HomeMy WebLinkAboutHCDC Packet 06-18-2020
HOUSING & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
COMMISSION (HCDC)
June 18, 2020
Electronic Regular Meeting – 6:30 PM
Zoom Meeting Platform
AGENDA:
1. Call to Order
2. Consideration of Meeting Minutes: April 16, 2020
3. Public comment of items not on the agenda
Commentators shall address the Commission for no more than 5 minutes. Commissioners
shall not engage in discussion with the public concerning said items.
4. Monitoring Updates
HCDC invites CDBG and HOME recipients to provide updates on projects to inform them on
progress and learn about agencies’ roles serving the community. Agency updates for this
meeting include Little Creations Academy, Successful Living, and The Housing Fellowship.
Information provided by Successful Living and The Housing Fellowship is included in the
agenda packet.
5. Update on COVID-19 Funding Availability
Staff will provide an update on programs and funding related to COVID-19, specifically the
availability of CDBG-CV funds and eviction prevention efforts.
Electronic Meeting
(Pursuant to Iowa Code section 21.8)
An electronic meeting is being held because a meeting in person is
impossible or impractical due to concerns for the health and safety of
Commission members, staff and the public presented by COVID-19.
You can participate in the meeting and comment on an agenda item by
going to: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcocO6gqD0oEtSr9S-
BgWqV4jHWIsY3g7HP to visit the Zoom meeting’s registration page
and submitting the required information. Once approved, you will
receive an email message with a link to join the meeting. If you are
asked for a meeting or webinar ID, enter the ID number found in the
email. If you have no computer or smartphone, or a computer without a
microphone, you can call in by phone by dialing (312) 626-6799 and
entering the meeting ID 935 7786 6280 when prompted. Providing
comment in person is not an option.
2
If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate in this program or event, please
contact Brianna Gabel at brianna-gabel@iowa-city.org or 319-356-5230. Early requests are
strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet your access needs.
6. Discussion on Utility Bills
HCDC will discuss utility bill assistance and may consider a recommendation to City
Council. Sara Barron with the Johnson County Affordable Housing Coalition will be in
attendance to participate in the discussion. A transcript of the May 19, 2020 City Council
Work Session COVID-19 update and staff presentation on recovery efforts are included in
the meeting packet for reference.
7. Discussion on Racial Justice
HCDC will discuss racial justice efforts in the community and may consider a
recommendation to City Council.
8. Housing & Community Development Information
A special thank you to our outgoing commission members Charlie Eastham, V Fixmer-Oraiz,
and John McKinstry for their service to the community.
9. Adjournment
MINUTES PRELIMINARY
HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
APRIL 16, 2020 – 6:30 PM
ELECTRONIC MEETING
MEMBERS PRESENT: Peggy Aguilar, Megan Alter, Matt Drabek, Charlie Eastham, V Fixmer-
Oraiz, Lyn Dee Kealey, John McKinstry, Peter Nkumu
MEMBERS ABSENT: Maria Padron
STAFF PRESENT: Erika Kubly, Steven Rackis, Tracy Hightshoe
OTHERS PRESENT: Roger Goedken, Cady Gerlach, Sara Barron
RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL:
By a vote of 7-0 (Aguilar not present for the vote) HCDC recommends to City Council the ICHA 5-Year
Plan and Annual Plan for FY20.
By a vote of 7-0 (Aguilar not present for the vote) HCDC recommends to City Council the FY21 Annual
Action Plan.
By a vote of 7-0 (Aguilar not present for the vote) HCDC recommends to City Council the Citizen
Participation Plan and amendments to City Steps 2025.
By a vote of 8-0 HCDC recommends to City Council Amendment #1 to the FY20 Annual Action Plan and
Amendment #2 to CITY STEPS (2016-2020).
CALL MEETING TO ORDER:
Fixmer-Oraiz called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM.
Electronic Meeting
(Pursuant to Iowa Code section 21.8)
An electronic meeting is being held because a meeting in person is impossible
or impractical due to concerns for the health and safety of Commission
members, staff and the public presented by COVID-19.
Housing and Community Development Commission
April 16, 2020
Page 2 of 9
CONSIDERATION OF MEETING MINUTES: MARCH 12, 2020:
Eastham moved to approve the minutes of March 12, 2020. McKinstry seconded and a vote was taken
and the motion passed 7-0.
PUBLIC COMMENT FOR TOPICS NOT ON THE AGENDA:
None.
REVIEW AND CONSIDER RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL ON APPROVAL OF IOWA CITY
HOUSING AUTHORITY (ICHA) 5-YEAR PLAN AND ANNUAL PLAN FOR FY20:
Rackis presented the Iowa City Housing Authority (ICHA) 5-year plan and annual report. He began by
noting the ICHA 5- year plan is not like the City Steps Consolidated Plan as it's not in that much detail, it
is basically just a bunch of forms and really the planning document that is important for the City of Iowa
City and also includes the Housing Authority’s plan is City Steps, the Consolidated Plan, which the
Housing Authority participates during City Steps discussions that HCDC does, and Housing Authority
participates in one or more of the City Steps public meetings.
Rackis noted the ICHA 5-year plan is their mission and long-term plan for achieving that mission over the
subsequent five years. It also is a vehicle for HUD to look at their five-year capital improvement plan for
the public housing units. The annual report itself provides details about the current programs, who they
serve, who's the resident population, what are their demographics. Rackis highlighted pages eight and
nine of the report which show the details of who they serve. The primary category of people that they
serve are disabled and/or elderly heads of households at 57%. Next are households without children,
which fits with elderly disabled households. Next they have working households, which is again, disabled
and or elderly about 57%, which is quite common, the City has been as high as 65%. Households without
children 55% and working households are generally around 48 to 50%. Rackis reiterated some of these
working households also include heads of households who are elderly and disabled. Looking at income
sources it confirms those on the program are on Social Security, people are receiving some form of social
security or disability income is 59% and working families again is 49%. Rackis noted the count of how
many families whose sole source of income is from welfare or the family investment program is about 10
families with which is less than 1% of the households on the program. On page nine it shows how long
people stay on the program and about 60% of the people stay for less than five years. The primary
reason people leave the program is they go over income and when a family goes over income, they can
remain on the program for six months.
Rackis pointed out in the executive summary of the report, where Iowa City is compared to the rest of
Iowa, Iowa City is more likely to have higher income families, more working families, fewer families
receiving welfare, and the families are paying a higher portion of their rent compared to the other 70
housing authorities in the state of Iowa.
