2007 Maine Affordable Housing Conference - Portland - Holiday Inn By the Bay
Breakout Session Descriptions

The Predatory Lending Issue in Maine
This breakout session will explore the national crisis resulting from predatory/sub-prime lending practices over the last half decade. What happened and how did it happen? What do we see specifically happening in Maine and how is the state addressing the issue?

Presenters
Nick Retsinas, Director, Joint Center for Housing Studies, Harvard University
Will Lund, Director, Office of Consumer Credit Regulation
Carla Dickstein, Senior Vice President for Research and Policy Development, Coastal Enterprises, Inc.
Representative John Brautigam
Gail McBride, Director of Homeownership, MaineHousing

Historic Rehab/Adaptive Reuse

Remediation and reuse of existing buildings to create affordable housing opportunities has become one of MaineHousing’s key focus areas in 2007. Come hear from three experts in the area of historic preservation and the reuse of existing buildings. Learn from their experiences in designing and developing historic buildings and use of the federal historic tax credit.

Presenters
Nancy L. Barba, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, Principal, Barba & Wheelock Architecture, Preservation & Design
Christine Beard, Consultant, Tremont Preservation Services, LLC
Cynthia J. Milliken Taylor, President, Housing Initiatives of New England Corporation

The 2030 Challenge – Creating a Path for Success
We have all the heard the buzz on the 2030 challenge; however, is the goal realistic and achievable? How do we get there together?

Presenters
Danuta Drozdowicz, LEED AP, Fore Solutions
Dale McCormick, Director, MaineHousing
Betsy Pettit, Building Science Consulting

National Legislative & Housing Update
Barbara Thompson, Executive Director of the National Council of State Housing Agencies, will inform her audience on the latest national housing initiatives happening in Washington. A representative from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) office will review their new programs, and Senator Lynn Bromley will provide an overview of the 123rd
Legislative session and the bills related to housing such as the real estate transfer tax, green initiatives, predatory lending, and homelessness, to name a few.

Presenters
Barbara Thompson, Executive Director, National Council of State Housing Agencies
William Burney, Field Office Director, U.S. Dept of Housing and Urban Development
Senator Lynn Bromley
Peter Merrill, Director of Communications & Planning, MaineHousing

Energy Savings in Your Home
Energy costs are soaring and the impact is being felt by everyone. So what can the average homeowner do to reduce their overall energy burden? Come listen to the experts as they provide you tips on everything homeowners should know when it comes to energy.

Presenters
Tony Gill, Energy & Training Specialist, MaineHousing
Heidi Schmidt, Americorps - Maine Conservation Corps, MaineHousing

Capital Needs Assessment to Achieve Cost Containment
Capital Needs Assessment of projects can be an important tool in helping to strategize and prioritize future capital expenditures. This workshop will bring together experts and MaineHousing staff as well as partners who are using this tool in a variety of ways to their property’s advantage. Discussion will focus on these assessments from both operating cost savings and long term planning perspectives.

Presenters
Philip Holmes, Director of Multi-Family Housing, U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development, Manchester, NH
Bob Nadeau, Multi-Family Housing Specialist, Rural Development, Bangor
Sherrin Vail, Regional Property Manager, Avesta Housing
Randy Bragg, Carpenter Associates
Don McGilvery, Construction Services Manager, MaineHousing
Bob Conroy, Portfolio Manager, MaineHousing

Housing for Sex Offenders
Panelists in this workshop will educate participants about the various categories of sex offenders and the types of offenses that result in being placed on the sex offender registry list, provide information about current efforts to house convicted sex offenders who are leaving prison, and discuss federal and state restrictions on the availability of rental housing subsidies to this population.

Presenters
Nancy Fritz, Director of Homeless Initiatives, MaineHousing

Bonds 101

Presenters
Tom Cary, Treasurer, MaineHousing

Mobile Homes, Co-ops, and Cottages: “Expanding the American Dream”

Presenters
Gail McBride, Director of Homeownership, MaineHousing

Island Housing

Presenters
Jody Rollins, Office Administrator, MaineHousing
S

ave Green! Programs, Strategies and Incentives to Green your Rental Properties
Come hear about the various state programs and incentives to make your rental properties more efficient. The session for property owners, managers or landlords will showcase energy efficiency strategies to improve your properties: energy efficiency audits, replacement programs, and no interest loans for efficiency improvement. In addition the session will examine the 2006 Energy Efficiency Disclosure form law and tips to fill it out. The panelists will include staff from the Maine State Housing Authority, the Maine Pubic Utilities Commission and a representative from the Maine Apartment Owners and Managers Association.

