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09/16/2003NEIGHBORHOOD & AFFORDABLE HOUSING ADVISORY BOARD MEETING CITY OF CLEARWATER September 16, 2003 Present: Peggy M. Cutkomp Chair Laurel Braswell Vice-Chair Joyce L. Smith Board Member Don Brackett Board Member Lisa Hughes Board Member John Sabatier Board Member Absent: Tracy Reid Board Member Also Present: Howie Carroll Assistant Housing Director Michael Holmes Housing Manager Brenda Moses Board Reporter The Chair called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. at City Hall. To provide continuity for research, items are in agenda order although not necessarily discussed in that order and are in summary format. 2. Introductions & New Board Members a. John Sabatier – Banking b. Lisa Hughes – Low Income Advocate Board members introduced themselves. 3. Approval of Minutes – 5/13/03 Meeting Member Smith moved to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of May 13, 2003, as submitted in written summation to each board member. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. 4. Citizens to be heard Lois Cormier expressed concern that $450,000 is being spent for wayfinding signs in the downtown. Assistant Housing Director Howie Carroll explained that those funds are a combination of two years of block grant funds that had been allocated to other projects that are not proceeding forward and would be used for the wayfinding sign project in the downtown CRA. He said it is important that the signs direct people around the area once the new Memorial Causeway Bridge is completed and access routes are changed. He felt that failure to direct people back to the downtown core would result in further decline of the area. Approximately half of the vehicles that travel Cleveland Street would be diverted to Court and Chestnut Streets once the bridge is opened. The block grant funds would cover design, fabrication, and installation for the wayfinding signs. Some of the funds for the downtown CRA wayfinding and streetscape project will come from Penny for Pinellas funds. In response to a question, Mr. Carroll said if a subrecipient does not use all their allocated funds and does not request a time extension to use the funds, the unused funds go back into the available funding for other projects and can be used for other public facility projects or other projects the City feels are a priority. 5. Update – FY03-04 Consolidated Action Plan Mr. Carroll gave an update on the FY03-04 Consolidated Action Plan. He said only one required change had to be made to the Plan regarding a minor error in calculating administrative costs. Housing Manager Michael Holmes is completing agreements with subrecipients. It appears that most of the subrecipients will be able to use their allocated funds, however a few of them will probably request extensions. Mr. Carroll reviewed the process by which reallocated or unused funds would require review by the NAHAB and approval by the Commission. Subrecipients are required to submit monthly reports to the City no later than the tenth of each month. If reports are untimely, points can be deducted from the subrecipient when they apply for funding in subsequent years. The State requires the City report expenditures on an annual basis. A meeting is planned for mid-October for new agencies, those that have never received funding from the City, or those that are new public facility projects. Mr. Carroll said agencies that routinely receive funding from the City need not attend. Mr. Carroll is working on scheduling a joint Basic Grants Writing Workshop with the City and the County in November or December. The workshop would offer basic courses to newer nonprofit agencies to help them better prepare their applications. It was suggested that a member of the NAHAB attend the workshop to review the applications to see if any fine-tuning is needed. It was remarked that the Sunshine Law applies to this board and meetings must be publicly noticed when more than one board member attends a meeting. 6. Goals for Upcoming Fiscal Year Mr. Carroll said staff welcomes the NAHAB’s input regarding City matters. He suggested the Economic Development Director be invited to a future meeting to give a presentation regarding redevelopment and the downtown plan. It was remarked the City should be proactively addressing the blighted housing areas surrounding the urban core. It was remarked that as housing prices have increased substantially, it is difficult for renters to purchase homes. Mr. Holmes said the City has a process in place to work with renters who wish to purchase the homes they rent. It was remarked that a lack of education by homeowners with respect to home equity loans and refinancing makes it difficult for homeowners to rehabilitate their properties. Many people spend the money they receive from a home equity loan on other items and are charged high rates and excessive junk fees by lenders. In response to a question, Mr. Carroll said staff is launching a marketing effort to educate people about rehabilitation and other opportunities in the City. The Housing Division is working with Code enforcement officers to develop door hangars that offer information about housing services funds on properties that appear to be potential candidates for those services. Success stories regarding rehabilitated properties will be offered on C-View TV. Mr. Carroll said nonprofit agencies are a good source of information regarding funding opportunities. Discussion continued regarding the subrecipient application process. It was suggested that when the application review process begins this Fall, staff and the NAHAB discuss: 1) How funds are allocated; 2) if funding caps are needed; 3) if penalties should be accessed to subrecipients that submit late reports or no reports; 4) how the City tracks the condition of vacant buildings; 5) how to better use funding sources; and 6) other related issues/concerns. Mr. Carroll said the subrecipients do a great job with very little funding. Member Sabatier moved to request that the board discuss at the next meeting setting some type of program by which it takes up the application process under a formal meeting such as this one or a working meeting, because the board’s primary role in allocating these funds is of major concern to him being on the technical committee last year, and he would like to have a lot more input from the board. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. Mr. Carroll said the majority of the next meeting would involve brainstorming on the application process, board procedures, funding sources, targeting goals, and other related issues. 7. New/Old Business a. Fulton Apartments – Sale Mr. Carroll said rehabilitation of the Fulton Apartments is 99% complete. The 19-unit affordable-housing complex has been sold to CSF(Community Service Foundation), who has an excellent track record of owning and managing rental properties. The profits from the sale go back into the HOME program to be reallocated to other activities. 8. Announcements As November 11 is a holiday, the date of the November meeting needs to be changed Staff will check everyone’s schedule prior to setting the date and time. 9. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 9:55 a.m.