Eastham stated he noticed that the participants annual income averages $15,878 a year and the
participants monthly rent payments have reached $376 a month. Looking at the total assistance paid by
the program for the applicable year, it's $1,436,842. The total participants reported were 1384 so dividing
the total assistance paid by the total participants, the average assistance per month is about $508. If they
add the average assistance per month of $508 to the participants monthly rent payments of $376 it looks
like participants are paying around $880 a month for their rental unit. Eastham feels that is pretty basic
information that he should have as a commissioner, how many people are in the program, what they're
paying for their rent, and what the market price of those rental units are.
Rackis stated he didn’t have the breakdown readily available, but he recalls from memory they have
probably the top three bedroom sizes in order are two bedrooms vouchers, one bedroom vouchers, then
three bedroom vouchers. He noted once the bedroom sizes are higher than three, there's smaller
numbers of participants in the program. Rackis said he can prepare the breakdown of how many people
Housing and Community Development Commission
April 16, 2020
Page 3 of 9
have a one-bedroom voucher or two-bedroom voucher, etc., if that is something the Commission would
be interested in. Eastham stated he would like to see that break out.
Eastham moved to recommend the ICHA 5-Year Plan and Annual Plan for FY20. Alter seconded
the motion. A vote was taken and motion passed 7-0 (Aguilar not present for the vote).
REVIEW AND CONSIDER RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL ON APPROVAL OF FY21
ANNUAL ACTION PLAN (AAP):
Kubly noted this is a regular item staff brings to HCDC this time of year. This Action Plan represents the
first funding year of the City Steps 2025 Consolidated Plan which was adopted by Council in January
prior to the funding round. This document can be found on page 180 of City Steps 2025 and this Action
Plan was completed by the consultant Mullin and Lonergen as part of the contract for the Consolidated
Plan. Typically, staff completes years two through five but this was part of the Consolidated Plan contract.
The plan starts with expected resources, the City has been allocated $697,678 in CDBG and $511,786 in
HOME funds for the 2021 fiscal year. Additionally staff account for any expected program income and
any unspent funds which is listed under AP-15. AP-20 shows annual goals and objectives. Kubly
explained that takes projects that were awarded by HCDC and assigns goals for the project, the outcome
indicators, who's been served by the project, and then they will report that once the project is complete in
FY21 CAPER. Staff did add goal 10, which reads “provide facilities and services in support of the
pandemic response” and although they don't have specific funds to assign to this right now, that may
change and staff will share a little bit more about the COVID-19 response in upcoming agenda items.
Kubly moved on to the next section AP-38, which is the project summary. This gives more details on each
project that HCDC has funded for the fiscal year and again they have added language related to the
pandemic under public services, public facility improvements, and economic development because they
expect may need to use the CDBG grant funds for those.
Kubly noted they are currently in the 30-day public comment period for the Annual Action Plan and the
May 5 Council meeting will be the official public meeting for the Action Plan, and then after Council
approval, staff will submit this to HUD.
Fixmer-Oraiz stated she was glad to hear that there's some COVID-19 pandemic information or
amendments being added to the document.
Eastham moved to recommend the FY21 Annual Action Plan. Nkumu seconded the motion, a vote
was taken and the motion passed 7-0 (Aguilar not present for the vote).
REVIEW AND CONSIDER RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL ON APPROVAL OF CITIZEN
PARTICIPATION PLAN FOR FY21-25 AND AMENDMENTS TO CITY STEPS 2025:
Kubly stated the Citizen Participation Plan is something that staff updated and will put it into the City
Steps 2025 as an amendment with a couple of other things that are going on right now. Kubly noted this
is a really important part of the grant administration process because it identifies how people can provide
input on City processes and how they can access public documents and plans. This version of the
updated Citizen Participation Plan is largely the same as the previous one but has been restructured and
reformatted to read more clearly. Staff added some clarifying language on administrative and substantial
amendments. Administrative amendments are those that are pretty routine, and they do them internally
as staff, whereas substantial amendments typically require the 30-day public comment period and would
come before HCDC and Council with those types of changes. Staff added language where in the event
of an emergency they could do a public comment period of five days rather than 30 for a substantial
amendment to expedite the process. That's based on recent HUD guidance related to COVID-19. Staff
also incorporate the Fair Housing Study into the plan so if they were to make any major changes to the
Fair Housing Study it would go through the Citizen Participation process.
Housing and Community Development Commission
April 16, 2020
Page 4 of 9
Kubly noted this will be added to City Steps 2025 with a couple amendments at the same time. One is
that staff revised the minimum of public facility project from $30,000 to $25,000 as discussed in the
previous Commission meeting. Staff feels this is appropriate due to the reversion of assets requirement
and was just kind of an oversight when they initially drafted City Steps 2025. The second change is to
amend the plan to include language to allow us to fund activities to respond to COVID-19 by identifying
that as a priority needed in our Consolidated Plan. The language added about the pandemic reads “In
light of the increasing severity of COVID-19 pandemic, Iowa City is interested in making available CDBG
funding to program eligible projects that activities. While the level of severity in the community is not fully
known at this time, the number of confirmed cases is expected to rise as testing becomes more readily
available. To assist in providing public facilities, special economic development assistance, businesses,
public services and our planning that could enhance our community's response to the impact of the
pandemic, the community will place a high priority on providing facilities and services in support of a
coordinated pandemic response”. This was added as a priority need on page 148 and then added as a
goal on page 162, which is similar to the Action Plan. Kubly noted there's no specific recommendations
about how to use funds for the pandemic it is just to identify it as a high priority need so that they can use
funds for that purpose.
Eastham moved to recommend the Citizen Participation Plan and amendments to City Steps 2025.
Kealey seconded the motion, a vote was taken and the motion passed 7-0 (Aguilar not present for
the vote).
REVIEW AND CONSIDER RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL ON APPROVAL OF
AMENDMENT #1 TO THE FY20 ANNUAL ACTION PLAN AND AMENDMENT #2 TO CITY STEPS
(2016-2020 CONSOLIDATED PLAN):
(Aguilar joined the meeting during this item.)
Kubly noted this amendment a result of the current situation and because the COVID-19 response will
likely cross fiscal years they are amending the current plans in addition to the new plans that start in July.
They need to amend the FY20 Annual Action Plan and City Steps 2016 through 2020 which are the
current Plans that go through June.
