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Chapter 126 of the Acts of 1999
AN ACT ESTABLISHING A NONPROFIT HOUSING CORPORATION FOR THE TOWN OF
BELMONT.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in
General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as
follows:
SECTION 1. There is hereby established a nonprofit housing
corporation to be known as the Belmont Housing Trust, Inc., which
shall be subject to the supervision of the board of selectmen of the
town of Belmont. Said corporation shall be governed by a board of
directors, in this act referred to as the board. The board shall
consist of not less than five nor more than nine members, who shall be
appointed by the board of selectmen for staggered three year terms as
designated by the board of selectmen, such appointments to be made
annually by the board of selectmen on or before July 1. Members shall
serve until their successors are appointed and qualified. Continuing
members may act despite vacancies in the board and for this purpose
shall be deemed to constitute a full board. Any vacancy in the board,
however occurring, shall be filled by the board of selectmen for the
unexpired portion of the term.
Said board of directors of the Belmont Housing Trust, Inc. shall
exercise its powers and perform its duties for the purpose of
investigating and implementing alternatives for the provision of and
providing affordable housing for persons of low, moderate and middle
income, and others whose needs may be identified from time to time in
the town of Belmont. The powers and duties of the board as set forth
herein are intended to be alternative and supplemental to, and not in
limitation of, the powers and duties of the Belmont Housing Authority
established pursuant to chapter
121B of the General Laws. The liability of the board and its
members shall be limited to the same extent as the liability of a
public employer and public employees as provided in section 2 of
chapter 258 of the General Laws.
SECTION 2. (a) The board of directors of the Belmont Housing
Trust, Inc. shall have the powers and privileges conferred by the
provisions of clauses (a) to (i), inclusive, and clause (k) of section 9 of
chapter 156B of the General Laws, and the following powers, but
that no such power shall be exercised either in a manner inconsistent
with this act or any general or special law, and the board shall not
carry on any activity which is not in furtherance of the purposes set
forth in this act:
- to adopt, amend, and repeal corporate by-laws, said by-laws to
be subject to the approval of the board of selectmen, for the
regulation and conduct of its business including, but not limited
to, the call and conduct of its meetings, the number of members
which shall constitute a quorum and the mode of voting by proxy;
- to elect a chairperson and vice-chairperson, each of whom
shall be members of the board, and a secretary and a treasurer,
who need not be members of the board and who may be the same
person. The treasurer shall give bond for the faithful performance
of his duties in a form and amount approved and affixed by the
board of selectmen, the cost of which bond shall be paid from
funds of the board. The chairperson and in the chairperson's
absence, the vice-chairperson shall chair meetings of the
board. The secretary shall be the custodian of all books,
documents and papers filed with the board and of the minute book
or journal of the board;
- to make and execute all contracts and all other instruments
necessary or convenient for the exercise of its power and
functions, subject to approval of the town counsel of the town of
Belmont as to form;
- to acquire or lease, by purchase, gift or otherwise, and to
own, hold and use, on such terms and conditions and in such manner
as it may deem proper, and to exchange, grant options on, sell,
transfer, convey, assign, lease, pledge, mortgage, encumber, grant
liens on and security interests or to otherwise dispose of; on
such terms and conditions as it may deem proper, real, personal or
mixed real and personal property or any interest, easements or
rights therein and assets or revenues of said board, as may be
necessary or appropriate to carry out its purposes;
- to enter into agreements or other transactions with the
commonwealth or a political subdivision or public instrumentality
thereof; the United States government or a federal, state or other
governmental agency;
- to borrow money and to execute notes therefor which shall not
be deemed to be debts or obligations of the town of Belmont, to
hold mortgages, and to invest any funds held in reserve funds, or
any funds not required for immediate disbursement in such
investments as may be lawful for fiduciaries in the commonwealth
and said board shall have no stock;
- to enter into contracts or agreements with, and to employ from
time to time, contractors, architects, engineers, consultants,
attorneys, accountants, construction, financial and other experts,
superintendents, managers and such other agents and employees as
may be necessary in its judgment and to fix their compensation;
