HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-20-2023 Housing & Community Development CommissionHOUSING & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
COMMISSION (HCDC)
April 20, 2023
Regular Meeting — 6:30 PM
Iowa City Senior Center Assembly Room
28 S Linn Street
AGENDA:
1. Call to Order
2. Presentation of Iowa City Strategic Plan
Mayor Bruce Teague will present an introduction to Iowa City's new FY23-FY28 Strategic
Plan. The Strategic Plan is available online at www.icgov.org/strategicplan.
3. Consideration of Meeting Minutes: March 30, 2023
4. Public Comment of Items not on the Agenda
Commentators shall address the Commission for no more than 5 minutes. Commissioners
shall not engage in discussion with the public concerning said items.
5. Review and Consider Recommendation to City Council on Approval of the FY24
Annual Action Plan
The FY24 Annual Action Plan summarizes the actions planned to help address the needs
and goals in Iowa City's consolidated plan, City Steps 2025, in the next fiscal year. The plan
includes the budget for CDBG and HOME funds, a description of the projects to be funded,
and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) required information.
At the March 30, 2023 meeting, HCDC made budget recommendations for FY24
CDBG/HOME housing and public facilities projects. The FY24 Annual Action Plan incorporates
these recommendations. Staff will provide a brief overview of the draft, followed by discussion,
proposed changes, and consideration of a recommendation to City Council to approve the
plan.
A 30-day public comment period for the plan began on April 1, 2023 and will run through May
2nd, 2023. A public meeting is scheduled for May 2, 2023 where Council will consider formal
approval. Following Council approval, the plan is submitted to HUD for review. The FY24
Annual Action Plan is available online at www.icgov.org/actionplan.
6. Staff & Commission Updates
This item includes an opportunity for brief updates from staff and Commissioners.
Commissioners shall not engage in discussion on updates.
7. Adjournment
If you will need disability -related accommodations to participate in this program or event, please contact Brianna Thul
at bthul(a)iowa-citv.org or 319-356-5230. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet your
access needs.
Upcoming Housing & Community Development Commission Meeting
Regular: May 18, 2023
r �
CITY OF IOWA CITY
410 East Washington Street
Iowa City. Iowa 52240-1826
(319) 356-5000
(319) 356-5009 FAX
www.icgov.org
Housing and Community Development Commission
April 20, 2023 Meeting Packet Contents
Agenda Item #2
• The FY23 — FY28 Strategic Plan is available online at:
www.icqov.org/strategicplan.
Agenda Items #3
• March 30, 2023 Draft HCDC Meeting Minutes
Agenda Items #5
The FY24 Annual Action Plan draft is available online at:
www.icqov.org/actionplan.
MINUTES
HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
MARCH 30, 2023 — 6:30 PM
FORMAL MEETING
THE CENTER ASSEMBLY ROOM
PRELIMINARY
MEMBERS PRESENT: Kaleb Beining, Maryann Dennis, Michael Eckhardt, Karol Krotz, Nasr
Mohammed, Kiran Patel, Becci Reedus, Kyle Vogel
MEMBERS ABSENT: Jennifer Haylett
STAFF PRESENT: Erica Kubly, Brianna Thul
OTHERS PRESENT: Genevieve Anglin (UAY), Crissy Canganelli (Shelter House), Kristi
Fortmann-Doser (DVIP), Tashundra Gathright (THF), Scott Hawes
(Habitat), Will Kapp (IC Compassion), Jim Kringlen (Iowa Legal Aid),
Christi Regan (HACAP), Jamie Nguyen (Health Kids School Based
Clinics), Adam Robinson (RVAP), Bob Untiedt (TRAIL)
RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL:
By a vote of 5-2-1 (Mohammed and Eckhardt dissenting; Patel abstaining) the Commission moved to
resend recommendations from the January meeting to City Council with no changes after reconsidering
the proposals based on their merits as requested by Council.