In the City Steps Consolidated Plan they have added the COVID-19 response as a high priority and
included it as a goal with the funding amount identified. They know that they have been allocated
$410,422 in CDBG funds through the Cares Act, that was the City allocation as an entitlement
community. The City also has some uncommitted funds, mainly due to program income included in the
Action Plan to allocate to this purpose as well. In the FY20 Action Plan staff have added the same goal
as City Steps and added the expected funding under public services. T ypically the City is limited to 15%
of the allocation for public services and those go to Aid to Agencies, but they were anticipating that HUD
would leave this 15% public service cap as a result of the pandemic and just got guidance this week that
they did do that. That gives the City a lot more opportunities to use the funds and some of the things they
can use it for is subsistence payments, which are temporary payments of rent, mortgage, or utilities for up
to three months, which is a public service. They could do additional operational funding for agencies, and
some agencies have been reaching out and staff has been working with other local governments and
funders such as United Way and the Community Foundation to figure out what the need is in the
community. United Way, for example, has been surveying agencies about their greatest need and sharing
that with the City, a separate survey from 211 that United Way distributed identified the largest needs as
health care, housing, income support and food. The City has been in communication with some of their
stakeholders and are now just getting HUD guidance.
Kubly stated they know that if they fund a public service agency with the CDBG funds they need to
demonstrate that they're expanding the number served or serving the same people with additional
services. So there are some regulations that are a little different from regular CDBG funds, they can also
use the funds for small business assistance. Kubly noted one of the things that they are working through
as they develop the proposal for these funds is duplication of benefits. Meaning that they have to make
sure that people or agencies or whoever's receiving CDBG funds is not getting funding from a different
Housing and Community Development Commission
April 16, 2020
Page 5 of 9
funding source that would require a repayment of the CDBG funds. Staff also doesn’t know if this
allocation includes administration which is typically 20%. Kubly expects HUD will give guidance on those
details in the future.
Alter asked for clarification if the recipient of this CDBG money can't be receiving money to do the same
thing from another source such as FEMA money for something. Hightshoe confirmed that was correct
and gave the example of if Shelter House submitted money to FEMA to get paid for medical sheltering for
the month of April, the City could not pay Shelter House for medical sheltering for the month of April as it
would be duplicating benefits.
Eastham asked though if Shelter House was providing income support, from CDBG sources to provide
that support and from other sources to provide the same support, as long as people are not getting
money for the same need from those different sources.
Hightshoe replied with that example hypothetically, if Shelter House paid for something like emergency
rent for three months for one individual and they're getting their funding through some other federal
service like Department of Education, FEMA, or whatever, the City cannot reimburse them for that same
expense. Now if they had additional expenses above and beyond that, that's not paid by some other
entity, the City could reimburse. It just the same expense can't be reimbursed by multiple funders.
Sara Barron (Johnson County Affordable Housing Coalition) stated that thinking about it from the
perspective of the agencies, there are going to be some activities that are only eligible for reimbursement
under one federal funding source and there might be other activities that are eligible for reimbursement
under five different funding sources. So it's a puzzle to put together the prioritization in such a way that
you can get the most reimbursement for the most services while still meeting the needs of each individual
program. So part of the coordination from the City she believes is making very clear about how they
intend to spend their money or what they intend to reimburse for so that agencies know where to slot
each of the services they're providing for the maximum reimbursement.
Hightshoe noted that the City started yesterday meeting with Coralville, North Liberty, Johnson County,
United Way, Housing Trust Fund, and the Community Foundation and will meet every two weeks so they
all have an idea of who's funding what and what needs exist.
Cady Gerlach (Shelter House) wanted to add that they are audited every year, which looks at that sort of
thing (such as double funding) all the time. So the agencies that receive federal funds right now are super
careful that they're not doing that as a matter of course in their everyday funding. Therefore, they are
now watching even more closely and it's something their auditors check every single year as well.
Drabek noted this seems very open ended for the City as to what it would spend this money on including
the City directly providing services and does the City have capacity to do that.
Hightshoe said yes for services such as rental support, subsidies for healthcare, etc. She noted that if the
City goes the route of paying for direct services or direct subsidies payments, they would probably look to
contract out with one of the organizations locally who already are doing that type of work and then
develop a contract with them to administrate. The City hasn’t decided exactly how it will use those funds,
how much will be directed to what and what all the eligible uses are. They are waiting for more guidance
from HUD, but if the City goes the aid route, they will probably look to one of our partner agencies to work
with.
Eastham stated while he can appreciate the regulatory issues he thinks they're also all aware of that
people are now having very reduced incomes because of the pandemic related restrictions on how they
can work. So he would just ask that they push themselves to get programs or get things together so they
can start putting money in people's hands as soon as possible.
Fixmer-Oraiz agreed and asked if the $120,000 was the 10% that they had anticipated and then HUD had
approved. Kubly stated the City got $410,000 from HUD from the CARES Act. Fixmer-Oraiz was looking
at page 187 for public services, which is what she thought they were discussing and that states $120,000
Housing and Community Development Commission
April 16, 2020
Page 6 of 9
CDBG is the funding, and the target date was June, 30 2021, and estimated the number of type of
families that will benefit from the proposed activities is 2800 persons, which, if you divide that into
$120,000 is about $43 a person. Kubly explained that is actually their Aid to Agencies for FY21, so it's
funds that they already allocated, it’s not the COVID-19 money.
Gerlach stated that the CARES Act allocation was $5 billion total for CDBG, $2 billion of that went through
the normal allocation funding formula, which resulted in the first $410,000. The other $3 billion is going to
be allocated based on other priorities related to hot spots for COVID-19 and other things. Gerlach asked
staff if they have any sense yet of when the rest of that money might come through and if any of that will
come through to Iowa City?
Kubly does not know the answer to that, she thinks the State got some money too that they can allocate
out and typically entitlement communities are not eligible for State funding, but it’s specifically in the
CARES Act that entitlement communities are eligible for this funding, but they haven't really heard much
about that.
Hightshoe confirmed they have not gotten any more guidance on that.
Fixmer-Oraiz noted both of these amendments are in their public comment period and what that will end
on May 5, when it will be presented to Council.
Alter moved to recommend Amendment #1 to the FY20 Annual Action Plan and Amendment #2 to
CITY STEPS (2016-2020). Eastham seconded the motion, a vote was taken and the motion passed
8-0.
