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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-21-2009 Housing & Community Development CommissionAGENDA HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY, MEETING ROOM A 123 S. LINN STREET, IOWA CITY TH U RS DAY, MAY 21 � 200% AT 6:30 P. M. 1 . Call Meeting to Order 2. Approval of the April 16 and May 4, 2009 Minutes 3. Public Comment of Items Not on the Agenda 4. Staff/Commission Comment 5. Public Needs Hearing — 2010-2015 Consolidated Plan (a.k.a. CITY STEPS) 6. Subcommittee Reports: Community Development Celebration 7. Monitoring Reports Domestic Violence Intervention Program — Facility Rehab. (Hart) Shelter House — Operations (Hart) Aid to Agencies — UAY, MECCA, Elder Services (McKay) FY08 Blooming Garden — Downpayment Assistance (DeFrance) Iowa City Housing Authority — FY06 & 07 Tenant Based Rental Assistance (Shaw) 8. Adjournment Reminder: The meeting will be located at the Iowa City Public Library, Meeting Room A at 6:30 PM. I I i CITY OF IOWA CITY % - Z--�Q a T4 MEMORANDUM TO: Housing and Community Development Commission FROM: Community Development Staff DATE: May 15, 2009 RE: May 21 Meeting Packet On May 5, the City Council approved the FY1 0 Annual Action Plan and FY09 Amendment as recommended by HCDC. The Council did not fund the FY10 Economic Development set -aside of $95,000 and allocated these funds to the Shelter House — New Construction project. The following is a short description of the May 21 agenda items. If you have any questions about the agenda, or are unable to attend the meeting, please contact Tracy Hightshoe at 356-5244 or by email at tracy-hightshoe@iowa-city.org. Public Needs Hearing — 2010-2015 Consolidated Plan (a.k.a. CITY STEPS) The City hired Mullin & Lonergan Associates to complete the City's Consolidated Plan. The consultants will be here Wednesday, May 20 through Friday, May 21 to conduct a series of meeting with area providers, City departments and neighborhood groups. The preliminary schedule is attached for your reference; however there may be some changes to times and dates. The HCDC meeting will serve as the public needs hearing for CITY STEPS 2010-2015. Input and ideas gathered at the meeting will be used to write the next edition of CITY STEPS. As a reminder, CITY STEPS is a comprehensive five-year plan that is used to help guide the City's prioritization process in determining which agencies and projects will receive federal, state, and local funding. Mullin & Lonergan will prepare a Housing and Community Development Needs Survey. HCDC members are encouraged to complete this survey and bring it with them to the meeting. As soon as staff receives the finished survey, it will be emailed to your attention. Subcommittee Report Members will provide an update on the Community Development Celebration. Monitoring Reports 0 Domestic Violence Intervention Program — Facility Rehab. (Hart) Contact Kristie Fortman-Doser 351.1042 x1 12 0 Shelter House — Operations (Hart) Contact Crissy Canganelli 338.5416 x1 02 0 Aid to Agencies — UAY, MECCA, Elder Services (McKay) UAY — Jim Swaim 338.7518, MECCA — Heidi Cuda 351.4357, Elder Services — Mary Wiemann 338.0515 0 FY08 Blooming Garden — Downpayment Assistance (DeFrance) Jesse Burns 338.7600 0 Iowa City Housing Authority — FY06 & 07 Tenant Based Rental Assistance (Shaw) Steve Rackis 887.6065 The meeting will be held at the Iowa City Public Library, Meeting Room A at 6:30 PM. MINUTES PRELIMINARY HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION May 4, 2009 — 12: 00 PM LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM, CITY HALL Members Present: Marcy DeFrance, Charlie Drum, Michael McKay, Rebecca McMurray, Brian Richman Teleconference: Steve Crane, Andy Douglas, Holly Hart, Michael Shaw Members Absent: None Staff Present: Tracy Hightshoe, Stephen Long Others Present: RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: (become effective only after separate Council action): The Commission voted 9-0 to allocate the Shelter House — New Construction the additional CDBG funds and to allocate the additional HOME funds to Dolphin Lake Point and TBRA with $30,000 to be allocated to Dolphin Lake Point and the remainder to go to TBRA. The Commission voted 9-0 to allocate the $95,000 in CDBG Economic Development funds to the projects recommended by staff in the 4/27/09 Council memo by the Community Development Coordinator. