For nearly three years, $500,000 earmarked for an affordable housing downpayment assistance program in Barrington has sat untouched.

Officials said restrictions placed on the funds have made it nearly impossible for people to actually use the money. 

The situation led Tom Rimoshytus to come up with an idea — if no one can access the money for affordable housing, let’s use it to improve the athletic fields in town. 

Earlier this spring, Rimoshytus filed an amendment for the upcoming Financial Town Meeting in Barrington. The long-time Park and Recreation Commission member requested that all of the money in the affordable housing account be shifted into an athletic fields line item.

Shortly after he filed the amendment, Rimoshytus learned that the affordable housing downpayment assistance money would be discussed at the Town Council meeting on May 6. 

Rimoshytus could not help but wonder — had town officials always planned to discuss the money, or was it a reaction to his FTM amendment?

“For three years nothing’s been brought up, then all of a sudden…” Rimoshytus said to the Council.

At their meeting on May 6, members of the Barrington Town Council discussed the affordable housing money, which voters had approved at an earlier FTM. 

Members of the town’s Housing Board of Trustees told Council members that perceived restrictions placed on the funding has made it difficult for anyone to access it. They said there was a belief that money could only be used on housing that qualifies under the state’s affordable housing laws. 

Meanwhile, Rimoshytus said there are other needs in Barrington which would benefit from the money. 

“They’ve come in front of you and said they had no takers,” Rimoshytus said to the Council members. 

He then offered a compromise: Rimoshytus told Council members that he was willing to split the money in the account. Rimoshytus said he would alter his FTM amendment and earmark half for affordable house and half for athletic fields. 

His offer was not accepted.

In a followup interview, Rimoshytus told the Barrington Times his amendment — moving $500,000 into a fields line item — will be heard at the May 22 FTM. He hopes residents support the amendment. 

Not punitive

Council member Kate Berard, who serves as a liaison to the Housing Board, made no determination about whether Rimoshytus’s FTM amendment had actually kick-started the discussion about the money in the affordable housing account. 

Instead, Berard said it would be disingenuous to think that Barrington officials would redirect money originally earmarked for affordable housing to athletic fields instead. She said the Council has already shown its support for athletic fields — she pointed toward a $5 million bond proposed by the Council that, if approved, will support improvements to Barrington’s athletic fields. 

Berard said the money in the affordable housing account is important for helping people who don’t live in Barrington, be able to move to town. 

Council member Braxton Cloutier agreed with Berard. He said he opposed moving the money from affordable housing to athletic fields, although he re-stated his support for the town’s efforts to improve the fields. 

Cloutier also challenged the idea that Rimoshytus’s amendment spurred the Housing Board into action. He said board members had planned to speak with the Council in March, but were asked to wait until a later meeting. 

“This was not punitive,” Cloutier said, adding that no one told Council members they needed to do something to quash the amendment. 

Cloutier said the restrictions placed on the affordable housing funds made it difficult for people to use the money. 

Earlier in the meeting, Council members told Housing Board officials that they need not worry about the state’s affordable housing laws when considering potential uses for the money. They encouraged Housing Board members to work on new ways to use the funds for lower case a, lower case h affordable housing in Barrington. 

Council President Carl Kustell called it a clarifying moment and encouraged officials to be aggressive with their plans for the affordable housing funds. He said the money is just sitting there, and more affordable housing is needed in this community. Kustell also said shifting the affordable housing money to athletic fields would send a bad message to the state.

Housing Board member Bill DeWitt thanked the Council for clearing up the issue. 

Kustell later took a moment to thank Rimoshytus — acknowledging that it is possible the resident’s FTM amendment was a driving force behind the affordable housing fund discussion.