DISCUSSION OF PROJECTS THAT HAVE NOT COMPLIED WITH THE “UNSUCCESSFUL OR
DELAYED PROJECTS POLICY”
Kubly noted City policy states that all CDBG projects will have expended a minimum of 50% of the
assistance provided for the project by March 15 of the project year. If they fail to meet this threshold, the
City can recapture the funding, essentially, and HCDC can make a recommendation to do that. Old Brick
is technically subject to this policy right now, however the delay has been on the City end with HUD, so
Kubly wanted to give an update and state staff is not making any recommendations to revoke their
funding. Staff feels like they've overcome that hurdle with HUD to determine the Old Brick eligibility, so
they've now moved on to environmental review and drafting agreements. Staff feels the project will be
done by the fall.
HOUSING & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT INFORMATION:
Eastman wanted to discuss that at the Council meeting next Tuesday night, an item on their agenda will
be to approve the sale of a house, half of a duplex, on Taylor Avenue, as part of the South District
Program. Eastham received a call from Mazahir Salih last night asking the Commission to consider two
issues that Mazahir and Bruce Teague are pursuing on their part too. One issue is the race and ethnicity
of the buyers of that in that program so far, the City has sold two homes there at this point and both of the
buyers were white and the applicant pool includes a diverse group of people. So one of the things that
Mazahir and Bruce are interested in doing is talking with the staff and looking at the how the selection
process is going and if there are barriers to people of color in being successful buyers. If there are
barriers there, what does the City need to do to reduce those barriers. Eastham is suggesting that the
Commission could consider supporting that effort on the part of those council members. The other issue
is the terms of sale for those homes in the South District Program. Mazahir and Bruce are wanting to
compare to the UniverCity home sale terms and make sure that the South District Programs are at least
as favorable to buyers as the UniverCity homes were. Mazahir has asked if the Commission would
consider making some kind of a recommendation along those lines that the terms of sales for the South
District Program are at least favorable to buyers as the terms of sale of the UniverCity homes program.
Eastham stated he is more than willing to work on that individually with Mazahir and Bruce but he'd like to
Housing and Community Development Commission
April 16, 2020
Page 7 of 9
inform them that it is also an area of concern from the Commission and if we'd like to have some
Commission participation, and he is sure they'd welcome that.
Nkumu asked for clarification on something Eastham said about a problem with the pool of applicants for
that sale of that property.
Eastham stated the applicant pool was a diverse pool includes people of color and white but the initial
selection of buyers for the first two homes that sold as part of the South District Program was two white
buyers. So Mazahir and Bruce are very interested in working with the staff and looking at our criteria are,
how we're doing selection, and see if there are barriers that can be reduced. Eastham stated they know
that the population on Taylor and David's Streets, which are the location for this program, that population
is in the neighborhood of 50% people of color if not a little bit higher.
McKinstry stated he certainly supports that idea and knows the Commission discussed this earlier back
when the South District Plan was being formulated. The Fair Housing Legislation encourages trying to get
people of color into homes that are federally financed as a result of the historic problems that we're trying
to correct.
McKinstry stated he has a little information from the Affordable Housing Coalition, they asked their
executive director Sara Barron to draw up some recommendations for all of the municipalities in Johnson
County to give some relief to families unemployed, whether there's one or more adult, unemployed as a
result of the COVID-19 situation by forgiving perhaps several months of utilities such as trash collection
and sewer and water to people who can show that they have become unemployed because of the
COVID-19 situation. They also tried to make that recommendation so that people who maybe are
undocumented or otherwise not able to apply for or receive unemployment insurance from the Federal
Government could still have their bills forgiven for those utilities from the cities in Johnson County for a
certain period of time. Sara Barron has been working with union people and the Center for W orker Justice
and also talking to City Councilors and officials in various cities to try to make sure that their
recommendation is a to the point.
Eastham appreciated that and noted he personally would quite supportive of the cities forbearing
on any delayed or delinquent utility payments during this because of COVID-19 related unemployment
during this pandemic time.
Hightshoe stated they did a comparison of the UniverCity program with the South District Program and
noted they're not the same program. Throughout the 9-10 years they've had the University program it has
been based on what funding source they have. With the South District Program, it is Home funds with
down payment assistance and the City is limited in what they can provide. The two buyers were residents
on Taylor Street, one of them there six years, the other 15 years, are first time homebuyers. They're going
to be able to finance those homes with loans of $55,000 to $60,000. The focus on the South District Plan
was affordability, its structured much like a Habitat or public housing units. Hightshoe noted she shared
that comparison to Bruce Teague and the City Manager so it will be shared with the rest of Council. They
do want more people of different races to apply for the homes and did send out a letter to the South
District offering free financial counseling to get people in the position so they could buy a home with very
few takers. They have learned from that and will try to increase efforts to try to get financial counseling
out to people who want it so that when the City does have a home available, they can qualify for a
mortgage. They are trying to increase the number of people who are in a position that they can buy a
home, because these will probably be the most affordable homes ever seen in Iowa City.
Eastham thanked Hightshoe for the table staff prepared comparing the UniverCity and South District
Programs and was pleased to hear that staff is willing to work with Council members and this Commission
as they try to structure a program that does provide homeownership opportunities for people of color in
that area.
McKinstry noted that the City mayor and Crissy Canganelli made an excellent video that is on the City
website about the partnership between Shelter House and the City and he recommends it for viewing.
Housing and Community Development Commission
April 16, 2020
Page 8 of 9
The video relates some of the COVID-19 response that the City and Shelter House and other partners
have worked out.
Fixmer-Oraiz stated Eastham is really looking at how to look at that South District housing opportunity
and potentially if there's a way the Commission could offer support or assist with recommendations.
Based on what can been seen from people's faces and the comments they are making, there is interest.
She asked if Eastham has something the Commission can work with, some of that initial information with
City Council, or if Eastham is taking the lead let others know what he finds out and how they can plug in
it. Another opportunity for the Commission to provide support or in terms of taking recommendations
forward to City Council is with the work McKinstry and Barron are doing.
McKinstry stated there is an Affordable Housing Coalition community meeting on April 24th, at noon,
when representatives of about 8 or 10 agencies who are going to do a five-minute summary of their
COVID-19 response and how things are going. So that would be an opportunity to check in with a lot of
people in the whole housing spectrum, how things are going amongst the various shelters and the service
providers in housing and sheltering.
Kubly noted the next meeting is scheduled for May 21, at 6:30pm. Right now City policy is to hold
electronic meetings for commissions if there's urgent agenda items so will see where we're at in a couple
of weeks and try to make a decision then. Some of the future agenda items that are on the list are
monitoring updates, which she skipped for this meeting because we had a pretty lengthy agenda, and
then also for discussion with aid to agency impact coalition.