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 12:00 p.m. Brian Richman chaired the meeting. PUBLIC COMMENT OF ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA: None. STAFF/COMMISSION COMMENT: Long reminded the Commission of the agenda for the City Council work session that evening and the formal meeting May 5, 2009. He said the Council will discuss the approval of the Commission's budget along with the stimulus f1mding. He said that he and Hightshoe will give a short presentation to the Council regarding the Commission's recommendation, including recommendations to come from this meeting. Long said the official approval will take place at the formal meeting on May 5, 2009 and said he hopes some of the Commission members will be present. Long said at the same meeting the Council will discuss the Aniston Village general revenue bond funding, $282,000 for the Housing Fellowship project which the Commission voted to approve last year and which are 22 units of tax -credit funded affordable housing. Long thanked the Commission members for attending this meeting HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION May 4, 2009 Planning Conference Room, City Hall Page 2 of 6 Richman asked for additional comments. As there were none he moved to discussion of the FYI 0 annual action plan and budget. DISCUSSION OF THE FY10 ANNUAL ACTION PLAN AND BUDGET: Hightshoe presented to the Commission infon-nation related to the budget. She said they had received word from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that they will be receiving $16,268 more for CBDG than budgeted, a 2.5% increase from last year. Hightshoe said for HOME an additional $68,632 will be received than budgeted, an I I% increase from last year. Hightshoe noted the additional $84,900 available for HOME and CDBG funds is good news because there have been cuts for the past eight years. Hightshoe said the motion from March 26 read "Shaw amended his motion to state that if there is additional funding of less than 5% of the FYI 0 allocation (and 2009 ARRA funds) additional CDBG funds will be allocated to Shelter House — New Construction and additional HOME funds will be allocated pro rata between TBRA and Dolphin. If the City receives more than 5% of the FYIO allocation (and 2009 ARRA funds), the commission will meet again to discuss." Hightshoe noted that the additional funds represent a 5.89% increase, Richman said that is why we're all here. He asked if it was the intention of the Commission to carry out the same plan approved at the previous meeting — a plan budgeted for a 5% increase in funds and which would allocate money on a pro rata basis — or if the additional funds warrants consideration of an alternative plan. A member of the Commission asked if the proposal covered CDBG funds for the Shelter House, TBRA, and Dolphin House. Richman confirmed this was correct. Richman said the additional $16,268 for the CBDG fund would be used for the Shelter House and the additional $68,632 in HOME funds would be split on a pro rata basis between the Housing Authority TBRA program and the Dolphin home ownership program. Richman asked if any member of the Commission felt they should be doing something other than that which he just outlined. A member of the Commission asked if it is a 5.89% difference in what was approved additionally and what is available. Richman said it's a 5.89% increase. He said the Commission stated in its motion that if funds increased 5% or less the plan outlined earlier would be pursued but since the additional funds are somewhat more than a 5% increase the Commission had to meet again to discuss. Long added that the motion required another meeting if funds increased above 5% and that the motion combined both the CBDG funds and the HOME funds. He said HOME funds increased 11 %. Long asked if the Commission could answer questions about why the Commission didn't allocate the top ranked projects under housing, in case questions were directed to the Commission members. He HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION May 4, 2009 Planning Conference Room, City Hall Page 3 of 6 said the top ranked project under housing was Isis, the second was the Housing Fellowship and then Dolphin and TBRA were fourth and fifth, respectively. Richman responded that one of the last things done at the last meeting was to move money from TBRA into the Housing Fellowship project with the idea that if there were additional funds that they would go toward TBRA. Hart said she thought the Commission was trying to avoid adhering strictly to rankings because it can force a particular position from the Commission. She said while the rankings are helpful to see the potential projects there are problems with the rankings, too. She pointed out the reason TBRA comes in low on the rankings is because it doesn't produce anything; they're not paying property taxes, for instance. She wondered if there were other factors that could be used to evaluate the merits of potential projects, and ranked accordingly. Richman said Hart is right, that there are limitations in the rankings and there is no need to be constrained by them. Richman said it is also true that with Isis, if additional ftmds are awarded, it must come in $50,000 amounts to do an entire unit which is nearly the