By a vote of 8-0 the Commission moved to recommend the following FY24 Emerging Aid to Agencies
budget allocations:
March EA2A
FY24
Staff
HCDC Average
Group Funding
Agency/Project
Request
Recommendations
Recommendations
Recommendations
Healthy Kids
School Based
Clinics
$15,000
$10,000
$11,300
$11,300
Iowa Legal Aid
$12,500
$10,000
$9,300
$9,300
Iowa City
Compassion
$15,000
$10,000
$7,575
$9,560
TRAIL
$9,000
$7,575
$5,430
$7,415
Iowa City Sober
Living
$12,500
$0
$2,515
$0
Community
Transportation
$15,000
$0
$0
$0
Total
$79,000
$37,575
$36,120
$37,575
By a vote of 8-0 the Commission moved to recommend the following FY24 CDBG and HOME budget
allocations:
Housing and Community Development Commission
March 30, 2023
Page 2 of 13
HCDC
Individual
March HCDC
Score
Meeting
Request
Staff Recommendations
Summary
Recommendations
Staff
Staff
HCDC
HCDC
CDBG
HOME
CDBG
HOME
FY24
Staff
Funding
Funding
HCDC Av.
Funding
Funding
Agency/Project
Request
Score
Rec.
Rec.
Score
Rec.
Rec.
Iowa Valley
Habitat for
Humanity -
Downpayment
308
Assistance
$80,000
91%
$0
$80,000
277
$0
$80,000
Shelter House -
Facility
255
Improvements
$240,000
75%
$110,000
NA
277
$120,000
NA
DVIP - Shelter
New
279
Construction
$350,000
82%
$130,000
NA
274
$120,000
NA
City of Iowa
City,
GreenState, &
Hills -
Downpayment
284
Assistance
$300,000
84%
$0
$300,000
261
$0
$300,000
The Housing
Fellowship -
Rental New
275
Construction
$200,000
81 %
NA
$200,000
260
NA
$200,000
The Housing
Fellowship -
260
Rental Rehab
$78,000
76%
$0
$78,000
236
$0
$78,000
UAY - Rental
Acquisition and
197
Rehab
$400,000
58%
$0
$0
195
$0
$110,000
Total
$1,648,000
NA
$240,000
$658,000-
NA
$240,000
$768,000
'Staff recommended allocating balance of $110,000 in HOME funds towards general rental acquisition to
assist at least one LMI renter household.
CALL MEETING TO ORDER:
Beining called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM.
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS:
Patel introduced herself and stated she is a GIS technician with the county in the Auditor's office.
Housing and Community Development Commission
March 30, 2023
Page 3 of 13
CONSIDERATION OF MEETING MINUTES: FEBRUARY 23, 2023:
Vogel moved to approve the minutes of February 23, 2023 with edit to attendance as Krotz was not
present. Krotz seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the minutes were approved 8-0.
PUBLIC COMMENT FOR TOPICS NOT ON THE AGENDA:
Kinsey Phipps (Community and Family Resources) is the case manager for Community and Family
Resources and runs the Transitional Housing Program. She is here to provide a little bit more information
about their programs. An average stay for families in the Transitional Housing Program is 24 months, in
some cases they're eligible to receive a one-year extension. Services offered to those in transitional
housing include case management, such as parenting, budgeting, family readiness, substance use
counseling, mental health counseling. They have to have a substance use or mental health diagnosis to
enter the program and have to be experiencing homelessness. They also enroll them in a grant treatment
for individuals experiencing homelessness where they get additional supports. In the past, they have
used City money to update apartments needed due to water damage. They moved families in that were
not in great health and situations before improving their lives and their environment. The Aid to Agencies
funding is used mostly to expedite move in dates for families as they're experiencing crisis in housing.
One barrier that they have is they typically use Section 8 housing through the City Housing Authority to
help fund the programs and that's who pays the rent, but a big barrier they are experiencing now is that
families in housing crises often don't have a permanent address or documentation to provide for Section
8 in order to fulfill that process. So Community and Family Resources is providing them with the
apartment early to give them a safe environment to start their recovery and then Aid to Agencies has
helped cover that bridge before Section 8 is involved. Phipps wanted to share a success story - due to
assistance through Aid to Agency funding, a young mother and father this summer were able to move into
their apartment early. It was a lifesaver as she had a five -month -old child that was on oxygen receiving
additional care post -delivery. She was homeless and utilizing the Ronald McDonald House, but the time
there was up as the baby was getting discharged from the hospital and so they had them move into
Transitional Housing which made it easier to attend regular checkups at UIHC whilst the mother could
start on her recovery and participate in groups at Community and Family Resources such as Alcoholics
Anonymous meetings and a peer recovery coach regularly. Both parents have been able to maintain
sobriety well in the program and the Department of Human Services closed their case because of their
success. Without an early move in due to the Aid to Agency funding covering rent until they qualified for
Section 8 housing, there would not have been anywhere for them to go. Phipps wanted the Commission
to know they really appreciate the help and just thought it would be helpful for everyone to know a little bit
about what they do and how they serve the community.
