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07/09/2019 Neighborhood and Affordable Meeting Minutes July 9, 2019 Housing Advisory Board City of Clearwater Main Library- Council Chambers 100 N. Osceola Avenue Clearwater, FL 33755 m ® e Meeting Minutes Tuesday, July 9, 2019 9:00 AM Main Library - Council Chambers Neighborhood and Affordable Housing Advisory Board Page 1 City of Clearwater Neighborhood and Affordable Meeting Minutes July 9, 2019 Housing Advisory Board Roll Call Present 5 - Board Member Carmen Santiago, Board Member Linda Kemp, Board Member Peggy Cutkomp, Chair Peter Scalia, and Board Member Camille Hebting Absent 2 - Board Member Kevin Chinault, and Vice Chair Gabby Camacho Also Present - Denise Sanderson — Economic Development & Housing Director, Chuck Lane — Economic Development & Housing Assistant Director, Kimberly DuPont — Housing Coordinator II, Patricia O. Sullivan — Board Reporter 1. Call To Order The Chair called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. at the Main Library. To provide continuity for research, items are in agenda order although not necessarily discussed in that order. 2. Approval of Minutes 2.1 Approve minutes of May 14, 2019 Neighborhood and Affordable Housing Advisory Board as submitted in written summation. Member Cutkomp moved to approve minutes of the May 14, 2019 Neighborhood & Affordable Housing Advisory Board meeting as submitted in written summation. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. 3. Citizens to be Heard Regarding Items Not on the Agenda: None. 4. New Business Items 4.1 Recommend City Council approval of the City of Clearwater's FY2019/2020 Annual Action Plan, which is the 4th Action Plan of the FY2016/2017 - FY2019/2020 Four-Year Consolidated Plan, to implement the goals and objectives set forth in the Consolidated Plan, as required by HUD, as submitted. On July 21, 2016, City Council approved the 2016/17 — 2019/20 Four-Year Consolidated Plan (Consolidated Plan) identifying City goals and objectives with respect to City administration of HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program funds. The Consolidated Plan requires the City to create and implement a plan each year to identify sources and uses of these funds for housing, community programs, and economic development. The plan, referred to as an Annual Action Plan, provides HUD (Housing & Urban Development) Department with the City's budget and proposed expenditures based on entitlement funds, funds carried Page 2 City of Clearwater Neighborhood and Affordable Meeting Minutes July 9, 2019 Housing Advisory Board over from the prior year, and estimated program income the City will receive in the upcoming fiscal year to meet goals and objectives established in the Consolidated Plan. Funds are used to develop viable communities and sustain existing ones. Funds also will be used to provide safe, decent and affordable housing to assist extremely low- to moderate-income households. This year's Annual Action Plan allocates federal funds to provide housing opportunities to extremely low- to moderate-income households for new and existing homes, construction and/or renovation of public facilities, and to fund public services programs. In FY (Fiscal Year) 2019/20, the City will receive $764,043 in entitlement funds for the CDBG Program and $383,978 in entitlement funds for the HOME Program; $754,176 from CDBG and $364,401 from HOME will be used for FY2019/20 activities. The City also is reprogramming: 1) $2,038,614 in prior year HOME entitlement/program income funding; 2) $500,000 in anticipated FY2019/20 HOME program income; 3) $285,033 in prior year CDBG entitlement/program income funding; 4) $225,000 in anticipated FY2019/20 CDBG program income; and 5) $505,000 in CDBG Revolving Loan Program funds. CDBG program funds may be used for housing, community and economic development, public services and facilities, acquisition, relocation and administration. HOME program funds are limited to housing-related activities and administration. The City partners with several non-profit agencies to implement the goals and objectives established in the Consolidated Plan. To obtain these partners, the City annually publishes in February a Notice of Funding Availability in the local newspaper and on its website informing the public of resources the City will make available, eligible uses of the resources, and the application period for requesting funds. Applications were due on March 22, 2019; all 23 applications received were allocated funding. Applicants were provided an opportunity to present their proposed projects to the Neighborhood and Affordable Housing Advisory Board (NAHAB) meeting on April 9, 2019. The Technical Review Committee (TRC), comprised of professionals in the social service and grants community including a NAHAB member, the City Clerk, and the City's Neighborhood Services Coordinator, reviewed and ranked the applications. City Housing staff also reviewed each application to ensure eligibility. The FY2019/20 Annual Action Plan is due to HUD on August 15, 2019. All organizations receiving an allocation will have agreements prepared and executed by October 1, 2019. Staff will perform compliance Page 3 City of Clearwater Neighborhood and Affordable Meeting Minutes July 9, 2019 Housing Advisory Board monitoring with funded organizations on an annual basis. Housing Coordinator 11 Kimberly DuPont provided a PowerPoint presentation. The City contributed toward the construction of 60 housing units during the previous fiscal year. Economic Development & Housing Director Denise Sanderson said the City leveraged private/public investment at an 8:1 ratio, staff was working to increase that percentage. Member Cutkomp moved to recommend approval of the City of Clearwater's FY2019/2020 Annual Action Plan, which is the 4th Action Plan of the FY2016/2017 - FY2019/2020 Four-Year Consolidated Plan, to implement the goals and objectives set forth in the Consolidated Plan, as required by HUD, as submitted. