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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-05-04 Bd Comm minutesM NUTES APPROVED HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 2004 - 6:30 P.M. SENIOR CENTER CLASSROOM Members Presents: Jerry Anthony, Erin Barnes, Lori Bears, John Deeth, Mark Edwards, William Greazel, Matthew Hayek, Shellie Mackel-Wiederanders, Jayne Sandier Members Absent: Staff Present: Tracy Hightshoe, Steve Long, Steve Nasby, Linda Severson Others Present: Al Axeen, Bob Burns, Karl Dixon, Jim Swaim, Joan VandenBerg, David Wellendorf, Sandy Pickup, Crissy Canganelli, Danielle Thompson, Mike Townsend, Charlie Eastham CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Hayek called the meeting to order at 6:33 PM. CONSIDERATION OF THE MINUTES OF THE FEBRUARY 18 and 19, 2004, MEETINGS Hayek noted that the name of the ICCSD board president is spelled incorrectly. Barnes said that the name of one of the Eagles' Flight representatives is also listed incorrectly in the minutes. Hayek said that one of the last names of the OMNI Therapies representative was missing. Deeth asked if a quorum had been present during HCDC's tour of proposed projects while they were at United Action for Youth. Hightshoe said that a couple of HCDC members did not make that stop and as such, no quorum was present at UAY. MOTION: Anthony moved to accept the minutes as amended; Edwards seconded the motion. All in favor; motion passed 8-0 (Sandier temporarily absent). PUBLIC/MEMBER DISCUSSION OF ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA None from the public. Anthony announced that the Housing Trust Fund of Johnson County received a $200,000 award from the Iowa Finance Authority and that the Housing Trust Fund would be moving forward quickly. Bears said that there were three bills in the Iowa House\Senate regarding universal design. Bears noted the universal design house constructed by the City and zero-step entrances. FY05 Projects Discussion Hayek gave the HCDC a brief introduction regarding the purpose of the meeting and encourages the commission to discuss the projects in an order. Hightshoe notes that there is a handout available that provides the commission with a listing of projects that were awarded housing funds from the Iowa Finance Authority and\or iowa Department of Economic Development and would be applicable to some prior year projects and proposed FY05 projects. Hayek identifies the items and ranking sheets in the HCDC packets and suggests they start at the top of the ranking sheet with the Housing projects. Habitat for Humanity - Homeownership According to the ranking sheets the application from Habitat scored the highest. Anthony asked about the status of Habitat's FY04 funding and if all of it had been expended. Staff responded that three of the four lots funded by the FY04 monies had been spent and Habitat had another property they were pursuing. Anthony said that the per lot request from Habitat was higher in the proposed FY05 project. Sandier asked if all of the funds being repaid to Habitat, by the homeowners, was recycled into more units in Iowa City or were the funds used outside of Iowa City. No one from Habitat was present, so staff would forward the question to them and get an answer back to the commission. Anthony said that if Habitat could not purchase lots in Iowa City they may be forced out to other areas. GICHF-Affordable Rental Units Anthony asked if the State HOME funding for this project had been awarded to GICHF. Hightshoe said that it had. HACAP - Transitional Housinq Replacement Units Barnes noted that the sites to be purchased had not been identified in the application and asked HACAP if they anticipated any problems with finding sites. Axeen said HACAP would not have difficulty identifying sites and in the past this was done by July or August. Hayek asked how many manufactured Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes March 11, 2004 Page 2 houses HACAP had in the park where these two were located. Axeen said just these two. Axeen also noted that HACAP is currently repaying their FY04 loan to the City. Mackel asked Axeen, which of the two HACAP applications was the higher priority. Axeen said the transitional housing replacement project was a higher priority than the acquisition of additional units. HACAP - Transitional Housinq Acquisition of Units No questions from the commission. See discussion above. BloominFI Garden - Affordable Rental Units Burns was asked about the status of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) funds. Burns said that the FY03 project was not funded by IFA and he appealed; however, the appeal was denied so Burns is pursuing legal action in Johnson County District Court. He indicated that the matter is now with the judge and he is awaiting a decision. IFA just announced their awards this month for State HOME and LIHTC projects. The FY04 LIHTC application (Prairie GardenANhispering Garden) was not awarded funding. Burns said that the LIHTC scoring is favoring Des Moines, but IFA is seeing the need in cities like Iowa City and he is encouraging HCDC to advocate to IFA for giving additional LIHTCs to Iowa City. Mackel asked if partial funding was possible and at what level would still be feasible. Burns said that the LIHTC investors do not like to do small projects so he thought 16 units would be a minimum. He said that he could combine the FY04 funds with any funds received for the FY05 request to reach the 16-unit number. Shelter House - Emer;lency Assistance Proqram Barnes asked if Shelter House has income guidelines and if there is a cap on the assistance. Dixon replied that the HUD income limits would apply, but most everyone they see is under 30% median income and Shelter House does verify incomes. Dixon said there is not a cap on the assistance but the program has been averaging about $100 per household. Hayek said that 50 persons were served last year and this year there were 85 identified in the application. Dixon said that the 85 included people they would help with the cash match the Shelter House has available. Mackel asked if $100 really helped people. Dixon said it does, aa it gives the client a way to start and some landlords are willing to do payments for the deposit. Barnes asked if Shelter House provides assistance on a first-come, first-serve basis or some other method. Dixon said first-come, first-served but that families are a priority. Bears asked if there was a waiting list for assistance. Dixon said "no" not at this time. Iowa City Community School District Wood Family Resource Center Edwards said that this is a large request and inquired if partial funding would be acceptable. Vandenberg said that she did not really have a number available, but approximately 80% or more would be needed to make it work. If the needed funds were not received the size of the facility would likely be smaller and/or finish work not completed. Hayek said that other schools in the district have these family resource centers. Vandenberg said "yes" Twain, Hills and Mann were mentioned. Hayek accepted correspondence. Hayek asked if the proposed center had neighborhood partners for operations. Vandenberg said that the school district provides for operations such as space, maintenance, etc., but they partner with organizations like Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County to provide needed community services. Swaim (UAY) said that visiting organizations (staff) could use the facility and having that space available is a big benefit. Axeen (HACAP) said that HACAP plans to provide services at the family center as well. Anthony said he had several questions and comments about the proposed project - 1 ) if the school really needs this family resource center why doesn't the school list it in their mission; 2) the number of homeless families is up and housing is a basic need and as such wouldn't it be better to use these funds for housing; 3) the budget calls for 2,200 square feet what is the space breakdown; 4) the school district has bonding capacity and just issued $39 million and this facility could have been included. Vandenberg said she agrees that homelessness is a problem and this should not be a choice between housing and services, as both complement each other. She feels this project will help housing issues too, as family stabilization will be a part of the services. Regarding the school's mission, Vandenberg said that the primary mission is education and that some kids are not prepared to learn so this activity is directly supporting education although it may not be the primary mission. Swaim said that the center will be a partnership of community resources and it will have a larger impact on this area of the community. Anthony asked why it was not included in the bond issue and the taxpayers would pay it off and we are funding schools in areas outside of Iowa City. Hayek said that all taxpayers in the district would pay off the bonds and the outlying areas have been taxed to pay for projects in Iowa City. Vandenberg said that the whole community would benefit by having the resource center. Mackel asked if the project were bond funded could the school take over the space for K-6 activities? Vandenberg said that if the district solely Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes March 11, 2004 Page 3 funded the resource center it would operate as a resource center until classroom space was necessary. Should additional classrooms be needed, the room would then convert to a classroom as what happened to Twain's Resource Center. However, if CDBG funds are used to finance the addition, the space could not be converted back to a classroom or other district need. The addition would be required to be open to the community. United Action for Youth - Facility Rehabilitation Hayek noted that UAY had revised their budget request downward from $95,000. Barnes asked what was the new number. Hightshoe said $60,000. Swaim said that the design estimates were about 18 months old and UAY brought in a contractor to look at the project and gave them cost-cutting ideas. Swaim said by moving the bathrooms and revising the entrance quite a lot of the cost could be reduced. He said that the whole project now was at $86,000 with $60,000 from CDBG and the remainder from UAY. Swaim noted that if they get partial funding UAY could try to raise funds from their current capital campaign. Mackel asked Swaim to prioritize the list of work items. Swaim said that the entrance and interior work were the most needed whereas the paint and windows could wait. Sandier said that the budget she has shows that UAY would need only $45,000 in CDBG if the UAY commitment stayed the same. Swaim said there were some changes in the UAY portion due to in-kind and donated work and maybe that had not been backed out of the budget. Barnes asked about accessibility and how long UAY had been at the site. Swaim said they were aware of