DISCUSS FY24 LEGACY AID TO AGENCIES (LAM FUNDING AND RECONSIDER BUDGET
RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL:
Beining noted this is for the Legacy Aid to Agencies funding reconsideration that Council has asked they
do. Council did not want to disqualify an agency on the sole basis of the technical difficulties that
Community and Family Resources and the Center for Worker Justice had.
Vogel asked if it possible to just revert to what they had agreed on when they first took those into
consideration in November.
Reedus stated that wouldn't be an option for her. She would like staff to explain a little bit more about the
zero -funding recommendation for the Center for Worker Justice. It seemed there were a couple of issues
like how CWJ stated that in the application there were items where they were going to provide services
outside of Iowa City, which isn't permitted with these funds. There were some lobbying and advocacy
items in there also that wouldn't be considered appropriate. Reedus also asked staff to speak about the
ARPA money from Iowa City, Johnson County, North Liberty and Coralville and wants to make sure that
Housing and Community Development Commission
March 30, 2023
Page 4 of 13
funding that might come from this group to the Center for Worker Justice, is not going to be overlapping
with funding they're already receiving. Kubly noted the APRA funding is specifically for wage theft.
Reedus asked if there was anything else that had to do with the zero -funding recommendation from City
staff. Kubly stated there was also consideration for financial oversight with the agency.
Dennis wanted to say that her comments at the last meeting were not only because the applications were
late. There were also other considerations and one of those was the staff recommendation. She watched
the Council work session and Council was pretty adamant that this Commission provide
recommendations. She felt Council was very thoughtful about expressing their concerns, and very
complimentary on the work that this Commission does. If they want to go back to the original allocations,
then that's fine but in the memo that came out in the packet about the policies that are determining the
use of Aid to Agency funds and eligibility - it stated one of the recommendations from the committee was
for greater transparency in the decision -making process. For example, giving full funding to top rated
applications, or partial funding based on objective scores. She brought this up the last meeting — many of
the scores were in the 80s but some of those applicants were cut and she feels that is where they weren't
terribly equitable. All of the applicants are worthy and all of the services they provide are essential. It's just
too bad they don't have more money and can't fund them all.
Krotz stated she also hasn't changed her views since the last time about not funding them because there
were a lot of other considerations. Yes, she placed some emphasis on the lateness, but there were other
problems with the application itself such as what the staff has said about the financial oversight over the
organization. The score was very low, almost half of what the top score was and so her opinion is that
they don't fund them at this time.
Mohammed agrees with City Council on this matter. The lateness shouldn't be the determining factor for
funding this organization. This organization also scored low because some fellow commissioners decided
to give them zero on that application and when they receive zero in one subject, the overall score is low.
Reedus asked if her revised scores were incorporated because she had handed them in late. Thul
acknowledged that staff did a late handout, and the Commission can use that to make the case for why
they feel it should or shouldn't be funded. Reedus noted her revised score was a 61 or 62 and while it
might have gone up, they're still under 70 because in the application they're describing services of worker
abuse and wage theft and those kinds of things are getting funded under APRA. She noted under
affordable housing, that is where they're doing advocacy and lobbying with state legislatures and that was
also considered inappropriate for this this funding. Under education, they want to expand OSHA
standards and safety workshops to residents outside of Iowa City, why would that even be in a proposal
for Iowa City funding? To develop innovative worker community safety councils in Iowa meatpacking
communities, again, outside of Iowa City. She noted there are a couple of things underneath there,
education - increasing capacity of workers to overcome language barriers, hosting tenants' rights
workshops to educate tenants. Those could be considered, but a large portion of what they say they're
going to use their funds on would be ineligible. She is going to go with the staff recommendation on this
and recommends no funding.
Beining agrees with Reedus. Looking at the scoring on the recommendations that did come from staff,
they match up with the HCDC scores and decision to not fund them - excluding the technical difficulties.
