To quote the Vineyard Gazette editorial in the May 15 issue: “The goals of affordable housing are both vital and laudable, but they are not above the equally important principles of transparency and accountability, especially to the thousands of private donors and taxpayers who have contributed so generously to a good cause.”

The Island Affordable Housing Fund and the Island Housing Trust are pleased to have this opportunity to clarify our roles and describe our operating methods as they have evolved.

Who we are today: The fund and the trust are both private, nonprofit 501(c)3 charities. The fund (islandaffordable.org) raises money and awareness to facilitate the creation of affordable housing for low and moderate income households. The trust is a community land trust which serves as the steward of properties placed with it to insure perpetual affordability and is an active developer of housing for Island families earning up to 140 per cent of the median income for Dukes County. However, the bulk of the trust’s work is for families earning less than 100 per cent of median income (currently $81,800 for a family of four, which, at a 30 per cent housing debt ratio, translates to a purchase price of $250,000 for a three-bedroom home). While the trust is a major recipient of funds raised by the fund, the fund also supports other not-for-profit housing organizations such as the Dukes County Regional Housing Authority (funding to subsidize rentals for lower income Islanders), and Habitat for Humanity. The fund also provides low-interest loans for down payments and grants for closing cost assistance to qualified home buyers.

Accountability: We are proud that our boards of directors (all volunteers) have wide representation from all six towns, from boards of selectmen, community preservation committees, affordable housing committees, the land bank, Habitat for Humanity, Bridge Housing, Dukes County Regional Housing Authority and Island Elderly Housing. We have attorneys, bankers, real estate brokers, architects, builders, accountants, financial planners, small business owners, and retirees. We have six members who occupy housing we have built and sold to them who joined the board of the trust after becoming homeowners. We have seasonal residents. All of these individuals, with their widely divergent points of view, work together to fulfill the need for public oversight of our activities and for accountability to the Island community. Taken together, we have 35 members on the two boards, with three overlapping members. The fund issues an annual report which is widely distributed to all of our constituencies. Both organizations are audited each year and submit the results to the state. The audits disclose board member relationships as required. When seeking CPA funds, we are absolutely transparent in our plans and in our budgeting, and submit detailed invoices to the towns with each funding request. Should any public entity request further information, we are always prepared to provide it. We are very appreciative of the access to CPA funds which Island voters have provided for housing, and we are committed to making sure that your tax dollars are wisely invested for the future of our communities.

Conflicts of interest: Both organizations have policies titled Policy on Conflicts of Interest and Disclosure of Certain Interests, to which we adhere rigorously. The trust’s policy (as well as its programmatic goals and other information) is available on its Web site at ihtmv.org. Among other issues, these policies cover the relationships between the two organizations and their respective contractors and vendors who may supply services to them. Quoting the policies: they “ . . . provide . . . a procedure that, if observed, will allow a transaction to be treated as valid and binding even though a director, officer or employee has or may have a conflict of interest with respect to the transaction.” Under these policies, any board member who represents a contractor or vendor recuses himself accordingly. With respect to contractor selection, we are surprised that there is any question about the transparency of this process. From the outset the trust has publicly worked to build and maintain a list of qualified local contractors interested in bidding on upcoming projects. It is good business and it is proper community/public inclusion. Over the years, those efforts have included personal conversations, direct letters, press releases, forums with designers and builders and, most specifically, requests for qualifications published for 13 weeks over the past four years in both local papers. Although there has been some response over the years from smaller contractors (several of whom have completed smaller projects for us), very few larger contractors have expressed any interest in working for the trust until the recent economic downturn. We assume that this is because we have a 10 per cent profit limitation on all projects and they have been busy with more lucrative endeavors. The contractor selection process has been transparent to anyone who cared to look or wished to become part of the process.

With respect to 250 State Road in West Tisbury, it is an accepted tenet of the building business that a combined design-build approach on larger, more complex projects is a far more efficient and cost-effective method of successful project delivery. The only design-build firm that responded to any of our outreach was South Mountain Company. Did South Mountain have early knowledge of this project because of John Abrams’s membership on both boards? Of course. If John Abrams had not been on the boards, would the trust have selected South Mountain? Absolutely. The trust board was well aware of South Mountain’s longstanding commitment to affordable housing (as well as that of its subcontractors), and their unique suitability for this project. We performed our due diligence with respect to their contract proposal and obtained two independent cost reviews which confirmed the reasonableness of the proposal. (One estimate, by the same firm who completed the estimates for the West Tisbury town hall, considerably exceeded South Mountain’s contract price). It has never been a secret from the time this project was first announced that South Mountain was going to be the builder. In all presentations before town boards, South Mountain was an active participant.

Over the years, we have always endeavored to practice accountability, transparency, and careful management of conflicts of interest. Hundreds of families are still living on the Island because of the efforts of our organizations, local contractors, the generosity of our donors and the support of our taxpayers, voters and volunteers. We thank you for your continued trust and support.

Robert N. Wheeler is co-president of the Island Affordable Housing Fund and a board member for the Island Housing Trust. Richard J. Leonard, chairman of the Island Housing Trust, and Candace C. daRosa, co-president of the Island Affordable Housing Fund, also contributed to this piece.