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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHCDC 9.17.15 REVISED Agenda Housing & Community Development Commission Dale Helling Conference Room, City Hall Thursday, September 17, 2015 6:30 P.M. 1. Call meeting to order 2. Approval of the June 18, 2015 minutes 3. Public comment of items not on the agenda 4. Staff/commission comment 5. Nominate and elect officers 6. Public meeting & approval of the FY15 Consolidated Annual Performance & Evaluation Report (CAPER) – online at www.icgov.org/actionplan 7. Tentative schedule of project monitoring visits in FY16 8. Discussion and recommendation regarding Walden Ridge proposal by Southgate Development Services (i) Southgate Development Services requests to pay off their CDBG loan for the Wetherby Condos South L.L.C. project and have these funds applied to the rehabilitation of units on Sylvan Glen Court (Walden Ridge Townhomes) and requests City support for a Iowa Workforce Housing Credit application. 9. Adjournment MINUTES PRELIMINARY HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION JUNE 18, 2015 – 6:30 PM HELLING CONFERENCE ROOM, CITY HALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Peter Byler, Michelle Bacon Curry, Dorothy Persson, Christine Ralston, Rachel Zimmermann Smith, Angel Taylor MEMBERS ABSENT: Andrew Chappell, Jim Jacobson, Bob Lamkins STAFF PRESENT: Marcia Bollinger, Tracy Hightshoe OTHERS PRESENT: Karen DeGroot, Becci Reedus, Beth Ritter Ruback, Crissy Canganelli, Mark Sertterh RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL: By a vote of 6-0 the Commission recommends approval of Amendment #2 to the Annual Action Plan with the following limitation: $93,750 HOME to The Housing Fellowship to acquire one property at 1896 N. Dubuque Road. Balance of $56,250 to be placed into a competitive application process. CALL TO ORDER: Zimmermann Smith called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM. CONSIDER A RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL ON AMENDMENT #2 OF THE FY2015 ANNUAL ACTION PLAN: Hightshoe explained the need for Amendment #2 to the FY15 Annual Action Plan. For HOME, grantees have two years to commit HOME funds to eligible projects or the funds get returned to HUD and no longer available for local use. Last year $200,000 was allocated to The Housing Fellowship but they were unable to locate land for a LIHTC project. These funds need to be reallocated. Additionally any HOME program income the City receives is added to the HOME commitment calculation. Hightshoe mentioned that the City had all the HOME commitments in place this year, but then Regency Place, a LIHTC project on Scott Boulevard, recently changed ownership. The LLC stayed the same, but the ownership on top of the LLC changed and during that ownership change they paid off the City’s loan early, an amount of $90,000. Then a few weeks ago, Extend the Dream Foundation sold their property and paid back their CDBG loan ($122,000) because they will no longer offer micro-enterprise services at that site. The CDGB funds are not within a time limit situation but there was $50,000 of HOME money from the three residential units on that property that was also repaid to the City at the closing. The City needs to commit over $200,000 to HOME projects by July 31 or the funds will be recaptured by HUD and not available for local use. Due to time constraints, staff spoke to The Housing Fellowship (THF) to see if they could acquire up to two properties in areas with little affordable rental housing opportunities within approximately a month. The Housing Fellowship identified 1896 North Dubuque Road and signed purchase agreement on that property to use for affordable rental housing. There was a second property on the west side, but that fell through just earlier today. Hightshoe said $93,000 of the $140,000 available could be committed to the 1896 North Dubuque Road project. Also Mayor Youth Employment Program, who identified sites with accepted purchase offers, was September 15, 2015 Page 3 listed as a CDBG project and now will receive HOME funds; CHARM Homes, LLC will receive the CDBG funds. That should take care of committing all the needed available HOME funds by the deadline. So therefore, amendment # 2 is that The Housing Fellowship is awarded $150,000 to purchase two properties, one already identified at 1896 North Dubuque Road property and then continue to look for a second property. Community Mental Health Center recently paid back $125,000 of CDBG funds they received in 2012 as they sold their building and relocating. Due to the CDBG rule for reversion of assets, if the property is sold before five years, the funds must be repaid as the site is no longer providing the required services. Therefore there