accessibility issues and UAY had been there since 1987. In addition, Swaim said that when UAY was looking at the new Tower Place space they did a space use study and 5-year plan. In response to a question, Swaim said they are always worried about meeting the demand and UAY feels it can meet the needs identified in the 5-year plan. Old Brick- Facility Rehabilitation Wellendorf said that Old Brick's board was meeting on Monday evening. Barnes asked about the wheel chair lift and if the rest of the building would be accessible. Wellendorf said they were actively working on accessibility issues for the rest of the building and with this project some work to the restrooms would be done, but not much can be done to the layout. He noted that this project is only one piece of a much larger renovation project. Hayek asked about the budget breakdown. Wellendorf said that $20,000 was for the restrooms and $24,400 was for the lift. Wellendorf was asked about the number of persons with disabilities that need the lift. In response, Wellendorf said that he does not know the number of disabled persons that could use the lift but a number of non-profits use the Old Brick space for events and the Agape Cafb serves breakfast on-site so it is used by a high number of Iow income persons. Wellendorf continued to say that the larger project was about $344,000 and they were doing fundraisers in April and May. At a minimum they would need $7,500 towards the lift. (BREAK) Free Lunch - Facility Rehabilitation There were no questions or comments from the commission. ISED - Micro-enterprise TraininR Edwards asked if they could apply to the economic development fund. Hightshoe said they could, but ISED was trying both routes. Anthony asked how much the Council Economic Development Committee had already funded ISED for their current project. Nasby said $15,000. Anthony asked how much had been spent so far. Nasby said $3,300 is the number in the application. Mackel asked if the commission could spend economic development funds. Hightshoe said that those funds are at the discretion of the Council Economic Development Committee and City Council. DVlP - Security Improvements Mackel asked if DVIP received partial funding at what level was the project no longer feasible. Hightshoe said DVIP had indicated if not all of the CDBG funds were awarded they would fundraise. Sandier said that she thought this was a must have for DVIP. NCJC - Facility Rehabilitation There were no questions or comments from the commission. 4Cs - Facility Rehabilitation Axeen said that he is on the 4Cs board and could answer questions if necessary. Barnes asked if it is feasible to fit a lift into the space. Axeen said "yes" and there had been a drawing submitted to HCDC. Sandier asked if there had been an update on the estimate as it was old. Axeen said that they had Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes March 11, 2004 Page 4 checked and the estimate was still good. Sandier asked about access to the other parts of the house and accessibility to the building. Axeen said that the levels would be accessible and the exterior entrance for accessibility would be addressed. Hayek asked if there would be code issues to closing off an area. Axeen said that the Fire Department would inspect and tell them what would need to be done or allowed. Bears asked how long 4Cs had been at the location. Severson said over 10 years. Bears asked if a wheel chair user would test the lift when it is done. Axeen said that the Iowa inspection rules for elevators were very strict. Weber PTA- Playground Hightshoe said staff received a verbal withdrawal of the application, but were waiting a written confirmation. Early Learners -Buildinq Acquisition In response to Anthony, Hightshoe said that if the project is eligible and funded then at least 51% of the clients would have to be Iow-moderate income, but that was not reflected on the application. Daycare is an eligible category, however the clients served must be at least 51% Iow to moderate income. Hayek noted that no HCDC member had awarded this project any funding in the preliminary rankings. Anthony asked if the applicant would give more information. Hightshoe said that all applicants were notified of the meeting. Applicants are encouraged to come, but it is not required. Staff can follow up with the applicant if there are questions. MECCA - Facility Rehabilitation Bears said that she likes the project, but by the rankings she may be the only one. Barnes said that points were hard to come by when she reviewed the application. Hightshoe said that the applicant was notified of the meeting. Hayek said that during the tour the parking lot did not appear to him to be in too poor of shape and that with limited funds there were other projects. PATV - Facility Rehabilitation Long said that PATV had called about their FY04 funding and how PATV could meet the expenditure policy. Sandier said that it did not appear that PATV, over the last year, had worked to find any other funding for the project and the City CDBG monies were about the only funds being requested. Sandier also noted that the FY05 application looked very similar to the FY04 application and no updates were provided. Barnes said that PATV owns the building, but the door opener was for the Evert Conner Center and she did not want to penalize the Conner Center. Edwards asked when the Conner Center located to this site, why did they locate into a building that was not fully accessible as this is their client base. Free Medical Clinic - Operational Funds Sandier mentioned that the free medical clinic in Cedar Rapids had a new location and asked Pickup for an update. Pickup said that the Iowa City staff had seen the new building in Cedar Rapids and it was very nice. Hayek noted that these projects in public services were closely ranked. Barnes asked what happens after FY05 funds run out. Pickup said they look for funding every year from multiple sources. Hayek said there was a budget correction. Pickup said it was handed out at the last meeting to include the in-kind donations. Hayek asked if they had a minimum number. Pickup said there were some reserves they could use, but as much as possible from CDBG is needed. Compeer - Operational Funds Mackel asked why Compeer is not affiliated with the Community Mental Health Center (CMHC). Severson said that CMHC provides space for the program, but could not give financial support. She also noted that Alliance for the Mentally III also had board members on Compeer. Mackel said it appears that three agencies are doing pieces of the project and wouldn't it make sense to consolidate. Severson said that Compeer only gets non-financial support from the others. Shelter House -Operational Funds Hayek said that the application is for an outreach coordinator and that additional information had been submitted along with a breakdown of the STAR funds. Hayek asked Shelter House how long STAR had been around. Canganelli said it was originally a 3-year grant that had been renewed for one year and that they are in the process of submitting for renewal. Canganelli said that coming up with the STAR match is key and that it is an all or nothing grant. As such, no match, no grant. Hayek asked if the CDBG funds being requested were for year 6 or year 7 STAR. Canganelli said year 6, October 2004 - September 2005. Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes March 11, 2004 Page 5 Eagles Fliqht -- Daycare Operations Hayek asked Danielle Thompson, of Eagles Flight, if she had any new numbers on enrollment. She stated that they have two additional enrollments, bringing the number up to 13, and have several others interested. Hayek also asked what the occupancy is for the site. Thompson said it's 30. Mackel asked if the daycare was a faith-based organization, and Thompson stated it was not. Goodwill Industries - Operational Funding Sandier asked how many of the vehicles are recycled back into Iowa City. Mike Townsend of Goodwill Industries reported that 24 of 26 cars went to Iowa City residents, but that cars received come from all over the area, and not just Iowa City. Hayek asked if there are programs similar to this in other communities, to which Townsend replied yes. Barnes stated that Waterloo has a program but it is a totally different concept than here. Sandier asked how much a client puts towards a car, and if they have a payment-type plan. Townsend explained that the recipient does have to be able to make payments, a very minimal amount, as well as insurance, and that Goodwill holds the title until the clients are able to cover these costs. Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County -- Neighborhood Planninq Hayek asked if this is the only application with U of I involvement. Sandier stated that Free Med also has U of I involvement. Hayek asked if anyone knew anything more regarding pledges from Southgate, and it was stated that a contract is signed on Newberry. Eagles Flight - Youth Program Operational Fundinq Hayek asked Thompson if there were any changes to this application, and Thompson replied everything was the same. Sandier asked if partial funding would allow the program to continue, and Thompson said it would, but they would make some changes themselves. OMNI Therapies - Health Services Operational Funding Barnes stated that they requested $30,000 for staff salaries, and she wanted some clarification on this amount. Edwards said the amount is broken down by category, i.e. massage, administrative, etc. Discussion continued on the donation aspect, and a fee for service as a better use of money. Early Learners -- Transportation Operational Funding Sandier asked if this was a qualified application. Hightshoe explained how it does qualify. This application is in conjunction with her other application. Hayek asked for a recap of what needs to happen over the next few days. Hightshoe said that if no changes are being made, each member needs to initial the sheet she gave them and return it to her. If they are going to make changes, they need to note that and give them back to her by Monday morning as they hope to deliver the revised allocations by Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning. Members discussed various issues and how they would indicate changes they desire. ADJOURNMENT Chairperson Hayek mentioned that he would be attending a Council work session on Monday and would report back to the Commission what he finds out regarding the scattered site housing issue. Discussion started up again on changes to allocations, budget issues, and how funding can be allocated differently, and recapturing of certain funds. MOTION: Edwards moved to adjourn the meeting; Deeth seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 9-0 The meeting adjourned at 10:10 PM. Board or Commission: Housing & Community Development Committee ATTENDANCE RECORD YEAR 2004 March 1L 2004 TERM NAME EXP. 1 / 15/04 2/18/04 2/19/04 3/11/04 3/18/04 