigues of the initial plan we discussed for East Main Road, he said I was right. He even told the other council members, “I kind of agree with Karen.”
As a resident and a committee member, I don’t condone the spread of mistaken or incorrect information, which most likely can mislead the public, and I also don’t like the fact that misinformation, which went uncorrected, is now part of the public record.
Councilwoman VonVillas further spread this inaccurate information by submitting a Letter to the Editor in several local publications, and where, for the second time in several months, she referred to the voice and concerns of residents as “noise” and “misinformation.”
Resident voices are far from “noise”. Our opinions about what we want to see in our town are not “misinformation.” Our town council was not elected to make decisions on our behalf because they believe they know what’s best for Middletown. Our town council members were elected to those seats to implement the will of the people of Middletown.
Karen Biastre
Middletown