He also would be in favor of a recommendation of no funding.
Krotz asked if for some reason this Commission does vote to stay with the staff recommendations of no
funding, and it goes back to City Council, the Council could still overrule and decide what they want to do.
Beining confirmed that was correct.
Beining noted there seemed to be a consensus regarding the Center for Worker Justice and a
recommendation of zero funding.
4
Housing and Community Development Commission
March 30, 2023
Page 5 of 13
Reedus stated regarding Community and Family Resources, she feels they have not discussed them
much at all and to be fair, it wasn't discussed by Council either. This seems to be a CWJ issue. Don't you
think that one deserves the discussion also based on what Council recommended to see if there are any
changes?
Vogel stated his argument is that, even not taking late into consideration, in November everyone agreed
that there wasn't enough from the application to fund them. He doesn't think that technicality mattered
overall, this Commission is still of the opinion that those two just don't get funding this year based on the
strength of their application. Vogel noted that it does seem weird that they allowed agencies to become
Legacy Agencies and then not give them funding in their first year, but he was against bringing in new
agencies from the beginning. He is fine with the recommendation made in January.
Vogel moved to resend recommendations from the January meeting to City Council with no
changes after reconsidering the proposals based on their merits as requested by Council.
Reedus seconded the motion. A vote was taken, and the motion passed 5-2-1 (Mohammed and
Eckhardt dissenting; Patel abstaining).
DISCUSS FY24 EMERGING AID TO AGENCIES (EA2A) FUNDING REQUESTS AND CONSIDER
BUDGET RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL:
Thul noted for Emerging Aid to Agencies, each award needs to be at least $5,000 and average for Iowa
City Sober Living came out to just over $2,000 so the choices are to fund it at least $5,000 or give them
no funding.
Reedus asked when Iowa City Sober Living will become operational. Thul replied she believes they
wanted to acquire a home within this year and staff recommended zero funding because they are not
operational this time.
Reedus proposes they remove the funding from Iowa City Sober Living and reallocate it to one of the
other agencies.
The Commission discussed Iowa City Compassion and TRAIL applications again noting TRAIL will be
offering scholarships for low-income seniors and that's a population group they don't see come through
with requests for money very often.
Vogel stated he hopes Iowa City Sober Living will come back in the future, it's an important cause.
Reedus moved to recommend the following FY24 Emerging Aid to Agencies budget allocations to
City Council. Krotz seconded the motion. A vote was taken, and the motion passed 8-0.
March EA2A
FY24
Staff
HCDC Average
Group Funding
Agency/Project
Request
Recommendations
Recommendations
Recommendations
Healthy Kids
$11,300
School Based
$15,000
$10,000
Clinics
$11,300
Iowa Legal Aid
$12,500
$10,000
$9,300
$9,300
Iowa City
$15,000
$10,000
$7,575
Compassion
$9,560
TRAIL
$9,000
$7,575
$5,430
$7,415
Housing and Community Development Commission
March 30, 2023
Page 6 of 13
Iowa City Sober
$12,500
$0
$2,515
Livia 9
$0
Community
$15,000
$0
$0
Transportation
$0
Total
$79,000
$37,575
$36,120
$37,575
DISCUSS FY24 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG) AND HOME INVESTMENT
PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM (HOME) FUNDING REQUESTS AND CONSIDER BUDGET
RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL:
Vogel noted Shelter House and DVIP Shelter are the only two available for CDBG funding and there is
$240,000 available under CDBG.
Reedus stated neither of the projects received any of the ARPA funds, the ARPA capital funds went to
Neighborhood Centers and Free Medical Clinic.
Vogel noted everybody is funded fully based on staff recommendations aside from $110,000 left in HOME
funding but is the recommendation not to even give even $110,000 to United Action for Youth because
the $110,000 wouldn't be enough to support the project or where is that staff recommendation coming
from.
Thul stated staffs concern was the project not being able to meet the HOME underwriting criteria.
Typically, when people apply, they fill out a pro forma which is a projection on what their mortgage is
going to be and to show the City that a project can cash flow for the period of affordability. With a large
award like this, it would be 15 to 20 years of compliance and the City has to be able to show that that
project isn't going to fall apart in that time. So again, staffs concern with that project specifically was
meeting the required HOME underwriting criteria.