Alter asked if the coalition item was that the one that Eastham had brought up about and they did want to
talk about the impact coalition, but hopefully not be as Zoom meeting. Fixmer-Oraiz stated that item
came up from a previous meeting public comment and agreed it'd be best probably in person.
Fixmer-Oraiz stated that she has had a lot of people ask her if the City is considering any methods of rent
forgiveness, if there's any rent moratorium. She wondered if other folks are hearing these questions as
well or if there's any information from City staff to pass along.
Kubly stated she doesn’t believe the City has authority to impose a rent moratorium, but she wouldn't be
the person to speak on that.
Nkumu asked if they are talking about City owned property or all rental properties.
Drabek stated as an informational point he did contact the city attorney regarding City's authority to
impose an eviction moratorium it is her opinion that the City does not have that authority. He would think
an eviction moratorium would be less controversial than a rent moratorium. So you could certainly ask the
city attorney, but he thinks she would almost certainly say that the City does not have the authority to do
that.
Fixmer-Oraiz stated that is what she has been telling people, her understanding of City planning and the
authority that the City has. She has also been asked the same thing with the eviction moratorium.
Kubly heard that Iowa Legal Aid is a good place to refer people for this type of information.
Drabek noted that Iowa Legal Aid has very extensive information about the difference between the State
level and Federal level moratoriums on eviction. The State one ends at the end of this month, whereas
the Federal one goes into July. So that that's important information to pass along to people as well.
ADJOURNMENT:
Kealey moved to adjourn. Alter seconded the motion and a vote was taken and the motion passed 8-0.
Housing and Community Development Commission
April 16, 2020
Page 9 of 9
Housing and Community
Development Commission
Attendance Record
• Resigned from Commission
Key:
X = Present
O = Absent
O/E = Absent/Excused
--- = Vacant
Name Terms Exp. 7/11 8/15 9/19 10/17 12/19 2/20 3/12 4/16
Aguilar, Peggy 6/30/22 X X O/E X X O/E X
Alter, Megan 6/30/21 X X O/E X X X X X
Drabek, Matt 6/30/22 O/E X X X O/E X X X
Eastham, Charlie 6/30/20 X X X X X X X X
Fixmer-Oraiz, V 6/30/20 X X X X X O/E X X
Kealey, Lyn Dee Hook 6/30/22 O/E X O/E O/E X X X X
McKinstry, John 6/30/20 X O/E X X X X X X
Nkumu, Peter 6/30/22 O/E X X X O/E X O/E X
Padron, Maria 6/30/20 X X X X O/E X O/E O/E
1
Successful Living HCDC Update 6/2020
FY18 rental rehab: 821 N Johnson 5 residents rehab 100% completed.
Repaired damaged roof; rebuilt long stairs from front of house to sidewalk—stairs were pulling
away from house and railing was weakening; created more direct exits to outside; improved
use of space and confidentiality by switching office space and bedroom space; upgraded
kitchen to better accommodate 5 adults. SL contributed at least $4,000 of our own funds
to complete this project.
FY20 rental rehab: 3107 Village Rd. 5 residents rehab completed 6/5/20
Replaced windows and doors on main floor—worn-out frames and woodwork. Remodeled
kitchen to better accommodate 5 adults, including replacing appliances and setting
space to help residents with memory problems. Remodeled main bathroom to increase
size so could put in grab bars and an accessible shower/tub. Residents are having
mobility issues due to age, illness, and disability. Replaced carpet throughout house
with vinyl planking to improve health and safety. SL contributed some of our own funds
to complete this project.
FY19 rental acquisition:
Using HOME/CDBG funds as down payments purchased 4 houses—each house was remodeled
as needed to include 5 bedrooms and an office and to meet the requirements for a rental
permit. We struggled to get some of the houses opened due to hiring challenges. Once
hired, we had no problem finding residents.
Houses:
1403 Hollywood Blvd Full by August, 2018
2209 Russell Dr. Full by May, 2019
500 2nd Ave Full by August, 2019
3234 Friendship Full by November, 2019
FY20 rental acquisition:
Using HOME/CDBG funds as down payments purchased 3 houses—each house was remodeled
as needed to include 5 bedrooms and an office and to meet the requirements for a rental
permit. The houses are not yet full, due to COVID-19, which essentially meant we have not
been hiring staff or bringing in new residents since the beginning of March. See section on
COVID-19 for more information.
New Houses Status:
2219 Palmer Circle 3 residents when pandemic hit
3104 Juniper Dr. no staff, no residents
2272 Hickory Ct. just hired staff, no residents when pandemic hit
Who we served through these projects:
Successful Living provides support services to adults with chronic mental illnesses who are struggling to
live in the community. It is very difficult to make use of community resources when someone does not
have stable housing. Successful Living provides housing and services for single adults with CMI who
2
would otherwise be homeless. While this is still a new model for us, we are seeing longer stays and
more successful outcomes (people not being evicted as frequently, people receiving an appropriate level
of care and successfully moving into their own apartments in the community.
Status of Successful Living during COVID-19:
Successful Living staff started developing policies and procedures to respond to COVID-19 in early March
as it became evident how serious the spread of the illness would be. By March 16 we had the following
in place: sheltering in place—residents were asked to only leave the house for essential appointments
and to not have visitors or social contacts away from the house. Staff and residents had to maintain
social distancing. Staff and residents practiced frequent hand-washing and increased sanitizing of
frequently touched surfaces. Initially, people were told not to wear masks, but as the evidence
indicated that masks were helpful in stopping the spread, staff started wearing masks at all times at
work and residents wore masks when out of their rooms. The agency was able to provide masks to staff
and residents. By mid-April staff and residents were taking their temperatures—staff when coming to
and leaving work and residents twice a day—when getting up and at bedtime. These precautions
continue. Successful Living has not had any house staff or residents test positive for COVID-19.
Everyone has worked hard to keep the houses safe and sanitary and everyone healthy.
Because so many people are asymptomatic and testing was not available, Successful Living, as has been
every other human service agency, was and is very concerned about bringing new people into the
houses—not knowing whether they had been practicing social distancing, handwashing, etc. The
agency suspended all intakes and hiring at the beginning of March. Successful Living started doing
some intakes late May based on people having access to testing and being able to report that their tests
were negative. Due to the continued lack of testing, this will be a slow process, but the only way to
protect everyone. Hiring will be carried out on the same basis—the potential staff person can show
through testing or quarantining that they are safe. COVID-19 will continue to impact the agency
through the next year, if not longer.