entire allocation. Douglas said one possibility would be to give another $20,000 to the Housing Fellowship. Long said it's $20,000 a unit. Hightshoe said there is $34,316 to be divided equally. She said Dolphin's per unit cost of $10,000 equals $30,000. She asked what would be done with the rest of the money. She asked if it would go to TBRA. Hightshoe said TBRA can use any denomination. She said $30,000 would be required for three additional units leaving $38,000 to TBRA. Richman said the last thing they did was increase the Housing Fellowship's allocation. He said he would rather that money be directed toward the TBRA than for another unit. Douglas said he'd be fine with the current plan, pro -rating it for the two home projects. Shaw asked what is the rational to the Council for giving a portion to the Dolphin project. He said the Commission has the rational for TBRA because they took away funds toward the end. Richman said the Dolphin project was only funded at $90,000, a relatively small fraction of the requested $558,000. He said he thought those who had seen the project felt good about what had been accomplished. A Commission member asked if there was a rational for splitting funds between rental and home- ownership projects. Crane said he agreed to do as presented because it was less than a I % increase. Richman said if everyone is comfortable with that a motion would be needed to say additional CDBG funds would go to Shelter House — New Construction, that $30,000 of the additional HOME funds would go to the Dolphin project, and that the balance of the additional HOME funds would go to the TBRA project. Long said administration money is not being taken out of the additional funds. He said the City could take another $7,000 in administration, but staff elected not to allocate the ftmds to administrative/planning costs. HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION May 4, 2009 Planning Conference Room, City Hall Page 4 of 6 Shaw motioned to allocate the Shelter House — New Construction the additional CDBG funds and to allocate the additional HOME funds to Dolphin Lake Point and TBRA. $30,000 is to be allocated to Dolphin Lake Point with the remainder going to TBRA. McMurray seconded. The motion passed 9-0. Douglas asked if the Commission needed to discuss economic development money Hightshoe said staff made a recommendation to Council. She said $120,000 exists in the economic development fund. She said if another $95,000 in FYI 0 is allocated that brings the fund to $210,000, She said the City is evaluated on the timeliness of expenditures ratio in which the City receives approximately $600,000 in CDBG funds annually. She said due to Community Development's workload including all flood related grants and housing rehabilitation projects, Single -Family New Construction Program, drafting of the next 5-year Consolidated Plan (CITY -STEPS), and the regular workload, staff time is limited to find desirable applicants or to market to lenders to get the type of projects the City wants to pursue. Staff recommended to Council that the $95,000 be directed to CDBG eligible projects that can proceed in a more timely fashion. She said FYI I would return to normal. Douglas asked if that is something the Commission needs to approve. Hightshoe said the Commission could make a recommendation, to discuss it in the agenda item, or to leave it to Council to decide. Drum motioned to allocate the $95,000 in CDBG Economic Development funds to the projects recommended by staff in the 4/27/09 Council memo by the Community Development Coordinator. Hightshoe said the money could go to any CDBG eligible project, including Shelter House — New Construction or the Housing Fellowship. Long said the two highest ranked CDBG eligible facility projects were Shelter House and MECCA and the two highest housing were ISIS and Housing Fellowship — Rental. Both housing projects are eligible for CDBG money as well. Typically staff does not like to mix CDBG and HOME funds due to administrative issues; however it has been done in the past. McKay seconded. The motion passed 9-0. Discussion occurred about who was attending the Council work session. Long said it would be helpful to have members present during the work session in case questions needed to be asked of the Commission. Long said decisions will have already been made by the formal meeting. Hightshoe said she spoke with HUD when the figures were made available but that they haven't received an official award letter regarding the dollar amounts at this time. She said the final number HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION May 4, 2009 Planning Conference Room, City Hall Page 5 of 6 may not reflect exactly the numbers available currently but that it should be very close, to within one or two thousand dollars ADJOURNMENT: Mckay moved to adjourn. Defrance seconded. The motion passed 9-0. MINUTES PRELIMINARY HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION APRIL 16,2009 — 6:30 PM LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM, CITY HALL Members Present: Stephen Crane, Charlie Drum, Holly Jane Hart, Michael McKay, Rebecca McMurray Members Absent: Marcy DeFrance, Andy Douglas, Brian Richman, Michael Shaw, Staff Present: Tracy Hightshoe Others Present: Kristin Watson, Libris Fidgelis RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: (become effective only after separate Council action): The Commission voted 5-0 (Richman, Shaw, DeFrance and Douglas absent) to recommend approval of the FYI 0 Action Plan and FY09 Annual Action Plan Amendment to the City Council. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. Charlie Drum chaired the meeting. APPROVAL OF THE MARCH 12 AND MARCH 26,2009 MINUTES: Crane motioned to approve the minutes. McKay seconded the motion. The motion to approve the minutes passed 5-0 (Richman, Shaw, DeFrance and Douglas absent). PUBLIC COMMENT OF ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA: None. STAFF/COMMISSION COMMENT: None. FAIR HOUSING PRESENTATION BY THE IOWA CITY HUMAN RIGHTS DEPARTMENT: Hightshoe introduced Kristin Watson, Human Rights Investigator, for the City of Iowa City. Hightshoe noted that the City's Affirmative Marketing Plan encourages coordination with the Human Rights Department to educate commissions on fair housing laws. Watson noted that the federal Fair Housing Act came out of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The initial Civil Rights Act did not address housing issues, though the idea had been discussed and President HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION APRIL 16,2009 MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 2 of 8 Lyndon Johnson supported its inclusion. After Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated in 1968, there was finally enough momentum for the passage of a Fair Housing Act to address discrimination in housing matters. Watson said that the Housing Act was needed because there were both overt acts of discrimination in housing as well as policies with unintended discriminatory tendencies. Watson said that Iowa itself had a surprisingly progressive civil rights history. Iowa state courts outlawed segregation in the schools over 50 years before Brown vs. Board of Education outlawed segregation nationwide. Watson noted that Iowa was also the first state to admit a woman to the Bar, requiring the removal of "white" and "male" as admission standards to the Bar. Watson said that Iowa courts refused to acknowledge the property rights of slave -owners, and refused to return runaway slaves to their masters based on that view. Watson said that while Iowa's history does possess landmark civil rights moments, the state has not entirely escaped issues of discrimination in housing. The 2000 census found that almost a quarter of Iowa's 99 counties have less than 15 black residents. Watson acknowledged that there are a number of factors that converge to create segregated communities. She said that it was not uncommon in the past to have racially restrictive covenants on property which barred the sale of the property to non- whites. Watson said that it was also not uncommon to have covenants restrict on the basis of religion as well, requiring that a property be sold only to a Christian. It was 1948 before the Supreme Court outlawed such restrictive covenants. Watson noted that some discriminatory practices were not so overt, and were sometimes intended to be positives but had negative consequences. In the 1930's, Watson said, the U.S. Housing Authority was created in response to the Great Depression. This would seem to be a good thing, providing housing for poor people; however, the housing developments created by the authority were segregated by race. Another example is demonstrated by real estate appraisals which calculated racially integrated neighborhoods as a "risk factor" to property values and mortgage defaults. Watson acknowledged that this could often times be true; these properties were at greater risk of default and property devaluation because poorer people tended to live in more diverse neighborhoods, creating a negative cycle. Watson said the practice of "red -lining" neighborhoods by drawing a red line around them and saying that they were bad loan risks had discriminatory repercussions because they were very often non -white neighborhoods. Watson said that statistics from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) show that between 1934 and 1968, 98% of federally approved mortgages were granted to whites. Watson noted that this was also a time period where almost 50% of all mortgages were backed by federal agencies, making it clear that it was very, very difficult to borrow money for a home for non -whites. In the 1970's, well-intentioned urban renewal projects displaced many, many poor non -white people. The homes that tended to be torn down were single family homes and duplexes whereas the homes they were replaced with were large-scale housing projects. Watson discussed a phenomenon studied by a sociologist named James Lohen called "Sundown Towns;" these were towns that posted signs stating that non -whites were not allowed to be in town after sundown. Lohen found that there were over 400 of these towns in Illinois and 44 in Iowa. Watson said that in the Midwest the target of these laws were primarily African Americans, whereas in the West they were often directed against those of Asian descent. Watson said it is easy to see that there are presently neighborhoods that are white and non -white, but that it takes a more thorough examination of the history of housing to understand how this came to be. Watson noted that increasingly neighborhoods are not segregated just by race, but also by HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION APRIL 16,2009 MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 3 of 8 economic class. She said there are a disproportionate number of non -white people living in distressed neighborhoods. Watson explained that as a federal law, the Fair Housing Act offers greater authority than state or local laws which can differ from federal law but cannot conflict with it. The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, familial status and disability. Watson noted that familial status and disability were not added until 1988. The act requires that federal agencies affirmatively further fair housing policies, something unique in civil rights law. Whenever a federal agency does something official related to housing they have to assess the racial impact and affirmatively promote integration in federal housing policy. The State of Iowa adds to the federal housing act by protecting religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and retaliation from housing discrimination. Iowa City includes a provision to protect those with public assistance as a source of income from being discriminated against in housing. Watson said that the public assistance income source is an issue of much policy debate at the national level when it comes to housing discrimination. Watson said that housing discrimination is basically any adverse action that you take in the realm of housing based on the protected classes outlined in the law, such as: refusing to rent or sell to a person because of their protected class, representing that an available apartment really is not available, showing homes or apartments only in certain neighborhoods based on who the person is, setting different terms and conditions based on a person's protected status. Watson noted that religious institutions can discriminate on the basis of religion without violating the law; for example, a monastery can say that those not of their religious order cannot live on the premises but could not say that African American monks of the same faith could not. The State of Iowa has determined that if a landlord has fewer than three units and is owner -occupied then that property owner can discriminate. The logic behind this is that the owner can choose who they wish to have living with them. A more common exception is that of elderly housing units, where renters must be of a certain age before they can live in a building. Watson said that at some level this is just a public policy decision. She said that her office received a call the other day from a disabled individual who wanted to live in an assisted living facility because of the services offered but could not because she was not old enough. In this case, because the housing was for seniors, the young disabled person can be denied housing based on that individual's age. Watson said there is also an exception in an Iowa state code for transient housing, such as hotel occupancy; Watson said she did not understand this exception because discrimination in these instances would be covered by public accommodations code. Watson said that recent research shows that a lot of discrimination still exists though it has grown more subtle. The most recent national study done by HUD in 2000 found that non -white people were routinely steered to certain neighborhoods. Watson relayed an example in Iowa City where after she and her husband had decided against a certain house the realtor suggested that the neighborhood might not have been an appropriate one for an attorney. HUD also found that non -white people who applied for loans were routinely given less information than white people, offered fewer financial products, and were steered toward non-standard loans. Watson said that the latest Southern Poverty Law Center Intelligence Report reported on a piece of information that