4/15/04 5/20/04 6/17/04 7/15/04 Jerry Anthony 9/1/05 X X X X Erin Barnes 9/1/06 X O X X Lori Bears 9/1/04 X O X X John Deeth 9/1/04 X X X X Mark Edwards 9/1/05 0 X X X William Greazel 9-1-06 X X X X Matthew Hayek 9/1/04 X X X X Michelle Mackel 9/1/06 X X X X Jayne Sandler 9/1/05 0 0 X X KEY: X = Present O = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused NM= No meeting Final/Approved Minutes Senior Center Commission March 16, 2004 Room G09/8 - Senior Center Call to Order: Meeting called to order at 2:00 PM. Members Present: Jo Hensch, Jay Honohan, Betty Kelly, Sarah Maiers, Charity Rowley, and Nancy Wombacher. Members Absent: Lori Benz. Staff Present: Michelle Buhman, Linda Kopping, Susan Rogusky and Julie Seal. Others Present: Dave Johansen, Penny Smith, and Ted Smith Recommendations to Council: None. Approval of Minutes: Motion: To approve the February minutes as distributed. Rowley/Kelly, Motion carried on a vote of 6-0, PUBLIC DISCUSSION None NUTRITION PROGRAM OPERATIONAL EXPENSES UPDATE: Discussions with Connie Benton Wolfe- Kopping Kopping reported that the staff has been collecting meter readings over the weekends to get a better estimate of the utility usage. Staff is in the process of compiling the information and should be able to provide the Commission with these figures at the next meeting. Kopping met with Connie Benton-Wolfe, director of Elder Services Inc, to discuss funding for the Nutrition Program. As a result of this meeting, Heritage has agreed to pay for the dishwasher in the kitchen. Heritage will then own the equipment and would take it with them in the event the nutrition program relocated. The Senior Center will pay for the fire suppression system needed in the kitchen. Kopping and Wolfe also discussed working together in a variety of ways for both programs, however, in light of the fact that Wolfe has accepted the position as head of the United Way, any decisions'and discussions will continue with the new director. Commissioners reviewed the most recent dining attendance report, a letter from Patricia Ephgrave to the City Council, and a copy of a report prepared by the Senior Center/Dining Site Committee of the Johnson County Task Force on Aging. Final/Approved Kopping and Wolfe worked together to draft a memo in response to the letter from Ephgrave and the Task Force that the Senior Center and Dining program. The letter indicated that the Senior Center and nutrition program have arranged to work together in order to provide programs for seniors in Johnson County who are not members of the Senior Center. Senior Center staffers Seal and Rogusky will provide guidance and suggestions to a committee of the Nutrition Dining Program charged with developing and providing programs during the noon meal. PARTICIPATION IN THE JOHNSON COUNTY CULTURAL ALLIANCE- Commissioners discussed the benefits of joining the Johnson County Cultural Alliance. Motion: To pay the web fee of $150 and the annual fee of $150 to join the Johnson County Cultural Alliance. Rowley/Maiers Motion Carried on a vote of 6-0. MEMBERSHIP DRIVE COMMITTEE REPORT- Kopping Kopping and Benz met with the University of Iowa Marketing Department professor, Tim O'Conner, to garner advice related to promoting awareness of the Senior Center. O'Conner suggested the Center develop a survey to find out what current members like and dislike. O'Conner will be providing assistance in developing this survey. MODEL RAILROADING CLUB REQUEST FOR SPACE UPDATE- Rowley Rowley reported that the sub-committee from the Commission met with the Model Railroading Club to discuss their request for space. If approved by the Commission, the club would like to collect $10 to $15 per month as part of club fees. The club would like a junior membership for those who are under 50 years of age and are interesting in ' joining the club. The club estimates that they will have between15 and 20 members. The club agreed to maintain their own equipment. After one year the club would evaluate the usage of space, membership, and the construction of their projects. Rooms 201, M02 and the Craft shop were all discussed as about the possibility of rearranging space. Commissioners and staff will talk to volunteers from the Eldercraft Shop about the possibility of relocating. The Committee will continue to discuss these issues and will provide a report at the next Commission meeting. COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IA. Honohan/Kopping Honohan will be presenting the amended Resolution, the By-laws and Articles of Incorporation for the Iowa Senior Center Fund Inc to the City Council in April. If approved by the City Council, the Community Foundation will reach the $1 Million mark and will celebrate at the Senior Center. Motion: The corporation that the Commission is forming to handle contributions to the Community Foundation be renamed: The Iowa City Senior Center Fund Inc. Motion carried on a vote of 6-0, Rowley/Kelly Final/Approved SENIOR CENTER UPDATE Operations-Kopping Kopping reported that the Board of Supervisors agreed to contribute $75,000 towards the Senior Center's operational budget in FY05. Programs- Seal Seal distributed a list of classes, public events and special programs starting in April. Volunteers- Rogusky Rogusky distributed a list of students who are currently working at the Center as volunteers. Membership and Fundraising-Buhman Buhman reported that as of March 16, 2004, 788 people have registered as Senior Center members. $5,094.50 in donations has been collected for the Operational Budget. City Council Report- Honohan will go the next City Council Meeting and work session. Board Of Supervisors - The Commission will be sending the Board minutes from this meeting. COMMISSION DISCUSSION Motion to adjourn, Motion carried on a vote of 6-0, Rowley/Maiers MINUTES APPROVED HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION SENIOR CENTER, LOWER LEVEL CLASSROOM MARCH 18, 2004 MEMBERS PRESENT: Jerry Anthony, Erin Barnes, Lori Bears, John Deeth, Mark Edwards, Bill Greazel, Matt Hayek, Shellie Mackel, Jayne Sandier STAFF PRESENT: Tracy Hightshoe, Steve Long, Steve Nasby, Linda Severson OTHERS PRESENT: Mark Patton, David Wellendorf, Karl Dixon, Bob Burns, Al Axeen, Maryann Dennis, Lane Plugge, Valerie Russell, Danielle Thompson, Craig Steller, Charlie Eastham RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: Housing and Community Development Commission Funding Recommendations: FY05 CDBG\Home Projects PROJECT NAME HCDC RECOMMENDATION REQUESTED AMOUNT Housing - Home Eligible Activities Habitat for Humanity*- Homeownership $184,207 $350,000 GICHF - Rental Housing Construction $190,000 $223,000 HACAP - Transitional Housing Rep. $148,000 $148,000 Blooming Garden IHA L.P. - Rental Hsg $200,000 $480,000 Public Facilities, ED, Non-HOME Activities Shelter House- Emergency Assistance $5,000 $5,000 UAY - Facility Rehabilitation $30,000 $60,000 ICCSD - Wood Family Resource Ctr $300,000 $350,000 Old Brick - Accessibility Improvements $30,000 $40,400 Free Lunch Program - Facility Rehab $3,000 $3,384 DVIP Security System $4,478 $4,478 NCJC - Facility Rehabilitation $6,000 $8,600 4C's - Facility Rehabilitation $32,000 $35,090 Public Services and Planning Free Medical Clinic - Case Mgmt $16,500 $30,000 Compeer- Director $3,434 $6,000 Shelter House - Outreach Coordinator $16,500 $30,000 Eagles Flight- Operations for Hannah's $6,000 $16,700 Goodwill Industries - Transportation $8,000 $20,000 NCJC - Neighborhood Planning $5,931 $40,000 Eagles Flight - Youth Program $3,635 $13,560 *Habitat for Humanity - Amended Motion. Funds generated through mortgages from the HOME assisted properties must be reinvested in the development of homes in Iowa City. CALL TO ORDER: Hayek called the meeting to order at 6:31 pm. Hightshoe reviewed the materials, which had been mailed in the Commission's information packet. She noted that there had been a change in funding, there currently was $1,192,685.00 available, which was an increase from the prior amount the Commission had for allocation to projects. The Average Allocation Sheet dated 3/17/04 was a revised copy with the most current information. PUBLIC COMMENT OF ANY ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA: There was none. Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes March 18, 2004 Page 2 CHANGE IN AGENDA iTEMS: Hayek proposed that items 3 and 4 be reversed so that the Unsuccessful or Delayed Projects Policy could be deferred to the April meeting due to the probable length of time required to discuss the FY05 funding requests and allocations. Motion: Deeth made a motion to reverse items 3 and 4 on the agenda. Bears seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 9-0. DISCUSSION OF FY04 CDBG PROJECTS THAT HAVE NOT PERFORMED PER THE UNSUCCESSFUL OR DELAYED PROJECTS POLICY Hayek referred the commission to Hightshoe's memorandum dated 3/15/04 regarding FY04 CDBG projects that had not spent at least 50% of their award by 3/15/04. Revisions: Shelter House - Shelter Coordinator had completely spent its $10,000 allocation; Shelter House - Deposit Assistance had spent 85% of its award; Emma Goldman - Facility Rehabilitation had spent over 50% of their FY04 funding; Elder Services - Small Repair had spent approximately $10,000 of the $27,000 CDBG award. The two remaining non-conforming projects were Elder Services and PATV. Motion: Edwards made a motion to defer discussion of FY04 CDBG Projects that have not performed per the Unsuccessful or Delayed Projects Policy to the April 2004 meeting. Anthony seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 8-0 with one abstention (Sandier). FY05 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG) AND HOME INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM (HOME) REQUESTS Discussion of FY05 CDBG/HOME applications and Development of FY05 CDBG/HOME budget recommendations to City Council. Hayek said Staff had informed him that there was an additional $18,000 available. Of the $18,000 up to $4,000 could be allocated to Public Services if the Commission elected to do so, but it was not mandated. The remainder of the additional funding was available for allocation to HOME eligible activities, public facilities, economic development, and non-HOME eligible activities. Hayek said several applications scored less than 60 points. One option was to decide in advance to not discuss or fund those applications. Motion: Sandier moved that applications under 60 points on an average score not be discussed or funded. Anthony seconded the motion. Hightshoe said the affected applications would be: Public Services - Early Learners Transportation (56.14 average score) Public Facilities - Early Learners Building Acquisition (55.43 average score); PATV Automatic Door (54.38 average score); MECCA Parking Lot (48.75 average score) Barnes said she had wished to discuss the Automatic Door Opener request. At the last meeting, it had been discussed that the door would