The Board of Selectmen appointed five members to a new Affordable Housing Working Group on July 21. The group will work with a consultant to study Harpswell’s affordable housing needs.
Kevin Johnson, chair of the Board of Selectmen, will chair the working group. The other members are Courtenay Snellings, a representative of the Planning Board; Bob Gaudreau, who has experience in construction and redevelopment; Steve Norman, an architect involved with Harpswell Aging at Home and Habitat for Humanity; and Jim Laughren, a member of the public with “a strong interest in affordable housing and Harpswell’s future,” according to a memo from Town Planner Mark Eyerman.
Zachary Stoler, owner of broadband startup Cribstone Communications, will serve as an associate member.
The town has set aside $25,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act for a housing consultant. The working group may start its search for a consultant in September, Eyerman said in the memo.
The working group will “develop recommendations to be considered at the 2024 Town Meeting for what the Town and the larger Harpswell community can do to explore the housing needs of residents and ways to meet those needs,” according to its mission statement.