Vogel asked if the Commission chases to fund UAY the $110,000 and then they failed to meet that
criteria would the $110,000 come back to the City? Thul replied it depends. If the project was to proceed
and fall apart in the middle of affordability, then that money has to be repaid to HUD and the City would
not get it back. If it were to fall apart before HOME paid for anything, then the federal spending deadlines
are the issue and that was part of their rationale.
Vogel stated UAY has been around for 50 years plus, so they are not likely to fail so they are not
concerned about UAY failing or just this particular project failing?
Reedus thinks it's a great project because transitional housing for youth is extremely important but the
project received a low score from her, and she would hope that they can correct the deficiencies on the
application and come back next year with a better one. She agrees that the HOME underwriting wasn't
finished and is concerned about giving them 25% of the funds that that they requested and that they
wouldn't be able to fund the remaining 75%. Then they are in a situation where the City has to take funds
back and that's not fun.
Vogel noted it was also his lowest score, but he also wants to try and make sure everybody gets a piece
of the pie. He just wanted to make sure he understood where that recommendation was coming from
since staff did recommend funding everybody else fully.
Dennis understands why their preference would be to locate a property, like an eight-plex or two four-
plexes or something. They did ask for $400,000 from HCDC but $110,000 is $110,000 more than zero
and perhaps if they were to give them the $110,000, they may be able to find something. They might not
Housing and Community Development Commission
March 30, 2023
Page 7 of 13
be able to find exactly what they want but at least they would have that committed so they could keep
planning and keep trying to do something.
Krotz noted they could also use it as leverage for other funding sources.
Dennis asked if they recommend an amount to UAY and then it doesn't get committed, it then goes back
into the pot - can HCDC can reallocate it at some point? Thul replied it depends on how it all times out.
A project would need to meet the underwriting criteria before they could commit funds. HOME typically
requires a two-year commitment deadline and then a four-year completion timeframe. Dennis replied, so
UAY would have at least two years to get that commitment and meet the underwriting criteria? Thul
confirmed that was correct, the City usually likes to see projects moving within the fiscal year, but it is a
two-year commitment.
Krotz asked if the money would go back to HUD or the City if it was not committed. Thul explained that if
it was not committed and they didn't spend any money, it stays in the City, but they have spending
deadlines where they would need to allocate the funds to someone else.
Dennis stated sometimes HCDC will do a special round of funding because when the deadline is coming
The last thing the City wants to do is to send money back to HUD so if UAY can't use this money, then it
will come back to HCDC to do a special round or to be put somewhere to get spent. Thul confirmed that
they last did a midyear funding round in FY22.
Reedus stated there's just not enough capital money for nonprofits. They have a hard time raising capital
money in the City because they're competing against big entities like the University. So, she is going to
propose that the other $130,000 go to Shelter House for the facility improvements. To explain, she knows
that is a difficult thing for DVIP to hear, but she is not as interested in a second round of funding to DVIP.
This Commission has already funded them some money on this construction project. DVIP will have a
phase two so she would assume HCDC will see DVIP come back for phase two funding. The Shelter
House facility improvements, their main shelter was built around 12 years ago and in those 12 years
shelter services have evolved a great deal. To that point, they are now open 2417 and have seen more
mental issues with the clientele and the escalation of crises. She believes the physical changes that are
proposed in their application are very necessary. Putting the physical barriers so that people can't hurl
themselves off of a stair is important when trying to deescalate a crisis. A sound barrier is important so
that it doesn't escalate among other individuals, and the line of sight for the staff is very important in terms
of safety of staff and those involved in the crisis. In addition to the Shelter House services having
evolved, they also do more with a winter shelter. So, her proposal would be to give Shelter House the full
CDBG funding of $240,000 with deep regrets to DVIP.
Dennis asked regarding the Shelter House, what could they cover from their application without the
stairway. Thul responses that staff recommended $110,000 for the stairway and some security features.
Vogel stated the $130,000 recommendation for DVIP would go towards their capital campaign because
new construction hasn't started but would be added to their capital campaign to give it a boost. Thul
responded that it would be adding to the already existing construction project. They were funded one time
previously, with CDBG funds for the same construction project. Typically funding a project already
underway is not eligible, but since it was funded previously with federal funds, they have completed the
environmental review and other requirements that would typically be an issue.