cost $2,000 but there had been questions regarding how the FY04 and FY05 monies would work, which she felt was a valid concern for awarding or not awarding monies in FY05. Hightshoe said PATV could retain their FY04 award of $1,000, however PATV could not incur an expense this year and then use FY05 funding to pay the prior expense. Sandier said the memorandum in the informational packet also had information regarding this issue. Hayek and Hightshoe said the City had the discretion to give the applicant another 25% as a contingency. If things were left alone, the applicant would have $1,250 which was better than $1,000 and the applicant might be able to fund-raise for the remaining $750. The motion passed on a vote of 8-1. (Barnes) Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes March 18, 2004 Page 3 Public Services and Planninq Motion: Sandier made a motion to fund the Free Medical Clinic for $16,979. She said in reviewing the list of applications that $16,979 had been the average allocation. Mackel seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 8-1 (Mackel). Motion: Mackel made a motion to fund Compeer at $3,434. Sandier seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 9-0 Motion: Sandier made a motion to fund Shelter House - Outreach Coordinator at $15,000. Anthony seconded the motion. Mackel said given that there was an extra $4,000, this would be one of the programs she would like to see moved up from the average allocation given the nature of it affecting housing and homelessness in the community. Anthony and Greazel agreed. Anthony said this was a category that was very competitive and many people needed that money so the Commission should try to reach the $60,000 mark. Mackel said she'd prefer to allocate more than $15,000. The motion failed on a vote of 2-7. (Mackel, Barnes, Edwards, Sandier, Anthony, Beare, Deeth) Motion: Deeth made a motion to fund Shelter House - Outreach Coordinator at $16,500. Anthony seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 9-0. Motion: Bames made a motion to fund Eagles Flight - Hannah's Blessing Operations at $6,000, which would be above the average allocation. Mackel seconded the motion. Barnes said her rational was that when starting a new daycare, it was difficult to get things going. This applicant was requesting funding to cover the salary for a full-time and a part-time staff person. This amount of funding might actually keep them going for a while. Mackel said they were looking mostly at things that affected single mothers and the elderly. Affordable childcare and housing were big issues for single mothers Hayek asked if they were required to choose between two applications, one being Eagles Flight youth program, as to where to allocate the money, which would they choose? Barnes said she supported youth programming as well, especially vocational development for kids. It would be a toss-up for her. Split $6,000 and $6,000. Mackel said if she had to choose it would absolutely be the childcare and eliminate the other program. There was potential other support for it through collaborations but there was not funding for childcare. Edwards said he would suggest that they fund the last four projects for the average allocation with the remaining money added to the Eagles Flight request. Suggestion was withdrawn due to an open motion being on the table. The motion passed on a vote of 6-3. (Hayek, Sandier, Greazel) Motion: Sandier made a motion to fund Goodwill Industries - Transportation at $6,134. Deeth seconded the motion. Barnes said Goodwill Industries invested a lot of money into the cars to ensure that they were roadworthy. It would be a liability to the Agency to send anyone out in a vehicle that didn't function. Funding of $6,000 would be helpful, every little bit helped. However, the more money they received the more people they could serve. She saw their clients in Iowa City driving their vehicles and it did make a huge difference to be able to get one's child to daycare and work. Barnes said she'd prefer to see them get a little more money than $6,000. Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes March 18, 2004 Page 4 Anthony agreed. He felt this was an excellent program and that it needed a bit more than $6,000. In reviewing the NCJC application, his impression was that they were doing the planning and the planning would still go on even if they didn't receive funding. If NCJC received funding, it would become better and more focused, but it was not a critical need. Sandier said Goodwill was still funding an approximate 13 vehicles. She didn't know what the additional 6 vehicles would bring as far as their ability for transportation. There were other programs through which they had accessibility to funds for this program such as the ROSS program's Wheels to Work. Sandier said she didn't think they were allowing them not to fund the program or not to be able to continue. Barnes said with the ROSS Program, a lot of the time the funds did not go into the initial car maintenance. If a client presented and they were having problems with a car after they had invested money, then the ROSS money would be used. The motion failed on a vote of 1-8 (Mackel, Barnes, Greazel, Edwards, Sandier, Anthony, Bears, Hayek). Motion: Death made a motion to fund OMNI Therapies - Health Services at zero dollars. Sandier seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 9-0. Motion: Barnes made a motion to fund Goodwill Industries at $12,000. Greazel seconded the motion. Mackel said by funding at that amount, it would mean funding the other remaining programs at negligible amounts. She felt the NCJC project had some merit, as some were throwing large amounts of money at that part of the community without having the slightest idea why they were doing it or what was needed. It was a tremendous waste. Without having some sense of what they were trying to fix, it was a waste of resources. She felt the proposed project had big potential. Bears said she had met a lot of young families who used the Broadway Center. They had benefited and it was a benefit to the neighborhood. Bears said she would hate not to fund them. Greazel said he advocated funding Goodwill Industries because they were leveraging a large amount of money. If someone had a job and they could get to that job dependably, that was a huge leverage for the income of that individual. He felt it was important to be able to get to a job on time and dependably, and if this would help those people get to their jobs on time and dependably, he felt that was a good investment. Hayek said all the remaining applications were good options, but he supported the Neighborhood Center strongly. He had met with people at the Neighborhood Centers and some of the non-profit agencies that were trying to direct services to that neighborhood. There really was a lack of coordination. The U of I School of Social Work was also prepared to assist with this project. Anthony said he felt NCJC was doing excellent work but had a concern if it was critical that they get funded or were funded at a lower level. The operation would still continue. Comparing this application to the Grant Wood application, in the Grant Wood application the NCJC would provide $130,000 in operational funds. If they had $130,000 to give, he wondered if this application was so critical? Edwards said he felt it was important that they fund this project, but perhaps not at the average level. It was a private-public partnership that was involved with the school district through the Grant Wood project, the commercial/retail side with Southgate and some residential rental property. Those groups were all working together and he felt that they needed to be rewarded for their partnership. In response to an open question by Sander regarding the Scattered Site study, Edwards said he felt the City had helped to create some of the situation that was occurring. He felt the Scattered Site policy would solve the existing problem today, they needed to look down the road with this Policy. The City (and everyone) had helped to develop a problem in an area and it was important to put some resoumes toward fixing it. Anthony said if the Scattered Site policy was effective, the benefits would take a long time to accrue. The vehicle problems were right now. The motion failed on a vote of 2-7. (Mackel, Barnes, Edwards, Sandier, Bears, Deeth, Hayek) Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes March 18, 2004 Page 5 Motion: Mackel made a motion to fund Goodwill Industries - Transportation at $8,000. Sandier seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 9-0. Motion: Sandier made a motion to reduce the allocation for the Free Medical Clinic from $16,979 to $16,500. Mackel seconded the motion. Sandier said she'd made the motion originally to get things started. As they were at the last two applications in this funding section, she wanted a little more money available. Deeth said it also gave them the same amount of allocation as the Shelter House and both agencies had requested the same amount of funding. The motion passed on a vote of 7-2. (Hayek, Anthony) Motion: Edwards made a motion to fund Eagles Flight - Youth Program at $3,635 and fund NCJC Planning at $5,931. Barnes seconded the motion. Mackel said given that there was private funding for NCJC and not for Eagles Flight, she would be more comfortable with something closer to $5,000 for NCJC and work out the odd dollars in favor of Eagles Flight, as she felt it would be really well used. Barnes said based on what had been said and since there was a money match, it made sense to fund Eagles Flight for more. If they allocated $5,000 to NCJC, they would still have $10,000, which was a pretty decent amount of money. Eagles Flight would be trying to give back money to the community, possibly to the kids who lived in that area. Eagles Flight needed as much money as they could get to be able to get as many kids to work as possible. NCJC had a match, Eagles Flight didn't. Mackel said simply looking at the numbers, with the match that would give NCJC half of what they'd asked for. With Eagles Flight, they would still be funded at less than requested. Edwards said he thought they should be very careful about discouraging the idea of using match money or giving applicants the impression that they had other sources when matches were being discussed. He felt the partnership idea was an incredible asset. Anthony said he felt a match was a positive thing and should be encouraged. There was nothing stopping Eagles Flight from generating support from elsewhere and matching what they received from the FY05 City funding. Hayek said the more third parties were part of the program coming through the Neighborhood Centers, the more they would be involved in the planning. They had commercial interests as well, which was very critical for a neighborhood. The motion passed on a vote of 7-2. (Mackel, Deeth) Public Facilities, ED, Non-HOME Activities Motion: Sandier made a motion to fund Shelter House - Emergency Assistance at $4,500. Greazel seconded the motion. Sandier requested a clarification if the '04 funds that were in the Security Deposit and the Emergency Assistance funds were totally different programs. Dixon said "no". Mackel asked for a clarification between wl~at the program formerly was and what needs it currently addressed. Were there other emergency needs besides security deposits that those funds were going for? Dixon, said that was correct. The program had been expanded to include assistance for some one-time only requests such as a utility shut off notice or an eviction notice. Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes March 18, 2004 Page 6 The motion failed on a vote of 1-8. (Mackel, Barnes, Edwards, Sandier, Anthony, Bears, Deeth, Hayek) · 1otion: Deeth made a motion to fund Shelter House Emergency Assistance at $5,000. Barnes seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 9-0 Deeth asked Plugge if the ICCSD Wood Family Resource Center were funded at $250,000, the average amount, what would be the impact. Plugge, said it would probably mean a smaller facility. The decision process would entail the same process as before - sitting down with their architect and the Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County and asking what type of space could they get for 'X' dollars, In order to have a viable pra-school, a certain number of square feet was required. They would probably lose space for their planned medical clinic or food distribution center, He could only go on their last estimates. Plugge said if he had knowledge of the West High bids he could and would give a much more definitive answer, They had just opened bids on the elementary school and would have to revise all their projections with respect to steel. Anthony asked if this could be funded through a bond issue? Plugge said unless the Board has new plans, he didn't think they were going to pursue another bond issue in the near future. He said there is a possibility of using PPEL (Physical Plant and Equipment Levy). The PPEL fund is a levy, requiring voter approval. It is a tax for up to a 10-year period to raise money for facilities. Plugge said he had a PPEL unfunded list of approximately $46 million dollars. He said that unfortunately this was something he could not fund. He was leaving six classrooms un-built. He could not divert funds to build the resource center at Wood. The district must build classrooms first. Motion: Greaze/ made a motion to fund at $300,000, Mackel seconded the motion. Anthony said he would like to make a case for not funding at a very high level. He was trying to be a good steward of federal resources. This was money designated for housing and community development projects and was being proposed to be given to an agency that could potentially raise it from taxpayers. The taxpayers supported the schools so much that they had raised $39 million last year, the equivalent of 25-years of the Commission's annual allocations cycle. He felt $350,000 was a very small amount for the school district to raise. Anthony said if the Commission funded the ICCSD at 30%, 40% or 50%, he felt the project would still be viable and they would be able to get money from elsewhere. There were at least three or four other family resource centers in the district that were being funded by non-CDBG funds. Anthony said there were many other organizations/agencies that had applied for funding whose projects were consistent with the mission of the Housing and Community Development Commission and with their own missions. The ICCSD project was consistent with the Housing and Community Development Commission's mission but the project was not a high priority for the applicant. He said funding this project at a high level and not funding many other projects that met the two-fold consistency was unfair to other projects. It was a basic fairness issue. Anthony said he definitely wanted funding for the project, 71% was the average funding allocation but he felt it should be funded at much lower than that amount. Greazel said he had visited this site. When he looked at a project and at something that was being built new, there was a certain economy of building all at one time. For projects such as rehab or remodeling, whether it was done this year or next year, it might be inconvenient but it was not going to affect the overall effect of the project. Greazel said there were a lot of advantages to sizing a project right when it was built. He felt the people working at the site needed better working conditions and the kids needed a better place to be. Greazel said it was his understanding that if CDBG funded the project the addition (resource center) would always be dedicated for that purpose whereas if the school funded it they could change their mind at any time. Plugge said that was correct. The ICCSD will offer this space for multiple non-profit groups and neighborhood organizations. They felt it was consistent with their mission, which talked about enriching the experiences for their kids with community resources. Hayek said in terms of this sort of project not being a high priority for the District, he was not sure that was the case. This would be a public building on public land. He felt the community could do a better job of making those structures available for the good of the community at more times of the day. This would be a great opportunity to do that. The proposed application and budget had made a great effort at leveraging the funds, it had been one of the most complete applications the Commission had received this year. Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes March 18, 2004 Page 7 Hayek said with bonding, every time a bond was passed it added to the property tax burden, which made housing a little less affordable in the Iowa City area. He felt that was an issue. Hayek said the school district had sent the Commission some data on Grant Wood and the children who attended it. One-half of the children who attended there were considered Iow income and it was the second highest number in Iowa City. It had the highest percentage district wide of third- to sixth-graders who were not proficient in reading and the free/reduced school lunch numbers had increased by 2.5 times in the last seven years. The younger siblings of these children were pre-school aged and they needed to be prep'ared to learn when they got to kindergarten. Hayek said one of the great things about this project is that there is collaboration between public, non- profit, local and federal providers. This presents a perfect avenue to collaborate and share public resources. Neighborhood Centers and other groups are ready to jump in. The project meets high priorities in CITY STEPS such as access to medical-care, youth-care and adult education. The surrounding neighborhood contains numerous subsidized housing units operated by the City and other agencies, it is a neighborhood of high need. Anthony said in the February presentation Joan Vandenberg had said this was not part of the ICCSD mission, he was quoting from her. In October they had unanimously agreed to upgrade the need for a neighborhood center from a medium to a high priority. In November during a Staff presentation and discussion which would have prevented any type of development south of Hwy 6, he had brought up the distinction between new projects that would concentrate and the projects like a neighborhood center that were needed. They had made the distinction between additional concentrate and needed services. Anthony said he felt there was no doubt that if any place in Iowa City needed a facility like this, this area really needed it. His question was about the level of funding. As a steward of scarce federal resources was it wise to fund it at the high level that was being requested. He was not convinced that they had made a compelling case for funding at 71% or even 50%. Mackel said as of yet she'd not heard what impact making a smaller facility would create and what challenges it would entail. Plugge said they had sat down and listed what type of programs they wanted to run. With limited funds, unfortunately, it is often necessary to make a facility smaller than it should be in the first place. They'd looked at a preschool, which at a minimum should be 1,000-square feet. Then they had looked at flexible space, conference rooms and small classrooms. Plugge said they were not only serving elementary aged children, they would also be serving their parents, families and pre-school aged children. That was what Joan had been referring to when she had said it was not their central mission. Their mission was to serve school aged children. When he had gone to school in the 1950's, it had been about reading and writing and arithmetic. That was no longer the case. In the thirty years that he'd been an educator he had seen their role change completely as well as having seen social services funding get cut and more of that responsibility had come to them. He looked at this as a joint facility in serving non-educational needs as well as preparing children to have more successful outcomes in school. Plugge said they were also offering other spaces that they were building there as well that could be used - the multi-purpose room and gym would be opened up in the non-school hours. Plugge said he felt this was a model that would be seen across the United States. Plugge said with smaller space they would have fewer volunteers, they would not be able to offer a medical clinic there as often and the quality and quantity of services would be less. Greazel asked if the ICCSD was funded at $300,000 could the same sized building be built that was proposed for funding at $350,000. Plugge said they'd had bad news with their bids. They were looking at 2200-square feet at $130 a square foot, which was $286,000. That was just the shell. Greazel asked if some type of phased construction would be possible. Plugge said he thought that might increase costs, especially on a structure this small. Greazel said when it came to space the cheapest time to build it was when you initially built a facility. When it was a one-time shot such as this, he would rather see the CDBG fund it to be adequate rather than fudging and five-years down the road say, "We just didn't build it big enough." Greazel said as an analogy, if you purchased ~ a tire, a car could not be run on ½ a tire. You either needed the whole tire or no tire, but ½ tire did you no good. Plugge said his intent was to build a quality, durable building. Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes March 18, 2004 Page 8 Sandier said as a public building its service would be to all ages which was according to CITY STEPS what was needed. Other agencies would be able to use it as well. Once you started cutting that, it would be less than adequate and the number of services that would be able to utilize the building would be less as well. She would support funding at $300,000. Edwards said he felt strongly this was an important project. It was a collaboration and leveraging other resources. He felt they needed to make a strong message to applicants that that was an important thing for this Commission. This project would be located in a part of town that had been beaten up in the past, there was a community bringing forth a solution to a problem in an area and all of a sudden the City might not step up and help solve the problem. He felt there was a need to do so. Hayek said he felt the schools were one of the most affected institutions in the community. He had been at Grant Wood several times and visited with the teachers. The place was struggling, he felt the staff was doing a valiant job. He supported the application and would fund at $300,000. Greazel requested that they call the question. The motion passed on a vote of 8-1. (Anthony) Motion: Sandier made a motion to fund UAY - Facility Rehabilitation at $30,000. Mackel seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 9-0. Motion: Greazel made a motion to fund Old Brick - Accessibility at $30,000. Barnes seconded the motion. Wellendorf, said he'd done his homework and come up with a new, lower amount of $35,578. They'd looked at the structure and there had been some engineering problems. A potential problem with the barrier platform for the lift had been resolved. Carrier had gifted some money to get them closer to where they needed to be. They wished to create a unisex bathroom for handicapped persons, there was a bathroom downstairs underneath the stairs. They wished to clean up the men's bathroom and prepare the way so when the opening for the door was made during construction, the rest of the interior would be ready to go. Anthony asked Wellendorf if he was amending his request to $35,578. Wellendorf submitted a revised listing of his proposed expenses for entry into the record. Greazel asked if the extra $5,000 was not allocated, what would happen. Wellendorf said considering the rest of the projects that were going on, and that they had holes in the west windows that bats were flying through, every penny was critical to them but they were very creative. They could work with $30,000 and complete the project. It would take more volunteers. Greazel asked if something could be put off and an application made again next year or did it all have to be done now. Wellendorf said that was hard to say, he would probably just not do the men's restroom. The motion passed on a vote of 9-0. Motion: Sandier mode a motion to fund Free Lunch Program - Facility Rehabilitation at $3,000. Mackel seconded the motion, The motion passed on a vote of 9-0. Motion: Greazel made a motion to fund DV/P Security System at $4,478. Mackel seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 9-0. Motion: Anthony made a motion to fund NCJC Facility Rehabilitation at $8,600. Barnes seconded the motion. Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes March 18, 2004 Page 9 Greazel said he felt a lot of the work to be done on this project could be done by volunteer labor, it was one of the projects were volunteer labor could make a big difference. He wouldn't support full funding of the requested amount. Mackel said the window treatments hadn't been entirely justified. They were tremendously expensive. The Commission had only heard that they were 'special', they hadn't received a clear vision on what the treatments were. Hayek said he was not convinced that they were in as bad of shape as had been indicated, in addition, the applicant had wanted some shaded rooms for the childcare. Hayek asked if there would be a way to shade the existing windows with something cheaper. Trees were offered as a suggestion. The motion failed on a vote of 3-6. (Mackel, Greazel, Edwards, Sandier, Bears, Hayek) Motion: Sand/er made a motion to fund NCJC Facility Rehabilitation at $6,000. Mackel seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 9-0. Motion: Sandier made a motion that ISED - Microenterprise Training be funded at zero. Greazel seconded the application Sandier stated she would like to see them apply to the CDBG Economic Development Fund so the Commission would have $30,000 more to work with. Anthony stated that ISED had not used the FY04 funding they had been awarded. Hayek asked how much money was left in the ED Committee pool? Nasby said approximately $100,000. Hayek asked if there were any pending applications to that pool? Nasby and Hightshoe said they both had recently discussed projects with prospective applicants. Hayek commented that there would be approximately $270,000 available in that pool after the FY05 funds are available. He asked if the requests for these ED funds had exceeded the amount that was available. Nasby said last year there was one application that had been submitted which would have exhausted the amount of funding, but it was withdrawn by the applicant. Nasby noted that he was waiting on two applications for March. The three new applications, including the one Hightshoe had, could total between $50,000 and $100,000 in requests. Edwards said he felt comfortable funding ISED at zero dollars. The motion passed on a vote of 9-0. Hayek requested Staff to strongly advise the applicant to follow up with the Council ED committee. Motion: Barnes made a motion to fund 4C's - Rehabilitation at $35,000. Anthony seconded the motion. Sandier said in her notes she had a credit of $700 on the gutters and sidings. Hayek said he thought that was a past expense that they'd had to take care of as it was a past expense for which they could not apply for money. Hightshoe said the applicant had submitted a revised budget. The estimate had come in higher for the lift so they'd lowered the request on the gutters and raised it on the lift. Hightshoe said on the revised estimate the lift elevator was $30,500, original budget listed it as $25,800. On the revised application the lift elevator was $30,500; sidewalks and railings were $690; siding was $3,900. The applicant had made a revised proposed budget and prioritized what she wanted. The priorities in order of importance were lift elevator, sidewalk/railings, siding. Hayek said the amount requested still hadn't changed. The lift elevator would be $5,000 more expensive and the gutter work was $5,000 less expensive. Hayek asked if they had resolved the issue of whether there would be Code problems or if they'd have to switch to the front door? Mackel said Old Brick was managing to overcome some interesting space challenges and was able to create a bathroom in addition to a lift. For $5,000 more, it seemed like they were getting less on this application. Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes March 18, 2004 Page 10 Sandier said she didn't think that there was a volunteer component with this that there might be with Old Brick. Greazel agreed. Hayek appreciated the efforts of Old Brick to squeeze every penny out. Barnes said she thought there was a difference between the two lifts. The lift at 4C's was similar to an elevator and was considerably more expensive to have. Women with strollers might be able to go up and down on that lift, but they could not do so on a chair lift such as what was at Old Brick. She would favor a more expensive lift, if it would make it better for them. Wellendorf said the Old Brick lift was a platform lift with a gated seat. It was multipurpose. The application as to how it was used or not used was the critical issue. He had wanted to put in a platform lift but could not because of the application. They'd almost not been able to put in the other lift either, because the application would not have retained the originality of the building. In response to an inquiry by Anthony, Wellendorf said the Old Brick lift recalled between two levels. Axeen said at 4C's there were three levels that access was required to. Two exits off the lift went one direction and the other exit went the other direction. The motion failed on a vote of 4-5. (Mackel, Greazel, Deeth, Hayek, Sandier) Motion: Barnes made a motion to fund 4C's - Rehabilitation at $32,000. Anthony seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 9-0. Housinq - HOME Eligible Activities Motion: Sandier made a motion to fund Habitat for Humanity for $200,000. Barnes seconded the motion. Sandier said she'd derived that figure based on the applicant's note to the Commission that they were having difficulty finding lots from the '04 money. She didn't feel full funding should be given in '05 until the Commission saw some Iowa City lots open up. Barnes agreed; she felt it was feasible to purchase fewer lots than ten. Anthony said on their proposal, the applicant had noted that this money was to be spent over two years. Hightshoe said Staff would follow up and see where they were. Hayek said there was an e-mail from the applicant in the Commission's information packet. The applicant had guaranteed that the repaid monies would go back into the Iowa City area and not the multi-county area. The motion passed on a vote of 8-1. (Anthony) Amended Motion: Sandier amended her preceding motion to stipu/ate that the funds a/located to Habitat for Humanity be tracked as to on/y be used for Iowa City projects once they were paid back from the homeowners. Mackel seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 9-0. Greazel asked if the GICHF re-invested back the same way as was being stipulated for Habitat for Humanity, back into Iowa City. GICHF also operated in Coralville. Eastham and Dennis said they had units in Coralville. The loan payments for loans received from Iowa City were paid back to the City. Long said Habitat acted more as a lender and GICHF was strictly loans, there was a difference in the paybacks. Anthony said Habitat was typically a grant and the money went from the owners of the property back to Habitat. It could be re-invested anywhere in the Iowa City region. For GICHF funding was a loan, they paid back to the City. Motion: Barnes made a motion to fund GICHF - Affordable Renta/ Const. et $215,000. Anthony seconded the motion. Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes March 18, 2004 Page 11 Anthony said this project was leveraging resources from outside and they already had those resources in hand. The applicant had obtained the money from other sources to go ahead with the project. He felt that was very positive. Most other applicants didn't have other leveraging money in hand. Anthony said the application had indicated that this funding would be for new Iow-income housing construction away from concentrated pockets of poverty. It was implementing the Scattered Sight Policy. Approved funding would be putting money behind the Policy. Sandier said her concern with funding at that level was that the applicant might not be able to find that many units to fund in Iowa City at this time. Anthony said the applicant already had the land, this would be funding for construction only. Mackel said the proposed amount would be near full funding, she would like to see more balance on funding. Barnes said they didn't receive funds in FY04. Dennis said they did not apply in FY04. There had been a special allocation in FY03 because Metro Planes had purchased all the lots at Longfellow Manor and had intended to build them out as rental housing. Metro Planes had ended up not getting their funding, the neighbors in the Longfellow District had not supported that project either. Because Metro Planes had not received their funding, there had been a special allocation of FY03 funds so they didn't apply in FY04. The motion failed on a vote of 2-7. (Mackel, Greazel, Edwards, Sandier, Bears, Deeth, Hayek) Greazel asked Dennis how much was the cost per unit? That way the commission would not cut back in a ¼-unit increment. Dennis said she didn't know. They were requesting this money for construction because the lots had already been purchased. Eastham said they'd requested $37,000 per unit for zero- lot duplexes or $74,000 per building. Motion: Greazel made a motion to fund GICHF at $148,666. Mackel seconded the motion. Eastham said it was not that simple. If the commission reduced the amount they funded, then the applicants would have to go back to their lenders and re-negotiate with the bank and State HOME funds. Dennis said the State funds and private investor would not invest the same amount of funds for 4-units as they would for 6-units. The rental income would be reduced by 2-units. Hayek asked if full funding from State HOME funds and the private lender was contingent upon full funding from the CDBG Committee? Dennis said no; it was contingent upon how many units. If they did not receive full funding, they were still going to try to construct 6 units. Mackel asked what was the proposed square-footage of the units? Dennis said 1,100 sq. feet. Anthony asked if the applicant didn't receive the full funding requested from the Commission and they decided to build 4-units, would that require giving back some of the State HOME funds? Eastham said if they constructed less than 6-units, yes. Mackel asked the applicant if they had a sense of what the bottom-line dollar was to construct 6-units. Dennis said no, not without talking to the contractors. Sandier asked if there was a potential for receiving/utilizing discounted materials, receiving in-kind donations or use of wholesale items or appliances? Dennis said possibly, but because of home regulations all construction had to be competitively bid. They could encourage contractors to do so but not write a bid ad as such. Dennis said per federal regulations, any type of discounted materials would have to be included in an enterprise zone. Greazel said some projects the commission reviewed had to be built all at once. However, this was the type of project that could be phased in over a number of years. If something had to be cut to fund something else, it was easier to do it this way. He hated to penalize the applicant for building duplexes, but it made phased implementation easier. Barnes said she wished to reiterate that this project was already underway. They had already purchased the lots whereas the Transitional Housing project still didn't know where the lots they wished to purchase Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes March 18, 2004 Page 12 were. The applicant had taken the necessary steps and was waiting on the Commission now. She would vote to fund at $215,000. Anthony said he would support funding the project at $215,000 or $223,000. This project implements the Scattered Site Policy. The applicant had obtained outside funding, then came to the commission to request assistance. Most applicants come to the commission first, then try elsewhere. He wanted to reward an applicant who had done all that work before coming to the commission and encourage such type of applications in the future. The motion failed on a vote of 0-9. Motion: Mackel made a motion to fund GICHF at $190,000. Anthony seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 7-2. (Sandier, Hayek) Motion: Mackel made a motion to revise the funding for Habitat for Humanity to $170,000. Sandier seconded the motion. Mackel said she'd like to have more funds to allocate to the remaining three. She'd like to see HACAP Replacement receive funding and also give a significant amount to Blooming Garden. She said given the challenges Habitat was having in acquiring land and post the Fellowship discussion, did it justify them getting the largest percentage in terms of their requested allocation. Hayek said Habitat had informed the Commission that the cost of lots was increasing and that was one of the challenges they were facing. To reduce what had been awarded to them, would make it more difficult for Habitat for Humanity. Mackel said in terms of $35,000 for a lot, that would fund 4.85 lots. Patton said they'd submitted an offer on a fourth lot but had not heard back yet. Hayek said the Habitat application was the only application received this year for ownership, all other applications had been for rentals. He felt they needed to assist with home ownership funding as much as possible. The motion failed on a vote of 0-7 (Mackel and Anthony abstaining). Motion: Greazel made a motion to fund HACAP Transitional Housing Replacement at $148,000. Anthony seconded the motion. Axeen said the market would dictate if they could move in July or not. Market was usually tighter until August. They had been looking right now, but couldn't do anything. Axeen said if he had to choose, he would put the $148,000 toward the Replacement. Hayek asked Greazel if he had a concern with the Blooming Garden application. Greazel said he had the same questions they had asked everyone else. Last time Blooming Garden couldn't find lots and it was still difficult to find lots. He wanted to be sure that Blooming Garden had the lots so they wouldn't have unallocated money coming back later for failure to find the lots. Burns said they had always been able to buy lots. Burns said last year they had intended to shift the allocated funds to purchase an existing building, going from large family to small family. That had occurred to give Successful Living an opportunity to become part of the project. Sandier pointed out though, prior to that time they hadn't found a lot to purchase so the applicant had wanted to change the use of the funds. Burns said they applied for funds so they were able to purchase the lots and have them under their control so they could apply for State HOME funds and State tax credits. Burns said they had to have control of the site and an allocation of Iowa City HOME funds before they were even eligible to receive State HOME funds. Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes March 18, 2004 Page 13 Greazel asked Burns if he could tell the Commission where the lots were that Burns assured the Commission he could purchase. Burns said it would depend on the Scattered Site policy the City ended up with. Burns said he could not tell the Commission specifically where at this meeting. Greazel acknowledged that it was difficult to get lots. Hayek asked Burns if they would be taking a second bite at the Iow income housing tax credit apple from FY04. Burns said yes. Sandier asked for further information on the court case. Burns said no information yet. They'd applied for tax credits for their FY03 project. They were denied tax credits due to a Iow score. They appealed the decision with the IFA and lost. As such, Burns said he filed suit with the Johnson County District Court as they didn't think their application had been scored correctly. They are currently waiting a decision from the District Court. Burns said partly through the Des Moines Register, Iowa City finally had the attention of the Iowa Finance Authority that there was a need for family housing in eastern Iowa. No tax credit funds had been funded to Iowa City for family housing since 1993. Hayek asked what would happen if they lost the appeal? Burns said that was a decision they would have to make jointly with the City, as far as what the City wanted them to do. Hayek asked if it was it correct that most of the FY03 funds had been spent. Burns said they had been spent. Burns said he understood there was some risk with funding Blooming Garden's application, but they would pay back all the funds with interest. Barnes said it made a difference to her that Habitat for Humanity was home ownership, not rental. The motion passed on a vote of 8-1. (Sandier) Motion: Mackel made a motion to fund HACAP - Transitional Housing Acquisition at zero. Greazel seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 9-0. Motion: Sandier made a motion to reduce HACAP's Replacement to $132,207. Mackel seconded the motion. Sandier said they had the ability to wait until there was a season that the market was less expensive and there was less demand. Greazel said that was assuming the market could be timed; that one could predict the market; and assuming that the market was going to go down again. He would rather give them the flexibility to make the best judgment they could with the funds they had. If they didn't need it, they would give the funds back. Sandier said the money that was left would go to Blooming Gardens and since they were going for Iow income tax credits she felt that more funds from Iowa City would be a plus. She didn't think it would change what HACAP would replace by that much. Greazel said he disagreed. He felt it was a priority to replace the outdated, 'should have been replaced' units. If they didn't use the money they would give it back. He didn't want to hamstring the HACAP application. Hayek asked if there was anything in terms of the scoring the tax credits and a threshold funding amount from the Commission that would trigger something. Burns said nothing yet, he wanted to bring that topic up with the Commission at another meeting so they could get in line and be an advocate with the Iowa Finance Authority when they did come up with the scoring criteria. The IFA criteria change every year. In terms of HOME funds, the State would match $3.00 for every City $1.00 of local funds. Nasby made a clarification stating the $3 in match from the State could be requested but it was not a formula guarantee. The motion failed on a vote of 4-5. (Barnes, Greazel, Bears, Anthony, Hayek) Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes March 18, 2004 Page 14 Motion: Mackel made a motion to reduce Habitat's funding to $184,207. Deeth seconded the motion. Sandier said she' rather see Habitat's funding reduced by one-half of Mackel's suggestion and the other half come from the ICCSD Family Resource Center. Greazel said he would speak against reducing the Resource Center's allocation. Barnes agreed. He said if there was money left over, he