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. Brian Beckman recommended the City allocate construction and rehabilitation funds to support energy efficiencies. He said St. Petersburg worked with non-profits to distribute low energy light bulbs that reduce electric bills and save homeowners money. Economic Development & Housing Assistant Director Chuck Lane reviewed HOME and CDBG funding restrictions. The City used some funds for loans, repayments were reinvested in future loans. Ms. Sanderson said a Public Utilities'program helped low income residents with their water bills. Homes purchased/constructed/rehabilitated with federal funds could not be encumbered with energy investments funded through the PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) program. While staff tried to find energy efficiency opportunities, their major focus was Code compliance. The City had not received a funding application from a nonprofit for that purpose. In response to a question from Kathleen Beckman, Mr. Lane said HUD based its definition of affordable housing on household income, restricting funding to those with 80% or less AMI (Area Median Income). Use of limited State funding was restricted to household incomes up to 120% AMI. 5. Old Business Item: None 6. Director's Report Mr. Lane welcomed new member Camille Hebting. Page 4 City of Clearwater Neighborhood and Affordable Meeting Minutes July 9, 2019 Housing Advisory Board Mr. Lane said developers had expressed interest in the City Foreclosed .3-acre property on N. Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue near Cherry Harris Park. Staff will issue a RFP (Request for Proposals) to develop the property in August. Low Income Housing Tax Credit projects, Madison Pointe Apartments (80 units) and Woodlawn Trail Apartments (80 units), neared completion. Mr. Lane said to be consistent with the City of Largo and Pinellas County, the City had increased its down payment assistance to allow 4% lender fees. Loans were capped at $20,000 and based on assessment and prequalification for a home's purchase price. Mr. Lane said closing was delayed for the City's purchase of the North Ward property due to some old deeds and survey gaps, he anticipated closing in August. Staff's desired outcome for the property is an adaptive reuse project that preserves the historic structure. An architect analysis will determine opportunities. Limitations included small bathrooms. The government must retain ownership of the land. Ms. Sanderson said a HDR housing study underway, which included an economic development component, will be presented to the Board in November or December. The study was looking at resident ages, income barriers, transit, corridor alignment, and why residents and employees were leaving Clearwater for the suburbs. Mr. Lane said he would advise Board members in the next 2 weeks if meetings in August or September would be held. Ms. Sanderson said Economic Development had been unable to help a preferred Amazon vendor, Yo Mamas, which manufactures and distributes pasta sauce and salad dressing to 1,700 stores, to purchase a headquarters and distribution center warehouse in North Greenwood which would create great job opportunities. Freight costs related to the company's locations in Tarpon Springs and Clearwater would be reduced if operations could be consolidated. The owners hoped to close without City assistance. The City may be able to provide a fagade loan. The privately owned company had a great business plan and supported the community by serving food at RCS (Religious Community Services). Ms. Sanderson said the City could not use federal money to purchase dirty industrial land next to the railroad tracks. The City might be able to use Brownfields money to clean it. She hoped the land could be revitalized for an industrial use. In response to a question, she said Brownfields money could be used to clean IRT(Industrial, Research & Technology) District land if the property owner was not responsible for contamination. Possible contamination only needed to be reviewed if directed by the FDEP (Florida Department of Environmental Protection), EPA (Environmental Protection Page 5 City of Clearwater Neighborhood and Affordable Housing Advisory Board Agency), or lender. Staff would need to investigate if a vocational school was a permitted use in an IRT District. Meeting Minutes July 9, 2019 In response to a question, Ms. Sanderson said the former auto salvage property on N. Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue had been cleaned and the City planned to issue a RFP to develop 150 — 160 mixed income units there. The CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency) may be able to provide minor funding for parking. The land was across the street from Madison Pointe Apartments for seniors, scheduled to open in August. 7. Board Members to be Heard: None. 8. Adjourn The meeting adjourned at 9:45 Chair Neighborhood & Affordable Housing Advisory Board Page 6 City of Clearwater