went viral on the internet which blamed illegal immigrants for the current housing crisis. Watson said that hate groups have political agendas and get out and lobby just as legitimate groups do, and that the internet is just as powerful a tool for them as it is for others without hate agendas. HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION APRIL 16,2009 MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 4 of 8 Watson said that economic discrimination is on the rise. Iowa City is one of the few areas that has a clause protecting individuals from housing discrimination based on their incomes from public assistance. In most areas of the country it is perfectly legal to say to a renter that you will not rent to them because they are on public assistance. Watson said that there is a rise in discriminatory advertising with the advent of the internet. Because there are laws that protect internet providers from being sued for the content of third parties there are now discriminatory advertisements on sites such as Craig's List. This is an emerging issue in bigger cities, as is the issue of cooperative housing. Co-ops are not presently required to publish standards and so it is difficult to ascertain whether or not an applicant has been denied on the basis of discrimination. McKay asked how long Iowa City has had a statute barring discrimination based on public assistance income. Watson said she was not sure. She noted that it was still perfectly within a landlord's rights to determine whether or not they wished to accept Section 8 rental assistance, as a landlord cannot be forced to allow Section 8. However, if a person can demonstrably afford an apartment, a landlord cannot deny housing based on the person having public assistance as their income type. Fidelis noted that a lot of landlord's steer clear of Section 8 because the government keeps cutting it out, whereas if one goes through the HUD rent assistance program cuts are not made. The speaker maintained that the government is trying to get rid of Section 8, and that he was told by the City that he would get an apartment much faster if he would go through HUD subsidized housing than he would on Section 8. Watson said that all of these issues are intersecting. Watson said that the Human Rights Office processes complaints received by the public and investigates to see whether or not there is probable cause to believe that discrimination has occurred. Watson said that anyone can file a complaint and that it is a very accessible process; people can download forms, call in to have then sent, or drop by to pick one up. Watson noted that the department is limited in its scope to the boundaries of Iowa City. She said her office can assist those in other areas with filling out a State of Iowa complaint form, but cannot otherwise help people outside their jurisdiction. McKay asked what the data said about the number of cases for which there seemed to be probable cause to believe discrimination had occurred. Watson said that because the standards for determining discrimination are set so high, the number of actionable complaints is very low. She said that there has been a lot of conservatism in the courts that have narrowed the standards, and that it is very hard for a plaintiff to win a discrimination suit. More often, Watson said, there are actions the office deems to be suspicious and does not like, but does not fit the legal standard for discrimination. Watson said that frequently the office sends out friendly warning letters. She offered as an example a letter that was sent out advising a landlord that an ad he had placed saying "no children" allowed was not legal. Proceeding to court action on probable cause is pretty rare, Watson said. Hightshoe asked Watson what the most common complaint received by her office was. Watson replied that the most common complaints received by her office concerned discrimination in employment, followed by complaints concerning public accommodation. Crane asked if age discrimination in employment was an issue. Watson said that age is an issue, as is race, sexual orientation, and sex. Hightshoe asked if it is harder to establish probable cause in such employment HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION APRIL 16,2009 MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 5 of 8 complaints than it is for housing. Watson said they were about the same, although she noted that there is a new law that says that the courts have been wrong on disability issues and that the laws need to be more strictly enforced. Crane asked if the caseload has gone up in the last few years. Watson said she did not know the answer to that question, as she had been with the City for two years and her workload has been about the same. Watson noted that the State of Iowa tends to take the interesting housing cases away and