looked to increase the funding to the Resource Center. Anthony said he'd rather reduce the Resource Center's allocation to the average. Barnes said she disagreed, Hayek said he'd support keeping the ICCSD funding the same as well. There was a lengthily discussion regarding if Blooming Garden lost their appeal, how the money would be recaptured. Barnes she'd prefer not to see Habitat's funding reduced any more. She valued the fact that the future homeowner worked on their home so they were investing in their property. It made it more meaningful. Greazel said of the applications reviewed, they were the only who paid 100% property tax on their property. They were fully taxed when they were sold to the family. The motion passed on a vote of 6-3. (Deeth, Barnes, Hayek) Motion: Sandier made a motion to fund Blooming Garden - Affordable Rental at $200,000. Mackel seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 7-2. (Anthony, Barnes) Motion: Deeth made a motion to adopt the numbers as recommended be forwarded to the City Council as their recommended allocations. Sandier seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 9-0. JUSTIFICATION COMMITTEE Hayek, Mackel and Anthony will serve on the Justification Committee. ADJOURNMENT: Motion: Deeth made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:56 pm. Edwards seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 9-0. Minutes submitted by Candy Barnhill data on cit ynlJpcd/mJn ute s/h cd cJ2OO4/hCdc03-18-04.doc Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes March 18, 2004 Page 15 Board or Commission: Housing & Community Development Committee ATTENDANCE RECORD YEAR 2004 March 18, 2004 TERM NAME EXP. 1/15/04 2/15/04 2/19/04 3/11/04 3/18/04 4/15/04 5/20/04 6/17/04 7/15/04 Jerry Anthony 9/1/05 X X X X X Erin Barnes 9/1/06 X O X X X Lori Bears 9/1/04 X O X X X John Deeth 9/1/04 X X X X X Mark Edwards 9/1/05 O X X X X William Greazel 9-1-06 X X X X X Matthew Hayek 9/1/04 X X X X X Michelle Mackel 9/1/06 X X X X X Jayne Sandier 9/1/05 O O X X X KEY: X = Present 0 = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused NM = No meeting -- = Not aMember Agenda Item 3A F,II'NUTES APPROVED City of Iowa City Board IOWA C1TY PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES b REGULAR MEt: IING raW THURSDAY, March 25, 2004 - 5:00 PM Meeting Room C - Library Basement Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 5:00 pm by President Magalh~es. Members Present: Shaner Magalh~es, Thomas Dean, Linzee McCray, Pat Schnack, Tom Surer, .~esse Singerman, Jim Swaim, David VanDusseldorp Members Absent: Linda Prybil Staff Present: Jay Beattie, Terd Byers, Maeve Clark, Susan Craig, Barbara Curtin, Beth Daly, Linda Dyer, Debb Green, Heidi Lauritzen, Kara Logsden, Kathy Mitchell, Hal Penick, Bill Reese, Valeria Schnor Others Present: Paul Show, AFSCME Local 183 President Joel Miller, Special Projects Manager for the Library construction project PUBLIC DISCUSSION: None APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Moved by Surer, seconded by McCray, that the minutes of the regular meeting of February 19, 2004, be approved as amended to correct a few typos. President Magalh~es declared the motion carried unanimously, 8/0, with Prybil absent. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: Reouest to reconsider FY05 Calendar - Terri Byers, the Library AFSCME Local 183 Union Steward, asked the Board to reconsider their decision to open the Library on Monday, July 5, 2004, especially as closing would give the staff a much needed break from moving and intensive training they would have recently undergone. Staff expressed willingness to work the 5th, if that was the Board's decision. Staff also requested that, in the future, the Union be formally notified when the Board sets the calendar. President Magalh~es confirmed that the contract specifies that the Monday after a holiday fails on Sunday be observed as the holiday. However, the contract also has provisions for operations being open on holidays. Swaim suggested that the Library advertise and post signs that the Library was dosing on the 4th and 5th to celebrate ]ndependence and also to honor the staff for their hard work and dedication. Board members agreed that the staff deserves praise for excellent service during the disruptions caused by the building project, and deserves a break from all the stress. On the other hand, they felt it is the Board's job to balance the needs of the staff with the needs of the public, and in this case, there is no perfect solution. Moved by Swaim, seconded by Singerman, that the Library be closed July 5th as requested by staff. President Magalh~es declared the motion carried 7/1, with the following division of votes: Ayes: Dean, I~lcCray, Schnack, Suter, Singerman, Swaim, VanDusseldorp. Nays: Magalh~es. Absent: Prybil. ICPL BOARD OF TRUSTEES Agenda Item 3A March 25, 2004 Page 2 Buildinq Proiect - Joel Miller handed out his construction report with pictures of the expansion progress. He enthusiastically described the current state of the project. Carpet is down in some areas, furniture will start arriving on April :t5, the stone and metal fagade looks wonderful, the mosaic is progressing, some of the casework is in place. Miller confirmed that plans are in place to open the Pedestrian Mall by May 18, depending on weather and subcontractors finishing the exterior walls. ]n regard to the opening date, Miller was not overly optimistic. The construction teams are adding workers and are working long and hard to have everything ready for Craig's preferred date. if it humanly possible, the Grand Opening will be June 5% The date is still uncertain, and the opening will almost certainly be a Saturday in June; if not the 5th, probably the ~.2th. Any date in June is still ahead of schedule. Miller responded to questions that the project is currently under budget. Some cost increases have been made to the original design to enhance the finished building, and some extra expenditures may still need to be met. In any case, Miller expects the final cost to be well under budget. Craig asked for comments about the Marvin Bell poem that was included in the packet. The Board expressed pleasure at reading the work, and were eager to see the bronze plaque of the poem when it is mounted in the lobby. The Board examined the paper mock-up of the dedication plaque to be hung in the finished lobby. They were pleased with the design, and pointed out one spelling error and one missing name. Craig assured the Board that the text will be proofed several times before the text is sent to the sign company. Grand Openinq - Craig invited Board members to join one or more of the staff committees formed to plan events for the Grand Opening. MagalhEes asked to participate in planning the opening day program. Reoort from Kevin Hanick of LeDic-Kroeaer Realtors - Hanick was unable to attend the meeting, so Craig reported that"For Lease" signs had been posted in Library windows, fnterested parties should be directed to Hanick for more information. NEW BUSZNESS: Moved by Swaim, seconded by Suter, to appoint Dioranda Barrera and Marcia Wegman to the Library's Art Advisory Committee as recommended by staff: President MagalhEes declared the motion carried unanimously, 8/0, with Prybil absent. STAFF REPORTS: Departmental RePorts - Circulation/Adult Services/Information - The Board responded favorably to the staff reports. They were especially intrigued by the report of the new Circulation touch screen. Logsden reported that 45 people have already registered for the adult program, "Put it in Writing @ Your Library". People as far away as Bettendorf and Lincoln, Nebraska, are planning to attend. Development Office Report - Curtin distributed flyers for the "Celebrating Iowa Authors" event to take place May 2, 2004. She listed the numerous authors who had agreed to participate. Craig was delighted to announce that all costs related to the event have been covered by donations; so all proceeds will go to the Annual Fund. Board members acknowledged the enthusiasm and zest of the current Friends Foundation Board. MagalhEes encouraged all Board members to attend the event, tell everyone about it, and bring a friend. Surer offered to have KC]J donate advertising time for the event. ICPL BOARD OF TRUSTEES Agenda Item 3A March 25, 2004 Page 3 Miscellaneous - Craig informed the Board that, in regards to the Gazette article included in the packet, the Library hopes to receive 1,000 CDs from the state-wide Anti-trust settlement. The Library will absorb all needed CDs into the collection and donate the rest for sale at the BookEnd. PRESIDENT'S REPORT: Magalh~es reminded the Board that they were scheduled to have a group shot taken at the April meeting to replace the individual photos now displayed in the Library. There was some concern that future boards might have a hard time getting everyone together for the photo, but the consensus was to go ahead with the group shot this year and be willing to go back to individual pictures if a group photo did not work. HagalhEes appointed McCray, Surer, and Dean to the Nominating committee and charged them to have a report for the April board meeting. He appointed Jim Swaim as chair, and Schnack and VanDusseldorp to the Committee to evaluate the Director. He charged them to work on the evaluation between this meeting and the June meeting. Magalh~es told a little about the Harch 9th ILA Legislative Day in Des Moines. Legislators have requested more money for Towa Libraries in the state budget. They would like to see more money for the State Library and no reduction to support for all Towa libraries. The Parking Department is switching meters near the Library to be two hour meters and will be patrolling the area frequently. ]t is hoped that shorter meter times will free some spaces for Library users. ANNOUNCEI~ENT FROF4 I,IE~tBERS: Pat Schnack shared pictures and stories from her recent Rotary trip to a small town in Hexico to build an elementary school and library. She was thrilled to consider the difference books will make in the children's lives. Dave VanDusseldorp admired the daily changes toward finishing construction. He then praised the Circulation Department for the speed in which books are returned to the shelves. The Board gave credit to Joel Miller for the fine job he has done as Special Projects Manager for the Library construction project. They felt he is doing an incredible job of keeping the project on time and under budget. COF,I~IIlq'EE REPORTS: None COMMUNICATIONS: None DISBURSEHENTS: Visa report for February 2004 was reviewed. rvloved by Singerman, seconded by VanDusseldorp, that the disbursements for February 2004 be approved. President Magalh~es declared the motion carried unanimously, 8/0, with Prybil absent. AGENDA ITENIS AND AGENDA ORDER FOR APRIL MEE'rZNG: None AD3OURNMENT: MagalhEes declared the meeting adjourned at 6:07 p.m. Notes taken and transcribed by Beth Daly