Article courtesy of The Falmouth Enterprise
Volume 122 Number 42 Friday, September 7, 2012
By BRENT RUNYON
Falmouth Town Planner Brian A. Currie announced yesterday that the town will award two affordable housing projects, conversion of the Odd Fellows Hall into apartments and housing at St. Marks Road, to the Falmouth Housing Trust. Odd Fellows Hall, the historic property in Town Hall Square, will be restored and renovated into four affordable rental units. The St. Marks project on Teaticket Highway is a vacant lot and will be developed into three new single-family homes for sale to qualified buyers. “I think it may have been a long time in coming, but it was worth taking the time to do it right,” Mr. Currie said. The paperwork was still being finalized as of yesterday afternoon, but was expected to be complete by this morning or Monday at the latest. “When it rains it pours,” said Falmouth Housing Trust executive director Anne C. Saganic, who plans to develop both properties as Chapter 40B affordable housing projects. “We’re very excited. It’s been a long haul.” It has been over a year since Falmouth Town Meeting approved the conversion of the Odd Fellows into affordable rentals. The housing trust plans to build four one-bedroom apartments at Odd Fellows Hall that would be rented for about $850 a month, including utilities. Eligible tenants must earn 80 percent of the average median income or below, Ms. Saganic said. Two units would be on the first floor and two on the second. Of the two projects, the Odd Fellows Hall project is more complicated, Mr. Currie said. “You’re dealing with a building that is 150 years old that is going to require extensive renovations,” he said. “It’s really something that’s not their forte, quite frankly.” From a planning perspective, Mr. Currie said, it might have been better to put a commercial property on the first floor and rental apartments on the second floor. “But Town Meeting wanted to have purely affordable housing, and that’s fine,” Mr. Currie said. “From a planning perspective, it’s fine.” Ms. Saganic said because Odd Fellows Hall is a more complicated project, that will be the priority. The building was built in 1856 and first served as the Village School. Among the students who attended the school was Katharine Lee Bates, author of “America the Beautiful.” Over time, the building underwent significant changes. In 1906, it was moved to its current location on Chancery Lane, turned 90 degrees, and its steeple was removed. At the time a portico and four pillars were added. The town purchased the property in 2004 for $330,000. Since that time the property has remained vacant and unused. In 2011, Town Meeting voted to sell the property for a minimum of $10 with the requirement it be redeveloped for community housing. The St. Marks Road parcel at 761 Teaticket Highway was taken by the town in 1981 because the previous owner failed to pay taxes. Falmouth Town Meeting approved the development of affordable housing in April 2010. The land will be developed into three single-family homes: two Cape-style homes and one ranch, Ms. Saganic said. Falmouth Housing Trust specializes in building single-family homes and selling them as affordable housing to qualified buyers.
Maro Titus has a deep connection to the Falmouth Community that dates back to her childhood, shaping her passion for the area. Leveraging her successful career in healthcare administration, Maro has transitioned her expertise to Kinlin Grover Compass Real Estate. As a dedicated agent, she strives to understand each client’s unique needs, bringing a wealth of marketing knowledge and enthusiasm to the real estate practice. With a background in executive leadership encompassing strategic planning, government affairs, and business development, Maro’s professional journey is marked by a commitment to excellence.
Marie Bigelow retired in 2014 from Corporate Banking in Boston after 28 years, mostly with BankBoston, Citizens, and Santander Bank. Her banking experience is primarily as a Senior Credit professional with experience in diversified lending arenas including Non-Profit, Large Corporate, Middle Market, Asset Based, Leveraged Finance and Commercial Real Estate Lending. She brings strong financial analysis, real estate finance, and loan structuring experience to her new role at FHT.
David Sutkowy has lived in Falmouth since 2020. 
Director, Addie Drolette, is a Falmouth native and makes her home in East Falmouth. Most of Addie’s professional career has been spent serving the mortgage financing needs of the community of Falmouth. She is presently a Senior Residential Loan Officer with Martha’s Vineyard Bank. 
Savannah Fabbio lives in East Falmouth with her husband Jay and is a Mortgage Loan Officer for Shamrock Home Loans in Osterville. Prior to this she was an Assistant Vice President and Branch Manager for The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod and Assistant Manager at Citizens Bank.
Dave Garrison and his wife, Lori, moved to Falmouth in 2014 after full and interesting careers in Washington DC. Dave was raised in the Boston suburbs. He has been coming to the Cape every summer since 1944. 
After completing a 35 year career in marketing and communications, most recently as Senior Vice-President of Marketing for Dunkin’ U.S. – with previous marketing leadership roles at The Gillette Company and Ocean Spray Cranberries – Tom Manchester currently sits on the board and is an investor in a start-up business, The Mobile Locker Company and is also an instructor for Sports Marketing at Stonehill College. 
Ed Monteiro was President of the Board of Directors of Falmouth Housing Trust in the ‘90’s, and we are thrilled that he is back. 
Sudie Gifford comes to our board with an extremely varied background in arts, education, finance, public relations, and charity work.
Susan Roman is the Owner of 
Troy Clarkson is an author and speaker with more than a quarter-century of experience in positions of leadership in government and public service. He has been actively involved in his beloved Falmouth since his teen years, when he wrote and published ‘The Cove Chronicle,’ a newspaper that he sold door-to-door for a quarter and that documented the lives of his friends and neighbors.
Kevin McCarthy joined the board of directors of the Falmouth Housing Trust in 2012. Kevin’s entire career has been spent pursuing various “oceans” related endeavors, first as a professional diver, followed by various senior level management positions at a number of oceanographic manufacturing companies, including Klein Associates and Teledyne Benthos. He holds a B.S. from Northeastern University and an M.B.A. from Suffolk University. In 2000, he joined Hydroid LLC, a startup subsea robotics company that was founded to commercialize the REMUS autonomous underwater vehicle technologies developed at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. In 2008, the company was acquired by the Norwegian company, Kongsberg Maritime. Kevin retired from his position of Vice President of Marketing in 2010 to devote more time to his passion for wildlife photography. Some of his work can be viewed at: www.McCarthyNatureImages.com.
Information coming soon.
Information coming soon.
Joanne O’Sullivan is a real estate attorney who has been practicing law in Falmouth since 1995. She is a self described “wash-ashore” living on Cape Cod for close to 20 years. Joanne grew up in South Boston, and graduated from the University of Chicago and Boston College Law School. Attorney O’Sullivan has been a sole practitioner for the past six years. She is married and her children are enrolled in the Falmouth Public Schools. Ms. O’Sullivan joined the FHT Board of Directors in 2009 and became Vice President in 2011.
Kenneth Buckland and his family; wife Nicolette and two boys, moved to Falmouth during Hurricane Gloria in 1985. They moved to town so that Ken could take the position as the Town Planner.
Joan Bates has lived in Falmouth with her husband, Robert, since 2002. Prior to that, the couple lived in Newton. Joan’s 25-year professional career was in special education and nonprofit management.
Beth Ciarletta grew up in rural New Jersey then moved to Raleigh, NC for eighteen years where she met her husband Michael, co-founded a business, married and began their family. She relocated to Falmouth in 2012 with her husband to raise their children in a smaller community-based town, and to be closer to family. Her husband’s family lives in Norwood, MA and vacationed in Falmouth and on Cape Cod for many years.
Carey Murphy lives in Waquoit with his wife of 31 years, Martha. Their three adult sons are all employed in the ski business, a sport that Carey loves to spend his winter months enjoying. They recently sold their retail business, Kensington’s at Mashpee Commons, after owning and operating it for 29 years.