investigate it themselves. Watson said that each case must be cross -filed with the State, who then sometimes cross -files employment complaints (depending on whether the standards have been met or not) with the Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC). Watson provided handouts for Commission members which listed standards and resources they could consult. Crane asked how many investigators were in the Human Rights Office. Watson replied that there was only one at present as they had a vacancy. She noted that the Coordinator also investigates cases in addition to her administrative duties. Watson was asked what family status actually meant when it came to housing discrimination, and she replied that it generally meant the presence or absence of dependents and/or children. She said that some landlords would prefer not to rent to people with children. There were no further questions from the Commission and Watson concluded her presentation. REVIEW OF THE FY10 ANNUAL ACTION PLAN AND FY09 ANNUAL ACTION PLAN AMENDMENT: Hightshoe noted that a copy of these plans had been provided in the packets distributed to the Commissioners. McMurray asked why Shelter House and Home Ties were funded in the FY09 Action Plan. Hightshoe replied that this was because HUD requested that the stimulus funds be spent as soon as possible and advised to proceed with a FY09 Annual Action Plan amendment. McMurray said she was just confirming that the funds were actually 2009 stimulus money. Hightshoe explained that the Annual Action plan contains the Housing and Community Development Commission's (HCDC) budget, certifications, history, and a breakdown of each project. Hightshoe explained that the Commission reviews the plan, requests revisions if necessary, and makes a recommendation to forward it to City Council for approval. Hart asked if this was the plan in which the Commission needed to break down its goals and priorities. Hightshoe said this would be done with the beginning of the next five-year plan, with the 2011 allocation cycle. She said the new 5- year Consolidated Plan will contain more detail than previous plans and the City's goals will be translated to identifiable action steps that indicate number of units to be assisted for different income groups, number and possibly type of public facilities assisted, etc. Hightshoe said that the first five year plan had set overly -optimistic goals, and that the new five year plan will be more realistic and will be based on the prior five years numbers so that projections are more accurate. Crane motioned to recommend approval of the FY10 Annual Action Plan and FY09 Annual Action Plan Amendment to City Council. HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION APRIL 16,2009 MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 6 of 8 McKay seconded. The motion carried 5-0 (Richman, Shaw, DeFrance, and Douglas absent). DISCUSSION OF FY09 PROJECTS THAT HAVE NOT PERFORMED PER THE UNSUCCESSFUL OR DELAYED PROJECTS POLICY: Hightshoe provided an update on these projects. Hightshoe explained that for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds the City is evaluated by HUD for a "timeliness" factor. As a result, the City encourages funding recipients to get their projects out there and get them completed in the shortest amount of time. CDBG applicants are encouraged to spend at least 50% of their award by March 15t". There are three projects that have not met that threshold. The Free Medical Clinic is running up against problems with their purchase of the property they currently lease. There is a discrepancy between the appraisal and the purchase price. Hightshoe said that negotiations are ongoing and getting closer. Hightshoe said that as long as a price can be agreed upon, the Free Medical Clinic will proceed with the purchase. The Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County had been allocated $14,600 for window replacement. Hightshoe said that the bids had been sent out, and that they do intend to have the project done by June I". The Domestic Violence Intervention Program has begun their bathroom project, and will be finished by the end of the fiscal year. Hightshoe said she did not believe any of the agencies were at the point where they were not going to finish by the end of the fiscal year. The consensus of the commission were to allow all the projects to proceed with staff providing updates on the status if any further delays. REVIEW OF THE FY10 ALLOCATON PROCESS: Hightshoe said that some years a subcommittee has been set up after the allocation process and other years the Commission has simply taken comments regarding that year's allocation process. With the new Consolidated Plan, a.k.a. CITY STEPS coming, Hightshoe said, the process will be reviewed again. Drum said that last year he had had some recommendations. He said that he still