Krotz would like to see DVIP funded, having worked with an agency that had a domestic violence shelter
program - it is so necessary and so needed, and yet there have been a lot of cutbacks within the normal
grants that they might get from the state and from the federal government.
Mohammad also agrees with funding DVIP and would vote to split the $240,000 between Shelter House
and DVIP.
Housing and Community Development Commission
March 30, 2023
Page 8 of 13
Eckhardt agrees with funding DVIP - especially considering the staff recommendation and staff scoring
was also higher. He could also get behind moving it to be evenly split $120,000 and $120,000 as both
are incredibly necessary.
Reedus stated how many times do they have to say they just wish they had more money? There isn't
enough capital money in this town for nonprofits.
The Commission next discussed the $110,000 leftover in the HOME funds.
Vogel's recommendation is to give it to UAY as the ability get a down payment or start the process of
procuring even one duplex or one four-plex is worth the investment by this committee. Also, this is an
organization that has proven itself as far as its long-term commitment.
Reedus asked if they did vote to give UAY the $110,000, could they seek any additional funding for the
project in the next budget round or would they be ineligible because of the CDBG rules? Thul noted
these are HOME funds and they don't have to be concerned the timeliness deadline, however, they do
run the risk of other projects coming in and that it may be hard to guarantee future funding.
Thul noted that staff were recommending that the remaining money to be set aside for general rental
acquisition, meaning that UAY could be a project that would be eligible for that. Asking for the $110,000
to be set aside for general rental acquisition gives more flexibility if it didn't work out for some reason, or if
another agency could proceed faster. Doing that would give flexibility to staff to award that project.
Eckhardt noted as he was going through the application on the question of what they would do if they
didn't get fully funded, it sounded like they were saying that they wouldn't particularly have anywhere to
go with the project. He really does support the project but is worried. If they allocate this money to UAY
and they can't use it, where does the money go? Kubly stated the City has two years to commit the funds
so UAY essentially has two years to get their plans, locate their property and proceed.
Beining thinks they should allocate the $110,000 to UAY, despite them having a relatively low score
compared to the others, because it appears all the others have been fully funded and this a great
opportunity to just maximize their impact while it is available. While he is not a commercial underwriter, in
his experience, that might have the ability to help them with their capital stock to secure additional
funding.
Reedus wanted it on record that her scores for The Housing Fellowship were not accurate, one complete
section of her scores did not make it into the total, she did not score them at 174 it was more like 294 for
the rental rehab.
Vogel would make the argument of taking away all $300,000 of the City of Iowa City downpayment
assistance and giving it all to UAY because it is a better use of funds.
Reedus understands but that program is one of her favorites because it hits a population of folks that is
have a difficult time finding programs.
Vogel stated to him, it is similar to what they talked about earlier with senior citizens, which is they don't
have a lot of programs come by here addressing transitional homeless youth, so it is tough for him to get
behind giving downpayment assistance from the City to get a family into $180,000 home versus being
able to possibly help 100 or more homeless teens every two or three years.
Dennis noted the thing that really impressed her about the Iowa City, GreenState and Hills project is that
both of those lenders have agreed to keep those loans in house at a 30-year fixed rate, which is huge.
They are not going on the secondary market. That kind of private public partnership is just incredible.
Dennis also stated she has said for many years she has an issue with the City staff applying and the
same City staff reviewing and scoring their own application.
Housing and Community Development Commission
March 30, 2023
Page 9 of 13
Beining stated regarding the Iowa City, GreenState and Hills downpayment assistance project he had an
opportunity to go and tour where those funds actually have been put into place and developed. And not to
discredit UAY by any means, and although it was numerical a lower number of people that may appear to
have been affected, the deep level of fulfillment that brought into their lives was very heartwarming to see.
This project is also working somewhat in coalition to help rejuvenate some of those neighborhoods and
he has seen firsthand just the amount of effort that they're putting into it and how that's changing the
families.
Krotz stated for the recipients of those loans there's a great feeling of permanency in their residence,
because out in the rental market, trying to find places in Iowa City, is a horrible, horrible experience. She
has been through it a number of times so she can see how families who do get this downpayment
assistance can have this joy in their lives of knowing they're on their way to homeownership.