Presenters
Justin Alfond, Maine State Director, League of Young Voters
Carlton Winslow
Dennis Bergeron, Director of Energy Conservation, Maine Public Utilities Commission
Tony Gill, Energy & Training Specialist, MaineHousing

Tightening Credit Standards - What It Means to Homebuyers
This workshop will provide a brief overview of the ever-increasing role that credit history and credit score play in the financing of a mortgage loan. Attendees will hear from mortgage industry professionals regarding the changes in the mortgage markets and the impact to potential buyers purchasing a home, in terms of loan products and qualifications, credit and document requirements, and steps a homebuyer, with less than perfect credit, can take before applying for a loan.

Presenters
Darrell Briggs, Vice President, Downeast Mortgage Corporation
Jo-Anne Skerritt, Regional Vice President, AIG United Guaranty
Debbie King-Johnson, Senior Homeownership Officer, MaineHousing
Jill Lorom, Housing Counselor, Coastal Enterprises, Inc.

Family Asset Building
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is the largest antipoverty program in the United States, however it is underutilized by many of the hard working individuals and families who are eligible. This workshop will discuss successful coalition models of community partnerships currently providing free tax preparation for EITC eligible workers as well as linking with asset building resources and skills to build financial stability and independence. The asset building component of these coalitions includes raising awareness of, and providing alternatives to predatory financial services, as well as providing information on financial literacy, matched savings programs, credit repair and home ownership education. Casey Family Services, the direct service agency of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, has been helping to convene and support coalitions in Maine over the past five years, and with community partners will present lessons learned during this panel discussion.

Presenters
Carolyn May, Coordinator, Maine Centers for Women, Work, and Community
Charlie Kennedy, Vice President, Key Bank
Joni Boissonneault, Program Manager-Family Self Sufficiency, Portland Housing Authority
Florence Young, LCSW, Casey Family Services

How to Market and Sell Property in a Slow Economy
This roundtable discussion will be led by several real estate experts who will facilitate open communication by all attendees on the current market, including action steps to address slow real estate sales, financing news, and projections on what lies ahead.

Presenters
Sheryl Gregory, MaineHousing Board member and Real Estate Professional
Don Cohen, Downeast Mortgage
Martha Ingram, Regional Manager, ERA Middletown, VA

Multi-Family Building Design “A One Size Fits All Approach”
Is a “one size fits all” approach more fiscally responsible? The current approach to the design of multifamily housing in Maine has been primarily left to each owner’s project design team. While this approach allows diversity in building and unit design and unrestrained opportunities for innovation, there continue to be challenges in meeting project construction budgets. While not suggesting a complete “cookie cutter” approach to design, this roundtable will discuss ways in which more standardized design can be utilized to better contain initial capital investments and reduce operating costs.

Presenters
Don McGilvery, Construction Services Manager, MaineHousing
Josh Cushman, Contractor, Portland Builders
Benedict Walter, Architect, CWS Architects
Matt Holden, Commissioning Engineer, Investment Engineering

Putting Choice Back into the Housing Choice Voucher Program
Individuals seeking access to housing through Housing Choice Vouchers regularly find road blocks to finding suitable housing options in places where they want to live and work. This roundtable session will provide participants an opportunity to understand current HUD rules related to Section 8 vouchers as well as a chance to discuss the barriers these rules create. Participants will be encouraged to brainstorm possible solutions to the barriers to choice in the voucher program.

Presenters
Maureen Brown, HUD Programs Manager, MaineHousing
Michael Morrissey, CPM-Director of Management, Avesta Housing

Challenges of Managing Rental Housing for People with Special Needs
This roundtable discussion will focus on the challenges that are inherent with service providers and property managers when providing rental housing for people with special needs. We welcome property managers, service providers, public housing authorities and property owners for a candid discussion of the challengers and possible solutions.

Presenters
Dan Brennan, Director of Development, MaineHousing
Donna Baker, Director of Asset Management, MaineHousing

The Generational Divide – A Changing Workforce
What you need to know to bring out the best in your cross-generational staff. This will be an interactive session in examining and providing helpful tips on how you can make the cross-generational workplace work for you - The Veterans, The Baby Boomers, The Gen Xers, and The Nexters. How cross-generationally friendly is your organization?

Presenters
Linda Blessing, Senior Associate, d.gallant Management Associates

Cost of Homelessness (New Study)
A cost of homeless study recently released in Maine provides evidence that permanent supportive housing reduces costs to the public service delivery system and reduces stress on the system of emergency care. Panel members will include Melany Mondello, who gathered all the data and coordinated the study; Tom McLaughlin, a college professor and researcher who provided analysis of the data; and Mark Swann, who is using the study results to help demonstrate the effectiveness of permanent supportive housing projects for people who have experienced homelessness.

Presenters
Melany Mondello, Statewide Grant Coordinator, Shalom House
Tom McLaughlin
Mark Swann, Executive Director, Preble Street Resource Center
Nancy Fritz, Director of Homeless Initiatives, MaineHousing