felt there was some information that Staff could get for the Commission to help them focus on the facts of what was to be decided. Hart commented that she knew that some of the Commissioners found the ratings forms to be very useful even if they did not follow them exactly. Drum said that he felt the ratings forms were very useful and that it was also very helpful to see what other Commissioners came up with. Crane said that he had served on the subcommittee and he felt that Drum's point was getting at whether a priority was marked as "high" or "low" and if that could just be stated by Staff. Crane acknowledged that some of the criteria came down to Commissioner judgment. Drum said it would be helpful to know if the applicant took a workshop; Crane agreed. Crane said he felt the allocation process went pretty well this year. McKay said he thought the process was rather straightforward and intuitive. McMurray said that she felt the organization of the process was very good this year; Crane pointed HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION APRIL 16,2009 MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 7 of 8 out that this was especially impressive given the incredible amount of work generated for Long and Hightshoe by the flood. DISCUSSION OF THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CELEBRATION: Hightshoe said that last year's community development celebration was cancelled due to the floods, though Four Oaks had really wanted to host the event. Hightshoe said they had offered a nice venue for such a celebration. Hightshoe said that hopefully this year would be less busy than last year and a committee could be put together to come up with something. Hightshoe asked if those on the committee for the affordable housing event would like to join together with the committee for a celebration. Drum said he had no objection to that. McKay asked what was typically involved. Typically, Hightshoe said, the celebration attempts to highlight projects funded by CDBG/HOME funds and what the money has done in the community. There is typically a featured speaker, big checks are presented to the FY10 recipients, and there is an ongoing power -point presentation. There was some discussion that the expense of the over -sized checks could be done away with and "virtual" checks could be presented to recipients instead. Hightshoe said she would check to see if there is an intern available to do the mailings and notifications involved. Drum and McMurray agreed to be on the committee. Douglas is on the affordable housing committee and so was volunteered by his colleagues for this one as well. MONITORING REPORTS: • Iowa City Free Medical Clinic — Building Acquisition & Operations (Richman): Hightshoe presented Richman's report during the portion of the meeting that discussed at -risk FY09 projects. • MECCA — Facility Rehabilitation (DeFrance): DeFrance reported via written communication to Hightshoe that the project is complete and that both restrooms have new flooring, paint, counters, new walls for the stalls, new faucets and repairs to damaged drywall. The project is closed out. • Iowa City Housing Authority — FY06 & 07 Tenant Based Rental Assistance (Shaw): Shaw had informed Hightshoe that he would be getting in touch with Steve Rackis and reporting to the Commission next month. ADJOURNMENT: McKay motioned to adjourn. Crane seconded. The motion carried 5-0 (Richman, Shaw, DeFrance and Douglas absent). *01% 2�% E u 0 0 ME CL 0 .0— E bm E > 2 0 E C) 0 0 c CS 0) 0 z 0 LU 0 > J5 0, 0 0 cy') 7C) LLI 0 Cp �D 8 t7 V) (n T 0-0 0 66 E :3 a +- a- a 3� . . >. C) — 0 < 0 a) 2 c G) — (1) U) 0 C: CL CL C3) c CL E zt 0 c 0) V) +- p -g 0 2 9 2: 0 r 0 0 a 0 - 5 — -0 0 -- Q- ? 0 O)Z Z (D 0 0 0 0 -C 0 w ui 0 0 0 U M c c 00 0 0 x z n -'-e C) 0 0 'n ; -L 0 C: 83 E E LOJ. (D , (D 0 0 _C 0 cn 8 , E 0 9 CD LU 2 CO 0 0 c LL 0 0 c z 0 Lu 0 — La (4 V LO 8' 8' 6: C) 0 Zj 0 .9 = a- � .— C 75 -0 4- C4 n_ > 0 0 0 q 2 7T 2 'M 12 0 0) 0 0 CL 0 LU LU U) 46 o 0 In 0 4) o� 0 C) oc (D CO C) cn 0 E 0 r E U. E Lu 0 0 E 0... E E E 0 cy-) 0 o E LIJ E Lu -5 0 0 0 0 8 co LO CN 4- c CITY WE NEED YOUR INPUT! The City of Iowa City is currently preparing CITY STEPS, a five-year Consolidated Plan for housing, jobs and services for Iowa City's low -moderate income residents. CITY STEPS will establish priorities for the use of federal HUD Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) funds during the next five years. Please come and give your input on the housing, jobs and service needs of low and moderate income residents. The meeting begins at 6:30 prn on May 21, 2009 at the Iowa City Public Library, meeting room A. If you are in need of special accommodationsfora disability or language translation, please contact Steve Long at steve-long@iowa-city.org or at 319.356.5230 or 319.356.5493 TDD (at least one day prior to the meeting).