A two month search comes to a close this week with the April 10 announcement that Bill Floyd, Director of Housing at Shalom House, Inc., will succeed Beth McPherson as executive director of the Genesis Community Loan Fund.

Bill, who will join the staff at the Damariscotta office on June 11, has worked to develop and manage housing and facilities at Portland-based Shalom House since 1999.

Genesis Board president and chair of the Executive Search Committee Joanne Campbell, senior vice-president of Camden National Bank, said of the appointment, "We are so pleased to have Bill Floyd join the Genesis Fund. Bill's long history in the housing and community development arena along with his strong relationships throughout Maine's housing, economic development and non-profit community made him an outstanding candidate."

Upon his acceptance of the new position, Bill said, "I have been associated with the Genesis Fund as a board member, as a borrower, and as a donor, and in all those roles I have always loved the mission and grassroots work at the heart of the Genesis Fund. I consider it a great privilege to be chosen as the next Executive Director. Beth McPherson and the staff have done such a fine job of growing this organization. The tradition of working on behalf of the people of Maine who are most in need will continue to grow."

Not long after the residents of Fort Kent's Riverview Mobile Home Park formed a cooperative in early March, efforts by the Genesis Fund to assist with the conversion of the park to a resident-owned community began to bear fruit. With the park set for closure in November 2007, the conversion will allow park residents to remain in their homes and improve the condition of the park.

On March 14, the Genesis Fund received word that MaineHousing approved a $25,750 predevelopment loan to fund an engineering study to determine the costs of replacing water and sewer lines. The deteriorating infrastructure of the park is the primary reason the owners announced the closure of the park late last year.

In early April, the Genesis Fund received the green light on a $3,500 proposal to the Maine Community Foundation to fund the hiring of a community organizer to assist with the park conversion. The organizer will work to guide park residents step-by-step through negotiating the purchase of the park and creating park management and operating plans.

The residents of Riverview Mobile Home Park have the potential to serve as first resident-park owners in the State of Maine. They are part of an exemplary program that can be replicated many times over as some of the state's 552 parks come up for sale.

Shalom House, Portland
When Shalom House, an agency that offers adults in Greater Portland who live with severe mental illness a choice of quality housing and support services, purchased a 1.32-acre site near Hadlock Field in October 2004, its staff and directors had five goals in mind: to provide office space for its staff and programs, to house an art studio for its community art program, to develop 4,000 feet of space for lease, to build 24 units of affordable multifamily housing and a six-unit group home for persons with mental illness, and to provide sufficient parking for all the site uses. By early 2007, Shalom House approached the final stages of financing and completing each of these goals.

The Genesis Fund was pleased to be instrumental at the beginning and the end -- first with a $323,400 acquisition loan as part of the initial purchase in October 2004 and last in February 2007 with the Genesis Fund Board's approval of a refinancing and addition of $289,500 to assist with the completion of the office renovation.

Community Housing of Maine, Vinalhaven
The Genesis Fund Board of Directors also approved a loan to Community Housing of Maine (CHOM) at its February 16 meeting. The $25,000 construction loan will allow CHOM to complete exterior renovations on an optioned commercial building on Vinalhaven that will yield seven affordable apartments. The building at 53 High Street is in a developed residential neighborhood, walking distance both from downtown and from the ferry dock, and is served by town water and sewer.

Like many island and coastal communities in Maine, Vinalhaven has experienced serious inflation of property values caused by the influx of affluent, seasonal buyers. This has made it increasingly difficult for low and moderate income families to afford housing, particularly since the cost of constructing new housing is compounded by distance from the mainland. CHOM is aware of several qualified renters who are living in substandard housing units (no indoor plumbing) and would benefit immediately from the completion of this project.

Harbor Schools of Maine, Rockport
A third loan approved at the February Board of Directors meeting provided for the refinancing of a $138,892 construction loan made in 2002 to Harbor Schools of Maine in Rockport. The school and its program provide the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) with a stable environment in which to place boys aged 13 to 17 who need treatment for substance abuse and mental illness. The facility was the first of its kind in the state.

After a year of delays, this summer Monhegan fisherman Matt Webber will finally start building his new island home.

On April 4 the Land Use Regulatory Commission (LURC), the state agency with authority over Maine's plantations and unorganized territories, approved a new affordable housing policy that will allow Monhegan Island Sustainable Community Association (MISCA) to subdivide a village parcel it purchased in 2005 with locally-raised funds, a $100,000 loan from the Genesis Fund, and a $25,000 Islands Challenge Fund grant. Because such a large percentage of Monhegan's land is protected in conservation easements, very few lots are available for the development of affordable year-round housing. The parcel consists of one house, which was sold to year-round residents in 2006 and additional land to build a second single-family home. Because the second lot was not quite large enough to meet the LURC minimum lot size, MISCA sought an exception so that Matt Webber, the young resident selected to build a new home there, could begin construction in the 2006 season.

However, that was not to be. LURC ruled that it would take up the matter as part of a larger effort to develop new affordable housing rules and policy. Matt and MISCA would have to wait. After months of approaching legislators and LURC officials to support the rule changes, MISCA president Doug Boynton and Matt were present at the final LURC hearing in Bangor on April 4. Boynton said, "Without these expertly-crafted rules the year-round community would not last another generation. Matt Webber's long wait is over, and others have been given hope."

The next step is for Matt, pictured above with LURC Director Catherine Carroll in Bangor, to apply to LURC for a building permit which will be considered under the new rules so that construction on his house can begin soon.