Vogel wanted to clarify that in no way does he think the program is not great, his only concern was once
again the fact that UAY is coming in with a program that addresses a very specific need they don't
regularly address here. Whereas, in his many years on this Commission, he has seen a handful of
downpayment assistance proposals come through and be funded.
Beining wanted to clarify his previous point regarding the ripple effect, not having specific numbers but if
they're allocating $300,000 and the median downpayment is $30,000, that's 10 houses within a
community of perhaps 70 homes which really can make a difference. It's a reinvestment into that
neighborhood as a whole, rather than just into those individual homes.
Reedus asked if this project was funded previously. Thu[ noted in the last round of funding, when they
first did this project, the City received $128,000. They had asked for $300,000 but received partial
funding. Kubly stated the new funds would allow that program to continue.
Vogel stated the proposal was to fund 20 homes, the purchasers have to put in their own money
Reedus stated if they did 15 homes at $15,000 that would be $225,000, which could essentially give
another $75,000 to UAY and she would support that.
Eckhardt agreed noting creating non nonprofit housing has a longer -term effect on affordability and would
support moving some over for that.
Dennis asked with the downpayment assistance is there a resale agreement or deed restriction for the
affordability. Thu[ confirmed that the affordability is usually 10 years.
Reedus asked about UAY and noted their total budget was $800,000 but they were asking $400,000 from
HCDC so did they get a $400,000 commitment from Housing Trust Fund? Thul stated there were no
funds committed in the application. There were only pending commitments from other local funds.
Dennis stated if they can't find an eight-plex, with the amount of money that they get, they might be able
to find a four-plex or a duplex and at least they would be able to do something.
Eckhardt noted right now it sounds like their housing has people paying out of the private market and
essentially having this massive amount of overhead go to a landlord. So even if they can get a duplex
with this money, they can house two people and not have to pay rent to a third party and that's going to
decrease their overhead and improve their solvency long term.
Reedus stated she likes the downpayment assistance program but also know there's a need for the
transitional housing and HCDC has not funded this type of program in the past.
Vogel noted if they do get the $400,000 from the Trust Fund and HCDC gives $110,000 theoretically, they
would make that building acquisition number they want. What they wouldn't have is the ability to renovate
Housing and Community Development Commission
March 30, 2023
Page 10 of 13
that property and get it move in ready. HCDC could put $75,000 more towards that and even if they could
do two or three units - they could come back for additional renovation money, but this will start getting
people in and getting people assisted immediately.
Thul clarified if they use federal funds for acquisition, UAY would need to move people in and be leased
up within six months. If they were to buy something that needed rehab that wasn't going to pass
inspection, that would be problematic. Vogel stated that it isn't hard to pass a rental inspection. Thul
responded that she wanted to state it for the record, so you know what you're deciding.
Dennis stated she feels that they need to look at the scores again. It is hard for us to see if it is going to
cash flow without a pro forma. They are going to have to complete that before they get any money
anyway, so I go back to the scores.
Reedus agrees and wants to stick with the original decision.
Mohammad suggested again to keep the downpayment assistance at $300,000 and giving the $110,000
to UAY.
Reedus moved to recommend the following FY24 CDBG and HOME budget allocations to City
Council. Vogel seconded the motion. A vote was taken, and the motion passed 8-0.
HCDC
Individual
March HCDC
Score
Meeting
Request
Staff Recommendations
Staff Staff
Summary
Recommendations
HCDC
HCDC
CDBG HOME
CDBG
HOME
FY24
Staff Funding Funding
HCDC Av.
Funding
Funding
Agency/Project
Request
Score Rec. Rec.
Score
Rec.
Rec.
Iowa Valley
277
Habitat for
Humanity -
$80,000
9 08
$0
$80,000
Downpayment
Assistance
$0
$80,000
Shelter House -
255
277
Facility
$240,000
75%
$110,000
NA
Improvements
$120,000
NA
DVIP - Shelter
274
New
$350,000
82%u
$130,000
NA
Construction
$120,000
NA
City of Iowa
261
City,
GreenState, &
$300,000
$0
$300,000
Hills
84%
Downpayment
Assistance
$0
$300,000
The Housing
275
260
Fellowship -
$200,000
81%
NA
$200,000
NA
$200,000
Rental New
10
Housing and Community Development Commission
March 30, 2023
Page 11 of 13
Construction
The Housing
260
236
Fellowship -
$78,000
76%
$0
$78,000
Rental Rehab
$0
$78,000
UAY - Rental
197
195
Acquisition and
$400,000
58%
$0
$0
Rehab
$0
$110,000
Total
$1,648,000
NA
$240,000
$658,000*
NA
$240,000
$768,000
'Staff recommended allocating balance of $110,000 in HOME funds towards general rental acquisition to
assist at least one LMI renter household.
