The newest appointee to Bedford’s Municipal Affordable Housing Trust is 23-year-old Kylie Butler, making her possibly the youngest member of a volunteer town committee.
Although she hasn’t yet had a chance to participate in a meeting of the Trust—she was only sworn in recently—Kylie is looking forward to the March 15 meeting.
Asked why she volunteered for this town committee, Kylie said modestly that she felt her financial background would make her a useful member. The mission of the Trust, she said, is one that she supports. She grew up in Bedford, graduated from Bedford High in 2015, and says she welcomes this opportunity to give back to the town she has always lived in.
Kylie is a graduate of UMass/Amherst where she majored in accounting, with a minor in political science and market research. After graduation, she worked for a year at one of the Big Four accounting firms and then passed the exam to become a Certified Public Accountant (CPA.)
Currently, she’s a first-year law student at the University of New Hampshire/Concord; a law degree, when completed, would add yet another credential to Kylie’s resume.
The Municipal Affordable Housing Trust “works towards the creation and preservation of affordable housing in Bedford for the benefit of low and moderate income householders.” It is authorized under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 44, Section 55C and among other provisions, “(1) to accept and receive real property, personal property or money, by gift, grant, contribution, devise or transfer from any person, firm, corporation or other public or private entity, including but not limited to money, grants of funds or other property tendered to the trust in connection with any ordinance or by-law or any general or special law or any other source, including money from chapter 44B; provided, however, that any such money received from chapter 44B shall be used exclusively for community housing….”
Although the Trust is not often in the headlines, it oversees programs that are of benefit to income-eligible homeowners and renters. Through its Small Grant program, eligible homeowners can apply for small awards (up to $4000) to make home improvements that are necessary for the health and safety of the household. At its Feb. 8 meeting, the Trust approved two such grants. The Trust also oversees the Emergency Rental Assistance program, administered by the Regional Housing Services Office, a consortium of nine area towns.
In recent years the Trust was much in the news at the time of the sale of the former “Coast Guard Housing” to the developer of Pine Hill Crossing—the condominium development on Pine Hill Road, Lewis Road, and Mickelson Lane—when it acted as the pass-through agency for the sale.
There is still an opening for a member whose term would expire in 2022. If interested, residents may contact the Volunteer Coordinating Committee at https://www.bedfordma.gov/volunteer-coordinating-committee.
Current members of the Trust are:
- Alice Sun—Housing Partnership
- Christina Wilgren—Housing Partnership
- Edward Pierce—Select Board
- Sarah Stanton—Town Manager
- Shawn Hanegan—Planning Board
- Bopha Malone—Select Board
- Kylie Butler
- Vacancy – 2022
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Go Kylie!!!