- to receive and hold funds appropriated by the town and other
funds, property, labor and other things of value from any source,
public or private by gift, grant, bequest, loan or otherwise,
either absolutely or in trust, and to expend or utilize the same
on behalf of said board for any of its purposes or to act as an
agent or conduit in administering or disbursing funds or financial
or other aid from any source;
- to appear in its own behalf before boards, commissions,
departments or other agencies of government, municipal, state or
federal;
- to procure insurance against any loss in connection with the
property, or activities of the board, in such amounts and from
such insurers as it may deem necessary or desirable and to
indemnify its members or agents if and to the extent specified
from time to time in the by-laws of the board and subject to and
in the manner provided in section 6
of chapter 180 of the General Laws;
- to formulate and carry out or monitor plans for projects
involving the acquisition or operation of housing facilities of
any kind or nature and to construct, reconstruct, renovate,
expand, extend, improve, repair, remodel, equip, furnish,
maintain, manage and operate such facilities;
- to fix and revise from time to time and to charge and collect
rates, fees, rentals and other charges and sales prices for or in
connection with the use, occupancy or other disposition of any
housing facility or other property or portion thereof under its
ownership or control;
- to establish, impose, grant or amend, by deed, lease or other
means or method, and to hold the benefit or, monitor, exercise and
enforce lawful restrictions on the rental, sale, resale, use or
occupancy of housing facilities or other property under its
ownership or control or other facilities or property designated by
the selectmen of the town, or restrictions with respect to the
income of owners, tenants or occupants of such housing facilities
or other property, or options and rights of first refusal with
respect to such facilities or property and to waive, release or
discharge any such rights or restrictions;
- to enter into, perform or monitor agreements or other
transactions with contractors, developers, brokers or other real
estate professionals or any other person relating to the providing
of affordable housing for persons of low and moderate income in
the town; and
- to do any and all things necessary or convenient to carry out
its purposes and exercise the powers conferred by this act.
(b) The board may delegate pursuant to guidelines approved in
advance by the board of selectmen to any committee or member of said
board any action which the board is authorized to do or make. The
board may be a partner in any business enterprise which it would have
power to conduct by itself.
SECTION 3. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or
special law to the contrary, the income, assets and activities of the
board shall be exempt from all taxes and assessments and the board
shall not be subject to any of the provisions of chapter
63 of the General Laws or to any taxes based upon or measured by
property or income imposed by the commonwealth or by any political
subdivision thereof. The board of directors of the Belmont Housing
Trust, Inc. may enter into an agreement with the assent of the town of
Belmont, wherein the board shall undertake to make to the town annual
payments in lieu of taxes in connection with any real property
acquired and owned by the board, the amounts of such payments to be
reasonable sums stipulated in each such agreement or determined in
accordance with a reasonable formula so stipulated.
SECTION 4. Without limitation of the powers of the board of
directors of the Belmont Housing Trust, Inc. set forth in section 2,
the board is authorized to receive and to expend and utilize for its
purposes all proceeds that have been appropriated by the town of
Belmont for such purposes. In addition, the town may appropriate other
funds for the carrying out by the board of its purposes as set forth
herein. Any appropriation therefor may be raised by the town by
taxation. At least annually, the board shall cause independent audits
to be made of its books and records of the board, which annual audits
shall be filed with the board of selectmen of the town.
SECTION 5. In the event that the board of directors of the
Belmont Housing Trust, Inc. shall be dissolved in accordance with law
at any time, all property and interests therein, assets and rights of
said board existing at such time shall be transferred to the town of
Belmont by authority of this act, and title to all such property and
all such rights shall vest in said town automatically without the need
for further action or instrument, and said town shall, to the maximum
extent permitted by law, and acting by and through its board of
selectmen, assume, hold and exercise the powers and duties of the
board set forth herein with respect to such property and rights so
transferred to said town.
SECTION 6. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
Approved November 15,
1999. | |
