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03/10/2020 Neighborhood and Affordable Meeting Minutes March 10, 2020 Housing Advisory Board City of Clearwater Main Library- Council Chambers 100 N. Osceola Avenue Clearwater, FL 33755 r Meeting Minutes Tuesday, March 10, 2020 9:00 AM Main Library - Council Chambers Neighborhood and Affordable Housing Advisory Board Page 1 City of Clearwater Neighborhood and Affordable Meeting Minutes March 10, 2020 Housing Advisory Board Roll Call Present 4 - Board Member Kevin Chinault, Vice Chair Gabby Camacho, Chair Peter Scalia, and Board Member Camille Hebting Absent 3 - Board Member Carmen Santiago, Board Member Linda Kemp, and Board Member Peggy Cutkomp 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 the December 10, 2019 NAHAB Meeting Minutes. Member Hebting moved to approve minutes of the December 10, 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 Election of Officers Assistant Economic Development & Housing Director Chuck Lane reviewed Board Rules and Regulations that required the Board to appoint the Vice Chair as Chair at the first meeting of the year. Due to a resignation, Chair Scalia served less than a year. He suggested the Board may consider amending its Rules and Regulations in the future. Member Chinault moved to reappoint Peter Scalia as Chair and Gabby Camacho as Vice Chair. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. 4.2 Accept the meeting results from community meetings regarding community needs in the City's Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Areas. Economic Development and Housing Department staff and the City's consultant, Wade Trim, engaged stakeholders within the City's three Page 2 City of Clearwater Neighborhood and Affordable Meeting Minutes March 10, 2020 Housing Advisory Board Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Areas to collect community feedback on the conditions and needs within each area. A February 4 meeting at the Ross Norton Recreation Center engaged the Lake Belleview and Downtown Gateway Neighborhoods. A February 5 meeting at the North Greenwood Recreation Center engaged the North Greenwood community. On February 27, City and Wade Trim staff lead a similar discussion with potential applicants to programs under the City's Annual Action Plan. Information from these meetings will be used to create the City's five-year Consolidated Plan. Meeting summaries were available online. Member Hebting moved to accept the meeting results from community meetings regarding community needs in the City's Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Areas. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. 4.3 Provide feedback regarding community needs within the city's Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Areas and low- to moderate income areas. Mr. Lane said Ms. Warner was helping the City and Pinellas County to create the 5-year Consolidated Plans. Ms. Warner provided a PowerPoint presentation. The City's Consolidated Plan, a 5-year planning document, governed use of federal housing and community development funds for PY(Payment Year) 2020/21 through 2024/25. Primary Plan functions: 1) City planning document, 2) Federal funds application under US HUD (Department of Housing & Urban Development), 3) Strategic plan to achieve community development goals, and 4) Action Plan basis for assessing performance. Plan funds must assist low-to moderate income individuals and families with activities benefiting low-and-moderate income persons, prevent/eliminate slums or blight and meet community development needs with particular urgency such as a natural disaster. The Plan was citizen driven with participation opportunities via paper and online surveys, meetings and workshops, Public Hearings, and Public Comment. Data analysis and consultation with stakeholders and citizens identified citywide needs and priorities in the Citizen Participation Plan's Needs Assessment and Market Analysis for housing, homelessness, special needs and community development. The Strategic Plan set goals and priorities for PY2020121 - 2024/25. The Annual Action Plan indicated how federal funds will be spent during the upcoming program year, listing specific projects and funding allocations to accomplish Strategic Plan goals. Clearwater has used it CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) and HOME Investment Partnerships Program funds for public services, economic development activities, housing rehabilitation, homebuyer Page 3 City of Clearwater Neighborhood and Affordable Meeting Minutes March 10, 2020 Housing Advisory Board education, DPA (Down Payment Assistance), public facilities and improvements, and housing activities such as acquisition and new construction. A map highlighted Clearwater's previous use of funds for new construction, DPA loans, and rehab loans. Board Member comments: Housing— 1) limited inventory of temporary housing, affordable housing to purchase or rent and affordable land for affordable housing construction; 2) rent deposits were too expensive, 3) many hospitality/tourism industry employees with low paying jobs lived in other counties due to high local housing costs; 4) approximately 80% of workers in Pinellas County could not afford to live in the county, 5) landlord tenant disputes had disproportionately negative effects on powerless low income residents, 6) property value increases limited ability to construct affordable housing, 7) renters lacked knowledge and education re home ownership opportunities and advantages,- 8) dvantages,8) Habitat for Humanity did great job building workforce housing but could not do the work alone, 9) large number of affordable housing providers in St. Petersburg did not yield sufficient results, 10) poor performing providers and programs drained community resources for affordable housing; 11) scrutinize outcomes of affordable housing provider efforts, 12) require affordable housing providers to submit numerical outcome reports on spreadsheets for analysis, 13) analyze and adopt successful solutions for provision of affordable housing, 14) analyze