SWAMPSCOTT — The town’s Select Board has invited the Swampscott Housing Authority to participate in a joint meeting in November to address some of the concerns raised by Naomi Dreeben in her letter of resignation from the Housing Authority.
To further the conversation, the Select Board invited Housing Authority members to come to the board’s meeting this past Wednesday. Because only one member of the Housing Authority attended this week’s session, the selectmen have decided to hold an official joint meeting between the two town boards next month.
Tara Cassidy-Driscoll, the secretary for the Housing Authority, said she came to act as a liaison for the Authority and share the list of grants and projects its members are currently working on. Cassidy-Driscoll said that the Housing Authority is open to receiving help.
“I’m hoping, through good communication and by working together, we can open those lines of communication, and we can move forward and strengthen the Housing Commission,” Cassidy-Driscoll said.
The conversation surrounding the Housing Authority arose when Dreeben, a former member, tenured her resignation through a letter to the editor, which was published in The Item. In her resignation, Dreeben said that she thought the housing board was not taking steps to address accessibility issues in senior housing or making sure that this housing complied with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“Unfortunately, the board leadership has continued to ignore the need for such a substantive discussion,” Dreeben wrote. “There is no sense of urgency to rectify this major problem, and discussion of the issue has not even been put on the table. As of August 2021, there were more than 2,500 applicants for elder/handicap housing units in Swampscott, many of whom cannot climb stairs.”
At Wednesday’s meeting, Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald reiterated many of the claims made by Dreeben, saying that he was worried that he hadn’t seen as much movement by the Housing Authority to address the lack of affordable senior housing in comparison to the need.
“We have 2,500 people looking to share one of those 122 units,” Fitzgerald said. “Where’s that bigger agenda that helps to ensure that we’re really helping to lead that agency?”
Select Board Chair Peter Spellios said that the board had issued the invitation to the Housing Authority on Friday, but due to a miscommunication, the message was not given to the Housing Authority until Monday. He said that some members told him it was too short of notice for them to attend.
Spellios said that he has concerns about the Authority, but that his concerns are primarily because he wants to help the housing board and make it a success.
“It is our job to not just stop at criticism, but to go to the next step of finding opportunities to help and service, and to bridge the needs of the Housing Authority so that we can be an asset,” Spellios said.
Select Board Vice Chair Polly Titcomb said that she wanted to clear the air and make sure the Housing Authority understands that the Select Board holds no animosity towards them.
“I want it to feel like we are all there to get clear on things,” Titcomb said. “It’s just a way to save a meeting and cut to a chase.”
Titcomb added that while having an intermediary was a step in the right direction, she was still disappointed that other Housing Authority members were not present for the conversation.
“It just continues that sentiment that we’re not going to have that face-to-face dialogue,” Titcomb said about the lack of attendance. “This is better than nothing and I so appreciate (Cassidy-Driscoll) being here and being a communicator in the meantime.”