AID TO AGENCIES (A2A) SUBCOMMITTEE:
Reedus noted that the first meeting will be May 1, 2023.
STAFF & COMMISSION UPDATES:
Thul shared a copy of the City's new Strategic Plan with the Commission and noted City Council is doing
an initiative to make sure that all boards and commissions know where they fit within the strategic plan. At
the April HCDC meeting, Mayor Teague will attend and tell the Commission more about the plan.
The recommendations voted on tonight will go into the Annual Action Plan and the public comment period
for that will start Saturday, April 1 and run for 30 days. If anyone from the public makes any comments,
staff will bring that to the April meeting. At the April meeting, the Commission will review and do the formal
recommendation of approval for the Annual Action Plan.
Kubly stated the second week in April is National Community Development Week and they typically do a
proclamation at the Council meeting to acknowledge that. The next Council meeting is April 4 so a
member of the Commission, typically the chair, will come to the Council meeting to accept that
proclamation. Beining agreed to accept the proclamation.
Kubly shared a copy of the 2022 Affordable Housing Action Plan update that just went to Council today.
It's a progress update of the action items in the plan that came out last year. There was representation
from the Commission on the Affordable Housing Steering Committee that drafted the plan. Kubly noted
some highlights. They discontinued the Affordable Housing Location Model and because of that, they've
been able to proceed with some of the HOME projects and it opened up more opportunities for rental
acquisition. Part of the plan was a recommendation to provide greater transparency in the funding
process, which this Commission is doing by looking at the scores and recommending funding based on
scores.
Vogel asked about the risk mitigation fund that Shelter House is going to be implementing it on behalf of
the City. Do they know what their application processes be or what their guidelines are? He doesn't know
if they've got an actual plan in place yet, but when they do, is that something they will be sending out
through Iowa City Housing Authority to private landlords to participate in?
Kubly replied she believes that the initial eligibility is limited to nonprofits but that may be expanded in the
future. Vogel noted it says the purpose was to incentivize private landlords to rent to households or
individuals. He noted 40%-50% of his properties are currently HCV so it would be great to have a
program like this that he could apply for. He was under the impression the risk mitigation fund was going
11
Housing and Community Development Commission
March 30, 2023
Page 12 of 13
to be meant for this because that's what they've been promising. Kubly will give Vogel an update when
there is more information on this.
Dennis shared an update that there is a statewide group called the Iowa Housing Partnership which is an
advocacy group and is membership supported. They don't get any kind of funds because they do have a
lobbyist and they do lobby. They send out regular legislative updates about pertinent legislation regarding
housing in Iowa and information about rural housing conferences and state housing conferences and that
sort of thing.
ADJOURNMENT:
Dennis moved to adjourn, Eckhardt seconded the motion, a vote was taken, and the motion passed 8-0.
12
Housing and Community Development Commission
March 30, 2023
Page 13 of 13
Housing and Community
Development Commission
Name
Terms Exp.
7121
9/15
10/20
11/17
1119
2116
3130
Beining, Kaleb
6/30/24
X
O/E
X
X
X
O/E
X
Dennis, Maryann
6/30/25
X
O/E
X
X
X
X
X
Haylett, Jennifer
6/30/25
X
X
O/E
O/E
X
X
O/E
Krotz, Karol
6/30/24
O/E
X
X
X
X
O/E
X
Mohammed, Nasr
6/30/23
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Reedus, Becci
6/30/24
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Vogel, Kyle
6/30/23
O/E
X
X
X
O/E
X
X
Eckhardt, Michael
6/30/25
X
X
X
X
X
Patel, Kiran
6/30/23
O/E
X
Attendance Record 2022-2023
Resigned from Commission
Kev:
X
= Present
O
= Absent
O/E
= Absent/Excused
---
= Vacant
13