Any other information you would like to share with the Commission:
As of 2016, we owned 3 houses which housed 20, 9, and 8 residents, respectively for a total of 37
rooms. Due to the size of the houses, the level of staffing we could afford, and the mix of residents the
houses were often chaotic. In order to provide better services, we worked with the City of Iowa
Community Development staff to sell the larger houses and buy and move to 5 person houses. We sold
our 3rd house on July 1, 2019. With the help of HOME and CDBG funds and the money from the sale of
our larger houses we have purchased 10 houses. Each of the houses required some work in order to
provide 5 bedrooms and an office, as well as meet requirements for a rental permit. The houses are
much calmer and staff are able to provide services more safely and effectively. We were able to
increase staffing and place residents with higher needs in housing separate from people who need
support and a place to staff on a more short-term basis. One of our goals was to replace the 37 beds we
had in 2016. We reached that goal this past year and now have 50 beds.
JUNE 1 8 , 2 0 2 0 HOUS I NG AND COMMUNI TY DEV ELOPMENT COMMI S S I ON UPDATE
THE HOUSING
FELLOWSHIP
JUNE 18, 2020 HCDC MONITORING
UPDATE
•FY18 Rental Rehab
•FY19 Rental Rehab
•FY20 Rental Rehab
•FY20 CHDO Operating Funds
•Pandemic
Response/Organizational
impact
•Del Ray Ridge project
completion
FY18 RENTAL REHAB
1226 William St. – Complete
•Windows, update HVAC adding AC, gutters, overhead garage door, interior painting & carpet
•Family served <30% AMI
700 S. First Ave. – Complete
•Siding, windows, gutters, overhead garage door, bathroom update, refinish wood floors, new cement patio, & fence repair
•Family served <60% AMI
1105 Pine St. – Complete
•Windows, update kitchen & bath, new HVAC, update electric, paint unit & refinish wood floors
•Family served <60% AMI
1121 Ash St. – Complete
•Windows, add central air, new privacy fence & update bathroom
•Family served <30% AMI
FY19 RENTAL REHAB
1202 Kirkwood Ave. – Complete
•Update kitchen, electric repair & paint exterior of garage
•Family served <50% AMI
2510 Friendship St. – Complete
•New roof, gutters, HVAC, update kitchen and bath, paint unit, refinish wood floors, & yard clean up
•Family served <50% AMI
58 Amber Ln. – Complete
•New roof, gutters, siding, windows, HVAC, update 1.5 bath & update kitchen
•Family served <30% AMI
125 S. Lowell St. – not yet bid
•HVAC, roof, windows, bathroom remodel
•Family served <30% AMI
FY20 RENTAL REHAB
1232 Esther Ct. – not yet bid
•HVAC, kitchen remodel, remodel
two bathrooms, new water heater
•Family served <50% AMI
427 S. First Ave. – not yet bid
•Relocate furnace, flooring, kitchen
remodel, water damage repair
•Family served <60% AMI
FY20 CHDO OPERATING
FY20 - $22,000 operating funds
supplement the salary of our Chief
Financial Officer - $11,000 received YTD
•The Housing Fellowship is a complex
organization consisting of six different
companies, each with it’s own set of
financials and audit
•Our unit count has grown by 26% in
calendar year 2020 – we also added
a maintenance staff position in 2019
in anticipation of maintenance
needs in additional buildings
•This funding is critical to our
operation, giving us the capacity to
effectively administer 219 homes - our
Board, staff, and tenants are grateful
PANDEMIC RESPONSE - OPERATIONS
•The Housing Fellowship donated the use of 4 units to the Domestic Violence Intervention Program to help them reduce the census in their group shelter due to coronavirus concerns. Late March through June (4 units in April, 3 in May, 2 in June).
•We expect a backlog of maintenance requests, as we have been performing only critical maintenance in occupied units since March – creating additional financial concerns going forward
•Vacant units have been harder to show to prospective tenants while observing social distancing, increasing financial pressure through reduced income and higher utility costs
•We have communicated resources available to tenants from other agencies/support programs
•Staff office hours are by appointment only
PANDEMIC RESPONSE – FINANCIAL
PLANNING
•June late rent is approximately $28,000 as of June 10. Rent payments are trending later each month since March and nonpayment has increased significantly
•We have been able to adjust financially in the short term, but expect this trend to continue for many months and it is not sustainable financially
•Many tenants have been able to use one time funds to stay current on rent (stimulus payments, additional unemployment benefits, income tax refunds) – we expect some of these households to have more difficulty paying rent in the coming months
•We predict vacancies will be easier to fill moving forward, but overall rent levels in the market to fall. Fellowship rental income is expected to be significantly lower for the foreseeable future.
•We have been working with lenders to defer loan payments and adjust terms
•We have stepped up fundraising efforts – 100% of each dollar donated to The Housing Fellowship goes directly to waiving past due rent for a family in need
PANDEMIC RESPONSE – CRITICAL
FUNDING REQUEST
•Federal legislation responding to coronavirus impacts obligated additional funds and relaxed maximum operational support
•The Housing Fellowship submitted amended requests for this additional funding:
•FY20 and FY21 CHDO operating funds – requested net increase of $57,000
•FY21 CHDO set aside – amended request reduced the number of units to be rehabbed and increased the requested developer fee to be used to supplement operations as delinquent rent increases
•Initial request was made by the Fellowship April 16, formal documents submitted May 6
•We understand the City has submitted a request to the HUD field office and are awaiting a response
•It cannot be overstated how critical this funding is to our operation. It is equivalent to a decade of rent for one of our families. We will use additional dollars to maintain our service levels while forgiving rent for tenants unable to pay in the coming months.
