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WESTBOROUGH – The town’s Affordable Housing Trust (AHT) has been busy.
During a presentation before the Advisory/Finance Committee on Feb. 13, Trust and Select Board member Allen Edinberg provided a highlight of some of the programs and projects undertaken by the trust.
According to Edinberg and the AHT’s annual report to the town, the AHT enacted a “COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program” to help families impacted by the pandemic. MetroWest Collaborative Development, a nonprofit specializing in vetting and administering funding for those in need of housing assistance, provided the administrative support for this program.
Because of the continued need for assistance, this program continued into 2022.
The trust partnered with Westborough Youth and Family Services, the town’s COVID-19 Relief Fund and local nonprofits for outreach and to assist with helping households apply for assistance.
The program, which recently ended, has helped more than 50 individuals across 17 households in town.
On the topic of 3 Baylor Ave., a three-bedroom house that the town had taken for unpaid taxes, Edinberg said the AHT is waiting on a request for proposals to be finalized.
The AHT has emptied the house of all its contents and secured the property.
Due to asbestos in the floor and roof, the house currently on the site will be torn down, and a new affordable unit built.
He also discussed possible projects on town-owned properties, including on Endicott Drive near Chauncy Beach, and at 2 Rogers Road, the site of the Westborough Housing Authority.
The AHT also plans to offer a first-time home buyers program, said Edinberg.
The presentation included a discussion on Article 16 before Town Meeting, which requests a transfer of $600,000 from the town’s Stabilization Fund (Mitigation) to the AHT.
The funds come from Pulte Homes for the Del Webb Chauncy Lake development.
Article 16 has received support from the Planning Board. The Advisory/Finance Committee will be voting on all Town Meeting articles in March.
Town Meeting will convene on Saturday, March 25, at Westborough High School. To view the latest draft, visit www.town.westborough.ma.us/home/news/draft-2023-annual-town-meeting-warrant-version-6.
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