By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — The Select Board unanimously approved two Lynnfield Initiatives for Elders, Inc. (L.I.F.E.) policy changes during a June 23 meeting.
L.I.F.E. Board of Directors President Beverly Merritt recalled that the nonprofit corporation oversees three senior housing developments in town: Center Village, Essex Village and Colonial Village. She said L.I.F.E.’s Board of Directors wanted to change two different policies that were listed on its website.
Merritt said one of the policy changes that L.I.F.E. wanted to make pertained to increasing the age limit of residents from 58 to 60.
“One of the paragraphs states, ‘one of the two occupants (or singles) must be at least 58 years of age,’” said Merritt. “The board would like to change the age to 60 years of age.”
Merritt said the second policy change the L.I.F.E. Board of Directors was looking to implement pertains to the waiting list for prospective residents.
“One of the paragraphs states, ‘The waiting list is comprised of current and former Lynnfield residents with at least two years of residency, or the mother, father, brother or sister of a current or former Lynnfield resident with at least two years of residency,’” said Merritt. “The board would like to remove the portion of the sentence that states the eligibility of a mother, father, brother or sister of a current or former resident. All names that are currently on the waiting list will remain and be grandfathered in.”
Merritt said the L.I.F.E. Board of Directors unanimously voted at its May meeting to recommend the two policy changes.
“The reason for these changes is that the present waiting list is comprised of 533 names,” said Merritt. “By removing the eligibility of parents and siblings of Lynnfield residents, it gives current and former Lynnfield residents a better opportunity to secure a residence at L.I.F.E.”
Select Board Chair Phil Crawford recalled that L.I.F.E. dropped the age requirement from 60 to 58 when Colonial Village was constructed at MarketStreet Lynnfield.
“We were trying to get a younger demographic to finish selling those units,” said Crawford. “We are not producing any more units. I think this makes sense.”
Crawford also expressed his support for the eligibility requirement change request.
“For the eligibility piece, with 533 names on the list, it does make sense to at least give some priority or a better chance of Lynnfield residents to get on that list and hopefully secure a unit,” said Crawford. “Both changes make sense to me.”
Select Board Vice Chair Alexis Leahy asked how many names would be removed from the waiting list if the eligibility requirement were changed.
“Right now I don’t know because the applications are coming in,” said Merritt. “The number can only drop after we look at it. Some of the names on the list are deceased. I know that the list has not been updated. I can’t tell you now until we look at the list and purge it. Once we purge it, we will find out how many names will drop.”
Leahy asked if L.I.F.E. will still have enough demand if the eligibility policy is changed.
Merritt said yes.
“There is a big demand,” said Merritt. “We are getting calls every day and we are getting seven or eight applications every week. There is a huge demand. I think a lot of seniors who are now in their 60s and 70s are downsizing. We have 350 residents right now who live in 174 units, comprised of three Villages. They are all very well-maintained. It is a wonderful way of life. I can attest to that, and I think that is why the demand has been so great. People are learning and hearing a lot about it lately as people are looking to downsize.”
Select Board member Dick Dalton asked if the L.I.F.E. Board of Directors will be making the waiting list public after names are “purged” and the list is “cleaned up.”
“Will there be public access to the list so people can look at the list?” Dalton asked.
Merritt said L.I.F.E.’s waiting list has never been made public because it includes “confidential information.” She said only the Board of Directors and a representative from a management company that now oversees L.I.F.E.’s three Villages can access the waiting list. She informed the Villager that Marblehead-based Crowninshield Management and the representative is John Fantasia.
“I think that is one thing that I told the former executive director I didn’t agree with,” said Dalton in response during the meeting. “Maybe the list itself as it exists now has certain personal information we wouldn’t want to put out on a webpage or whatever, but if it were simply a name on the list, that is not privileged personal information.”
Dalton said making the waiting list public information will allow residents to see what number they are located on it.
“I think what it does is add to the credibility,” said Dalton. “It is something that I would respectfully request your board to look at.”
While Merritt said the L.I.F.E. Board of Directors will have a discussion about Dalton’s request, she asked why he does he “feel that the list should be public.”
“I think it gives it a lot more credibility from what we hear in town,” said Dalton.
After the waiting list is “in good standing,” Merritt said the L.I.F.E. Board of Directors will have a discussion about making it public.
Dalton encouraged Merritt to reach out to Town Counsel Tom Mullen about the process of making the waiting list public. He noted that residents’ names, addresses and ages are published in the street list each year.
Merritt was receptive to Dalton’s suggestion that the waiting list only includes names and addresses.
“I am sure we can certainly consider that as a board,” said Merritt. “I will certainly bring that up. We need to work on the list right now because I know that a lot of the people have passed, have called to remove their names or have moved away. Now it is time to call them again and ask them if they are still interested. We will take it from there, but that is going to take some time. We will get to it.”
After the discussion, the Select Board unanimously voted to approve the two L.I.F.E. policy changes. The policy changes will go into effect immediately.