DEL RAY RIDGE
•33 unit apartment building at 628 S. Dubuque St. - one and two bedroom units
•Low Income Housing Tax Credit project
•Mixed income building – units at 30%, 40%, 60% AMI and four market rate units
•Includes accessible units
•Funding partners include the City of Iowa City, the Housing Trust Fund of Johnson County, and Hills Bank
•Construction was delayed more than two months – the building must be leased up ASAP in order to earn first year tax credits – the first tenants are expected to move in during July
60% AMI Units
Rent:
1 bed - $816
2 bed - $965
Income max:
1 person - $42,540
2 person - $48,600
3 person - $54,660
4 person - $60,720
QUESTIONS
1
Erika Kubly
From:Tracy Hightshoe
Sent:Wednesday, June 10, 2020 12:47 PM
Cc:crissy@shelterhouseiowa.org; Mark Sertterh; Geoff Fruin; Erika Kubly
Subject:Eviction Prevention Program for Iowa City Residents not eligible for the State's Program
Hello,
The City is working with Shelter House to offer financial assistance to those most at risk of eviction due to unpaid rent
and/or utility bills and who are not eligible for Iowa’s Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Program. If you are working
with a household who is not able to pay their rent, please have them complete the pre‐application checklist for the
State’s program at https://www.iowafinance.com/covid‐application/. If they are not eligible for the State’s program,
please refer them to Shelter House to determine if we can assist. Shelter House will provide emergency rent assistance
and/or utility deposits, up to $3,200, for Iowa City households with incomes up to 80% of area median income with a
demonstrated loss of income after March 17, 2020. Assistance for up to two months may be paid for unpaid rent
and/or utilities incurred after April 1, 2020. The tenant must be in arrears for rent and/or utility assistance to qualify.
To apply, please contact Gina Woolsey, Shelter House, at gina.woolsey@shelterhouseiowa.org or (319) 351‐0326. Gina
will do an initial eligibility triage with the potential client and gather required documentation. The client will be assisted
through our Coordinated Entry process. Appointments will need to be made if they want to go to Shelter
House. Shelter House is not allowing drop‐in inquires due to COVID‐19 at this time.
The City anticipates additional funds through the federal CARES Act (CDBG‐CV) for eviction prevention. This program is
a bridge for those tenants in need before we have access to our federal funds (most likely in late June or July), but who
do not qualify for the State’s program. When our CARES Act funding is available, staff will send you another email about
funding availability, application process and who is eligible.
Applicants for this program must meet the following qualifications:
1. Provide documentation of having a household income at or below 80% of Area Median Income (AMI)
and provide documentation that the household sustained a loss of income after March 17, 2020.
a. If the Applicant is a full‐time student under the age of 24, they must qualify per the HUD Section 8
Part 5 Definition as defined in 24 CFR Part 5.
2. The lease must be in the Applicant’s name or Applicant must submit documentation that they are
responsible for rent or a portion of rent for that unit.
3. The household must not be able to qualify for IFA’s COVID‐19 Iowa Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention
Program. Must either have a denial email or clearly demonstrate the applicant doesn’t qualify such as
verification of receipt of the $600 per week in additional unemployment funds (a federal stimulus
benefit).
4. Must have outstanding rent, verified by the landlord, for April, May or June of 2020. For utility
assistance must have notice that utilities are in arrears from the utility provider.
5. Housing Choice Voucher tenants, public housing or any tenant receiving monthly housing benefits,
adjusted for income, from the government are not eligible for emergency rent as already receiving
subsidized rental assistance. These tenants are eligible for utility assistance.
6. Applicants may not apply for or receive other financial assistance to cover the assistance provided by
this grant.
7. The home/unit must be in the corporate limits of Iowa City.
Please contact me with any questions.
Thank you,
2
Tracy Hightshoe
Neighborhood & Development Services Director
(she/her/hers)
office: 319.356.5244
410 E Washington St, Iowa City, IA 52240
WWW.ICGOV.ORG
Page 1
Council Present: Bergus, Mims, Salih, Teague, Taylor, Thomas, Weiner
Staff Present: Frain, Monroe, Dilkes, Fruebling, Nagle -Gamin, Bockenstedt, Seydell-
Johnson, Platz
Others Present: Van Heukelom, Longenecker (UISG)
COVID-19 Update:
Teague/ It's 5:00 P.M. Welcome to the Iowa City .... uh, work session for tonight, which is May
19°i, 2020. And we are still social distancing here at Council and hope everyone is doin'
the best you can to say stafe.... to stay safe durin' this time. Miss all of you here at City
Hall. I am here tonight! So (laughs) um, hopefully we'll be able to come together again
in the near future. So ... with that bein' said, I did want to .... maybe just start us off with
some COVID-19 updates from our City Manager, and ... he's gonna talk about some...
potential relief efforts and go into other stuff with us tonight. So, Geoff Frain!
Frain/ Thank you, Mayor. It's good to see everybody and as the Mayor said, tonight we wanna
talk about, uh, recovery efforts. Uh, so at your last meeting we spent quite a bit of time
with you, uh, covering the City financial outlook, and uh... uh, with that in mind we
wanna begin to talk recovery. Uh (mumbled) at this point there's, uh, a lot of unknown
variables, uh, so we wanna keep this discussion at a very high level. What I'm hoping for
is at the end of the work session, I'll walk away with a general (mumbled) of where the
Council as a majority stands in terms of the, uh, level of aggressiveness that you may
want to pursue recovery efforts with and .... and where those, uh, areas of focus, um,
before the higher areas of focus will be. So with that I'm gonna share my screen and
walk you through about a 12 -slide presentation here, uh, this evening. Okay, um, again,
uh, I wanna start with just the acknowledgment, I think this goes without saying right
now, but a lot of unknown variables, uh, right now, and that complicates all the decision
making that we have as a city, but that's the same for everybody out there. We're not
unique, um, but we just have to acknowledge that it's a pretty fluid situation. In terms of
our abilities to ... to offer recovery packages, um, it...it would be nice to have a better idea
of where certainly we are from a financial standpoint, and some of those unknown
variables that are still hanging out there are the future federal relief efforts, uh, you know
there's discussion ongoing right now about a CARES Act 2.0, uh, the Heroes Act as it's
been termed initially in Washington. Uh, we still are also.... haven't seen the State
legislature reconvene, and when they do they'll likely have discussions on how to utilize
the, uh, 1.25 billion that they received through the first CARES Act. Uh, that, uh,
includes, uh, the ability for them to pass that down to local governments. Um, on the flip
side of that, we don't know what steps they're going to need to take to mitigate the
pressures on their own budget, which are .... which are significant. So backfill dollars, or
any other decisions they make that, uh, may impact funding to cities, need to be, uh,
taken into consideration. We expect a lot of clarity to come in the months of June and
July, around those issues at the State and federal level. As we've talked about at length
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of May 19, 2020.