is about $250,000 of CDBG funds that will need to be allocated. The application process for those funds will reopen soon and therefore there will be a mid-year funding round. Byler asked if the remaining HOME $47,000 could be put in the mid-year funding allocation, and the Commission just vote tonight to approve The Housing Fellowship to purchase the one identified unit. Persson asked if the whole amount could be put into the mid-year funding allocation, but Hightshoe said the majority has to be committed or returned to HUD. Zimmermann Smith questioned why only The Housing Fellowship was contacted regarding these additional funds. Hightshoe explained that due to time constraints, there was not enough time to have an open allocation round. An entity had about a month to find a property and staff needs about a month to go through the environmental review process and amendment process once a site had been identified and an accepted purchase offer obtained. THF is one of only two Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs) in Iowa City. HACAP is the other CHDO, but typically relies on additional funding for support services for their transitional housing units. The City had no funds available for support services, so THF was a reasonable choice. CHDOs must verify their capacity to administer HOME funds annually and are a “preferred” entity under the HOME program. HOME rules require 15% of the annual entitlement award be awarded to eligible CHDOs. Thus due to tight time constraints and limited CHDOs in Iowa City, THF was contacted. Zimmermann Smith commented that perhaps the Commission should have been consulted and this not just been a City Staff decision. Byler also commented that perhaps notice could have been posted and shared with other organizations so that they might be able to apply for these funds. Hightshoe did note that staff looked at the City’s highest needs, which is affordable rental housing and there was no time for an open round. Entities could not just apply for a project; they had to have an accepted purchase offer due to the tight time schedule. Persson noted a couple concerns. First she feels this group would not have been able to respond quickly and second there is no need to create a new non-profit if an existing non-profit can do the work. So when looking at who to allocate the money to, it needs to be given to an organization with a record of being able to put it to the best use. She acknowledges that City Staff acted the best they could with the time they had. Byler moved to approve Amendment #2 to the FY15 Annual Action Plan with the following limitation: $93,750 HOME to The Housing Fellowship to acquire one property at 1896 N. Dubuque Road. Balance of $56,250 to be placed into a competitive application process. September 15, 2015 Page 4 Taylor seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the motion carried 6-0. DISCUSS AND CONSIDER APPROVAL OF FUNDING PRIORITIES FOR FY2017 AID TO AGENCIES APPLICATIONS: At the April meeting, you requested guidance on funding priorities for future Aid to Agencies applications and allocation of funds. Since then a committee comprised of five city staff drafted priorities based on projects that meet critical need (priories listed on June 16, 2015 memo). The priorities are based on project type, not organizations applying. One organization can have several projects of different priorities. The Commission may: 1) approve the priorities as presented, 2) approve revised priorities, or 3) not approve any priorities. If approved, the priorities would be provided to applicants of Aid to Agencies funding for the coming cycle that starts this summer. Byler noted he does like the idea of having priorities. Bacon Curry commented on making sure certain demographics were given the same priority as others, especially those that have no other funding sources. Byler asked about homeless services. Hightshoe said there is not a specific category for ‘homeless,’ the “other public services” category is used. Byler moved to approve the priorities as outlined by staff with the other public services limited to only homeless services. Persson seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the motion carried 6-0. APPROVAL OF APRIL 16, 2015 MINUTES: Bacon Curry moved to approve the minutes of April 16, 2015. Byler seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the motion carried 6-0. PUBLIC COMMENT OF ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA: None. ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW AND PROJECT UPDATE (PLAYGROUND) FROM ARC OF SOUTHEAST IOWA: Karen DeGroot, Executive Director of Johnson County Crisis Center updated the Commission on the project. The playground is not only used by the kids at ARC but also neighborhood kids. She also commented on the services ARC offers. Respite Care offers families relief from the daily care of their family member with a disability, Supported Community Living program allows individuals with disabilities to work toward specific goals with the help of skilled professionals, and the Summer Camps are at full capacity. September 15, 2015 Page 5 ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW AND PROJECT UPDATE (RAPID REHOUSING) FROM SHELTER HOUSE: Crissy Canganelli, and Mark Sertterh updated the Commission on the Rapid Rehousing project. Sertterh said the project offers housing assistance to homeless by paying for rental deposits and six months’ rent. Additionally they counsel the folks for the six months so that they can continue to be successful in the future. They have currently assisted six applicants. Canganelli added that this project has allowed their organization to make and maintain relationships with landlords and other agencies to continue to build on this program. She noted the sustainability of the housing is very important to this program and they work with the renters to make sure they can sustain a budget and continue to live in the apartment after the six months of assistance. Canganelli also shared some of the other project updates from Shelter House, she said they are right on target with number of people served and assisted. STAFF/COMMISSION COMMENT: The Commission discussed a celebration or press release to recognize the landlords and other members of the community that help assist with agencies and their projects. ADJOURNMENT: Taylor moved to adjourn. Persson seconded the motion. A vote was taken and motion carried 6-0. HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION ATTENDANCE RECORD NAME TERM EXP. 11/20/14 1/15/15 2/19/15 3/12/15 4/16/15 6/18/15 9/17/15 BACON CURRY, MICHELLE 9/1/2016 O/E X X X O/E X BYLER, PETER 9/1/2017 X X X X X X CHAPPELL, ANDREW 9/1/2015 O/E X X X O/E O/E JACOBSON, JIM 9/1/2017 X X X X X O/E LAMKINS, BOB 9/1/2016 --- --- X X X O/E PERSSON, DOTTIE 9/1/2016 X X X X X X RALSTON, CHRISTINE 9/1/2015 X O/E X X O/E X TAYLOR, ANGEL 9/1/2017 X O/E X O X X ZIMMERMANN SMITH, RACHEL 9/1/2015 X X X X X X Key: X = Present O = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused --- = Vacant Date: September 10, 2015 To: Housing and Community Development Commission From: Community Development Staff Re: September 17 Meeting The following is a short description of the September agenda items. If you have any questions about the agenda, or if you are unable to attend the meeting, please contact Kris Ackerson at 356-5247 or Kristopher-Ackerson@Iowa-City.org. Nomination & Election of Officers Every September, the commission nominates and elects a chair and vice chair. The commission will nominate and vote for these two positions at this meeting. Public Hearing & Approval of the FY15 Consolidated Annual Performance Evaluation Report (CAPER) The CAPER is a HUD required document that the City must submit to HUD within 90 days of the end of the plan year. The report describes the federally funded activities undertaken by the City and its partners, and the accomplishments for federal fiscal year 2014 (City FY15). A draft of the CAPER is online at www.icgov.org/actionplan for your review and comment. At this meeting, we will be asking HCDC to approve the document for submission to HUD. Tentative schedule of project monitoring visits in FY16 Staff will invite entities to HCDC meetings to discuss the status of their projects: • November 19 o The Housing Fellowship  FY15 Acquisitions on Dubuque Road and Abbey Lane  FY15 Rehab of Keokuk Court and Hawaii Court  FY16 CHDO Operating o Systems Unlimited  FY16 Acquisition of three SRO units o Mayor’s Youth  FY16 Acquisitions on Shamrock Drive and Elmridge Avenue • February 18 o Habitat for Humanity  FY15 Property acquisition and construction for two homes on Prairie Du Chien Road o CHARM Homes  FY16 Acquisition of eight single-room-occupancy (SRO) units o Shelter House  FY15 Rapid Rehousing Program September 15, 2015 Page 8 • March 17 o Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County  FY16 Daycare operations (Aid to Agencies)  FY16 Broadway Neighborhood Center Rehab o Domestic Violence Intervention Program  FY16 Shelter operations (Aid to Agencies)  FY16 Facility rehab o Crisis Center  FY16 Emergency Assistance Program Discussion and recommendation regarding Walden Ridge proposal by Southgate Development Services Southgate Development Services requests to pay off their CDBG loan for the Wetherby Condos South L.L.C. project and have these funds applied to the rehabilitation of units on Sylvan Glen Court (Walden Ridge Townhomes) and requests City support for a Iowa Workforce Housing Credit application. See proposal attached for reference.