accomplishments associated with impact fees, 15) loosen zoning regulations to increase ability to construct affordable housing, and 16) set aside land in Clearwater for workforce housing. In response to questions, Mr. Lane said City housing accomplishments were reported in the annual CAPER (Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report), the next report was due in December. Summary documents had not been generated. Housing purchased or rehabilitated with HOME funds were subject to sales restrictions to prevent flipping. Homelessness— 1) real municipal costs for homeless persons, estimated at $35,000/year/ person, impacted Police, ambulance services, incarceration, court fees, etc.,- 2) tc.,2) removing 40 homeless people from street would save City$1.3 million, 3) providing job training,jobs and housing opportunities for homeless people more important than building shelters, 4) some non-productive homeless programs focused only on client numbers, 5) quality programs that prevented or diverted people from homelessness saved money and lives; 6) many families were one paycheck away from homelessness, 7) many homeless people were not familiar with beneficial programs, 8) formerly incarcerated people faced homelessness and recidivism, 9) bridge housing was costly but critical for formerly homeless people to achieve self-sufficiency, 10) consider backdoor cost savings when City disperses Page 4 City of Clearwater Neighborhood and Affordable Meeting Minutes March 10, 2020 Housing Advisory Board grant funds, 11) track funding to more than 50 agencies dealing with homelessness in the county to better serve the population, 12) analyze nationwide programs for solutions that could be duplicated, 13) report on annual City costs per homeless person, and 14) establish City goal to efficiently move homeless people into productive lives In response to a recommendation, Economic Development & Housing Director Denise Sanderson said as researching per homeless person costs would be staff intensive, research may require City Council approval and could be delayed. Medical expenses and costs for services crossed city lines and were spread across the County, a countywide estimate may be more reliable. Staff will bring the matter to the Homeless Leadership Alliance of Pinellas and report on feedback received. It was stated it would be stunning if the Homeless Leadership Alliance of Pinellas did not have this information. It not, it was recommended the agency be directed to do so and report its findings to the County Commission and City Council which would be encouraged to pass resolutions to provide housing for the homeless. Ms. Sanderson said the City would share its data from grant allocation recipients, City programs, and City use of General Funds, Police Department costs may be difficult to quantify. Data from all municipalities would be necessary for a study to determine true countywide costs and impacts of homelessness. Member Camacho moved to request staff to report on per homeless person costs in Clearwater based on available information and to encourage the Homeless Leadership Alliance of Pinellas to report on the countywide per homeless person cost. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. Non-Homeless Special Needs— 1) many elderly, frail, disabled, and HIV/AIDS affected persons were unaware of special programs, 2) many with mental health problems felt stigmatized and were unwilling to seek assistance, 3) specialized knowledge and experience were required to effectively treat persons' mental health challenges, and 4) the number of special needs people could not be measured. Community Development Activities - 1) annual City CAPERs indicated Clearwater had accomplished a lot in the last 3 years but probably could have accomplished more, 2) analyze City efforts for successful outcomes; 3) streamline City efforts, and 4) invest in all City communities besides the beach with similar facilities such as libraries, recreation centers, and community art projects. Page 5 City of Clearwater Neighborhood and Affordable Housing Advisory Board Meeting Minutes March 10, 2020 Mr. Lane credited lobbying efforts and advocacy for increases in federal and state funded Action Plan allocations for FY (Fiscal Year) 2020/21, which will generate opportunities to construct workforce housing for people who earn 80% to 120% AMI (Area Median Income) and acquire land in conjunction with Penny for Pinellas funds. Staff will present a report on permitted uses of SHIP funds. Ms. Warner will incorporate a summary of board member comments in the Consolidated Plan draft to be available for Public Comment. 5. Old Business Items: None. 6. Director's Report Mr. Lane reported the Sadowski Affordable Housing Trust Fund had fully funded SHIP this year. Tax credit applications for projects "Union Trail" and the closed Fire Station on Franklin were not funded; the projects may apply for tax credits again next year. New construction projects in the North Greenwood neighborhood were helping to improve the community's housing market. Two homes were constructed on Pennsylvania Avenue; one recently sold at market rate. He reviewed the list compiled by the City and presented to the City Council last June of properties available for affordable housing. A referendum item on the March 17, 2020 ballot would amend the Charter to allow the City to sell up to 5 acres for affordable housing for less than its value, increasing the number of properties available for affordable housing. While the number of available properties was dwindling, the City's new foreclosure program may generate more. Mr. Lane reviewed the importance of resident participation in the Census. Funding for education, transportation, public safety, not-for-profit organizations, City planning, and local representation at the state and federal level was based on the Census. Each library will have a dedicated computer for the census. 7. Board Members to be Heard: None. 8. Adjourn The meeting adjourned at 10:35 a.m. //( Chair Attest: Neighborhood & Affordable Housing Advisory Board Board Repo, City of Clearwater Page 6