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12/10/2019 Neighborhood and Affordable Meeting Minutes December 10, 2019 Housing Advisory Board City of Clearwater Main Library- Council Chambers 100 N. Osceola Avenue Clearwater, FL 33755 r Meeting Minutes Tuesday, December 10, 2019 9:00 AM Main Library - Council Chambers Neighborhood and Affordable Housing Advisory Board Page 1 City of Clearwater Neighborhood and Affordable Meeting Minutes December 10, 2019 Housing Advisory Board Roll Call Present 6 - Board Member Carmen Santiago, Board Member Kevin Chinault, Board Member Linda Kemp, Board Member Peggy Cutkomp, Chair Peter Scalia, and Board Member Camille Hebting Absent 1 - Vice Chair Gabby Camacho Also Present - Denise Sanderson — Economic Development & Housing Director, Chuck Lane — Economic Development & Housing Assistant Director, 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 July 9, 2019 Neighborhood & Affordable Housing Advisory Board Meeting Minutes. In response to a question, Economic Development & Housing Director Denise Sanderson said she will forward the final draft of the HDR housing study to the board when it is received. Member Hebting moved to approve minutes of the July 9, 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 FY 2018-2019 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER). The Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) is the principal administrative report documenting the City's expenditures for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnership (HOME) programs to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). For FY 2018/19, the City's entitlement allocation was $740,943 in CDBG and $383,146 in HOME program funds, $1,399,518 of Prior Year funds, $131,203 of Program Income and $1,152,452 in CDBG Revolving Loan funding for a total budget of$3,807,262 from federal funds. Through CDBG and HOME program activities, total expenditures were $1,388,830 in FY 2018/19, which included program income and funding from Page 2 City of Clearwater Neighborhood and Affordable Meeting Minutes December 10, 2019 Housing Advisory Board the prior year's reprogrammed funds. Funds not expended from this year's budget will be programmed in future years. In addition to reporting activities carried out with federal money, a summary of activities conducted with the Florida State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) Program and Pinellas County Housing Trust Fund (PCHTF) Program was included in the narrative section. For FY 2018/19, SHIP fund expenditures totaled $692,617 and PCHTF fund expenditures totaled $241,663. The report provided HUD with necessary information for the department to meet its requirement to assess each grantee's ability to carry out relevant Community Planning and Development programs in compliance with all applicable rules. It also provided information necessary for regulations. It provides information for HUD's Annual Report to Congress and provided grantees an opportunity to describe to citizens their successes in revitalizing deteriorated neighborhoods and meeting objectives stipulated in their Consolidated Planning document. The City's FY 2018/19 CAPER contains information on the City's assessment of the following activities: 1) Assessment of Four Year Goals and Outcomes; 2) Resources and Investments; 3) Affordable Housing; 4) Homeless and Other Special Needs; 5) Public Housing; and 6) Other Actions to Address Barriers to Affordable Housing Monitoring CDBG and HOME. Notable accomplishments utilizing federal, state and local funds for FY 2018/19: 1) Provided eight down payment & closing cost assistance loans totaling $239,725; 2) Provided $278,308 for rehabilitation of eleven owner -occupied units; 3) Assisted Community Service Foundation with the lease -up of seven rental units; 4) Provided $357,252 to Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas County for acquisition of land and construction of three single-family homes; 5) Completed construction and lease-up of Woodlawn Trail Apartments, an 80-unit rental complex; 6) Completed construction and lease-up of Madison Point Apartments, an 80-unit rental complex; 7) Provided $390,863 for five Public Facilities projects: a) Directions for Living; b) St. Vincent DePaul Community Kitchen and Resource Center; c) R'Club Child Care; d) Miracles Outreach Community Development Center; and e) the Arc of Tampa Bay; 8) Provided Directions For Living $99,000 for rehabilitation of its training/ conference room area; 9) Provided Homeless Empowerment Program $99,000 for rehabilitation of Baty Villas, a permanent supportive housing facility; 10) Provided $111,140 to assist 1,841 individuals through partnerships with seven public service providers: a) Intercultural Advocacy Institute; b) Pinellas Opportunity Council; c) Safety Harbor Neighborhood Family Center; d) Gulfcoast Legal Services; e) WestCare GulfCoast of Florida; f) Homeless Emergency Project; and g) Religious Community Services; 11) Provided $55,000 for technical assistance services to be provided by the Hispanic Business Initiative Fund of Florida, Inc. and Tampa Bay Black Business Investment Corporation that assisted 219 entrepreneurs and businesses; 12) Provided $10,622 to three organizations to provide homebuyer education to Page 3 City of Clearwater Neighborhood and Affordable Meeting Minutes December 10, 2019 Housing Advisory Board assist 152 Clearwater residents: a) Clearwater Neighborhood Housing Services; b) Tampa Bay Community Development Corporation; and c) Housing & Education Alliance. Overall federal, state and local funding assisted 7,484 persons and 192 households. On December 19, 2019, staff will provide a recommendation to City Council to approve the CAPER, which is due to HUD no later than December 31, 2019. Economic Development & Housing Assistant Director Chuck Lane provided a PowerPoint presentation on Clearwater's FY(Fiscal Year) 2018/19 CAPER. The public comment period runs from December 5 to 19, 2019. In response to questions, Mr. Lane said the CAPER covered the Annual Action Plan for the final year of the last 4-year Consolidated Plan, staff was working on the next 5-year plan. Staff did a good job getting funds out the door. While multifamily projects typically help larger numbers of people than single-family projects, the City wanted to do both to provide a healthy mix of homeownership and rental units. The City worked with developers of affordable housing projects requiring subsidies. Ms. Sanderson said to sync with the County, the last Con-Plan only covered 4 years. Since it was adopted, some projects fell through and some plans changed, staff discontinued marketing City property on S. Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue following a poor bid response. A resident expressed concern that outcome goals differed from objectives, a significant number of households in the City spent a large portion of their income on housing, and creative solutions were needed to support emergency shelters and transitional housing. Mr. Lane said it was difficult to pinpoint outcomes for specific years in a long range plan. The City had mostly good results related to the last 4-year plan. He reviewed government restrictions on Federal and State fund uses and the annual agency application process for action plan funding. No funds were provided for East Gateway housing. Pinellas County was investing Penny for Pinellas 4 money in land acquisition for affordable housing. In response to questions, Ms. Sanderson said the CAPER was a federal report and did not have a State companion piece reporting on SHIP funded projects. The City had met its department goals. The ConPlan, designed to meet local needs, was based on government provided data which aged. Annually, the City created and implemented a plan that identified sources and uses of grant funds for housing, community programs, and economic development. Partners funded through the City submitted monthly reports identifying clients by race and nationality. Staff had recommended the City Charter be amended to increase the cap for land donations for affordable housing to 5 acres. Last year the City funded Page 4 City of Clearwater Neighborhood and Affordable Meeting Minutes December 10, 2019 Housing Advisory Board $235,000 with general funds to partner agencies that helped the City carry out its Homeless Initiative. Member Chinault moved to recommend approval of the City's FY 2018-2019 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. 5. Old Business Item In response to a question, Mr. Lane said when appliances are purchased as part of a home rehab project, the HOME program requires those appliances to meet Energy Star criteria. 6. Director's Report Mr. Lane said NAHAB (Neighborhood &Affordable Housing Advisory Board) was required to meet as needed. While meetings may not be necessary during the next 2 months, more frequent meetings will follow. A discussion on meeting frequency will be scheduled if the board desires. Mr. Lane reported Housing Coordinator Kimberly DuPont had retired and Housing Specialist Irin Gomez had done much of the work to produce this year's CAPER. Mr. Lane invited members to attend the grand opening of the Woodlawn Trail affordable housing project on December 17, 2019. Mr. Lane said staff will request City Council to donate 2 properties on LaSalle Street and a property near the North Greenwood Recreation Center for affordable housing. The CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency), wanting to create vibrancy downtown, was interested in the rehabilitation of the closed Fire Station at 610 Franklin Street. The City previously rejected Scientology's bid to purchase the property as its plans did not align with City goals. Of 3 respondents, the City chose Blue Sky Communities which submitted an attractive design and applied for tax credits to raise $17 million for the $22 million, 81-unit affordable housing project on the site. The City planned to contribute $747,000 to the project to meet the tax credit requirement for a local contribution. Tax credit pools were highly competitive with only one Pinellas County project approved annually, tax credits will be approved in March or April 2020. If the tax credits are not approved, the City has the discretion to extend the contract with Blue Sky through the following year's Tax Credit application cycle or consider other offers. Mr. Lane said the Woodlawn Trail developer had proposed applying for tax credits to raise $6 million for an 80-unit affordable housing project on 7 Page 5 City of Clearwater Neighborhood and Affordable Meeting Minutes December 10, 2019 Housing Advisory Board acres on Union Street near Highland Avenue to be called Union Trail. The City's tax credit contribution would be $75, 000. Mr. Lane said HEP (Homeless Empowerment Program) was partnering with the School Board on a long term lease of School Board property. HEP planned to construct 40 units for the homeless and the School Board will provide occupants with education and job training to fill school board positions. The City planned to donate 1.3 acres to the School Board for the project. Ms. Sanderson said the School Board also committed to expand R'Club day care hours to increase adult participation in job training classes. Mr. Lane reported the City had issued a RFP (Request for Proposals) and was working with a developer on an affordable housing project on a 3.5 -acre site on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue across from Madison Point. The City also was in discussion with developers re a site in the 1200 block of Cleveland Street, owned by the CRA, where a mixed -income housing project would complement the abutting community garden. The City will re -issue a RFP for an affordable housing project on property in the North Greenwood community. A resident said she had lived in Clearwater since 1986 and had been homeless for the last 2 years. She expressed concern that all County Housing Authority voucher waitlists were closed. She suggested that property on Cleveland Street could be developed with tiny homes with shared amenities that eventually could foster pride of ownership. Ms. Sanderson said the Planning Department was reviewing Code for opportunities to serve low income residents in smaller units and garage apartments. Mr. Lane said he will report on a meeting scheduled next week to coordinate countywide housing efforts. 7. Board Members to be Heard: None. 8. Adjourn Attest: B• and Repo City of Clearwater The meeting adjourned at 10: . �% Chair Neighborhood & Affordable Housing Advisory Board Page 6