Page 2
before in these meetings and ... and others, uh, we really don't know the duration of this
health crisis. Uh, we don't know if it will spike again, uh, in the fall or in the winter, um,
so we just have to understand that we have to be able to scale as well, whether that's with
recovery efforts, with our own operations. We need to make sure that whatever we can
do can .... can ebb and flow with the changing guidelines that are out there. Probably
most important for ...for us here in Iowa City, urn, would be the announcement of the
University of Iowa's instructional plans that will come out, uh, later this .... later this
summer. Um, certainly having the students back here in Iowa City, uh, means one thing,
and having all online classes means (mumbled) thing for ...for our ...our own health, our
community's economic health, but the City of Iowa City's, uh, health as well. Uh, and
then, uh, long-term just the .... the shape and speed of this recovery. If you read a lot of
the recovery talk is questions about is it a W, is it a V, is it a Nike swoosh, uh, what...
what does that recovery scale look like and again, we ... we just don't know that right now.
And, uh, you'll need to take that into consideration when thinkin' about recovery
packages. Um .... at the last meting we talked very briefly about the `better together'
project. There are kind of two levels of recovery happening right now, uh, that the City's
involved with. Um, I'm not going to cover the `better together' project tonight, but
happy to answer questions about that. Councilor Mims would be able to do so as well.
But keep in mind that's a very high level regional effort, uh, looking to kind of leverage
relationships and .... and.....and support collaborative recovery when possible. I wanna
focus more on what's in orange here and that's our city recover. What can we as a city do
to help, uh, our residents, our businesses, our non -profits. And so there's.... there's three
bullet points there and I'd .... I'd say these are .... could almost be numbered as (mumbled)
taken in kind of sequential order. What we're doing right now is we're still kind of in
that assessment phase. What are.....what's our ability, what's our capacity from a
financial standpoint, uh, what resources do we have to ... to help, uh, spur recovery, and
where are those resources best spent? What are those community needs out there that we
can (mumbled) After that, we need to determine our guiding principles, which is
something I'm gonna talk about, um ... uh, in the next slide. And then we'll craft whatever
programs we can, uh, to fill the most pressing needs, uh, of our community, and ... and
again that's at a very high level what we're hoping to get out of tonight's discussion. So
it's important that, um, when drafting recovery plans that we adopt some .... some values,
or what I've called the guiding principles here, um, but it goes without saying — we're not
gonna have the resources to meet every need in the community. And so we wanna be
very clear with the community on what is .... what is guiding our decision making when it
comes to recovery. Why are we prioritizing what we are? If we can .... if we can
constantly go back to ... to these guiding principles, um, it will certainly help us
communicate what we are trying to do with whatever recovery efforts we develop. So
I'll walk through these one by one and whether it's tonight or at some other future
meeting, I really encourage the Council to spend the time to .... to perfect these, uh,
because the staff will utilize these when developing our programs and again it'll be a
focal point of our communications for ...for other programs. So certainly one principle
that I hope you consider is .... is we need to make sure we're not compromising our own
ability to provide essential services. We all wanna do what we can to help but at the end
of the day it's going to be counterproductive if we, um, get a little too aggressive and...
and are forced into cuts to our own essential services that end up hurting the community
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of May 19, 2020.
Page 3
in the long term. Wanna make sure that any individual or household relief that we offer
is .... is equitable and prioritize those that are most in need in our community. Relief
efforts for non-profit agencies should reward collaboration and create lasting operational
benefits. Business relief programs should be coordinated with the actions of regional
partners and aim to leverage external funding. Any type of stimulus efforts must target
Iowa City -based businesses and support jobs across multiple sectors of our economy. All
relief efforts should yield enduring outcomes that align with our climate action
objectives. This is a great opportunity to make sure that climate action, uh, the crisis that
you declared, is .... is directly, uh, related, uh, to whatever recovery efforts that we put out,
to the extent possible. And then, uh, as we do with all our City funds, we just want to
make sure we're not duplicating benefits, and that's.... that's part of that community
assessment that needs to take pace .... take place. If we're gonna offer business grants, we
wanna make sure that we're looking for those gaps. What are those businesses that
weren't able to access the State and federal funds, what types of businesses were they?
Were they large businesses, were they small businesses, um, but really understanding that
we wanna, uh, not duplicate benefits that have been offered by others. So again, uh, we'll
circle back to this. I encourage you to, um, think about this and .... and uh, whenever that
time comes, modify these as needed. Uh, quick summary, last, uh, meeting's presentation
that you received from Dennis Bockenstedt. Uh, the duration of the pandemic is .... is
unknown and so we don't really know what the complete financial impact is, and uh, the
impact across all our funds is pretty varied right now. We have short-term pressures and
we know we're gonna have some long-term pressures as well. In the short-term, we're
feeling pressures in parking, transit, road -use tax, and water, and Dennis went into detail
on those at your last meeting. We also know that while the general fund does not have
those, uh, short-term pressures right now, they could very well develop short-term
pressures, as we wait and see where property tax collections come in and what the State
does with our backfill payments. So what we thought initially was going to be more of a
long-term impact on the general fund, um, could be kind of short-term impact, and we
just don't know, uh, that right now, at...at this time. We do know that we will have long-
term impact in the general fund, as ... as, uh, as tax ... as our tax base stagnates, as .... as we
see a drop in building permits and as we, uh, predict that we'll see some stagnation in ... in
values and assessments, if not a decline in some areas. We know that that's gonna ... that's
gonna cause some pressure, uh, in our general fund and we're gonna have to make sure
our services can weather that. So the next two to five years, cause we're at abut a two-
year lag between the values and our budget cycles. So, um, we already knew that fiscal
year 24 was going to be tough, cause that's the last year of the property tax reform, that's
where we'll see the biggest drop in the multi -residential category. So you're already
kinda bracing for the tough year in fiscal year 24 and now we have this dynamic to place
on top of that. So we need to make sure that whatever we're doing these next few fiscal
years doesn't put us in a position that ... that we can't pay for that same level of service
mumbled) in fiscal year 24. And .... and of course we always wanna maintain strong
reserves. You know, the City has reserves so that we can respond to emergencies like
this. I don't wanna discourage you from using your reserves, but we need to have some
good honest conversations about, um, how much of reserves we can tap into and how
much we need to keep for, um, our own .... our own stability when it comes to our
operations, both in the short and long-term. We are doing some things to mitigate the
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of May 19, 2020.
Page 4
budget pressures that we have right now. Uh, in the short-term we are eliminating or
delaying discretionary or non-essential expenditures. Our department directors are doing
that, uh... um, on their own right now. We have looked at some capital projects that we
may need to delay, uh, just to ... to free up some.... some cash flow. Uh, we have, uh,
delayed the filling of some vacant and newly authorized positions. So, uh, you k now the
budget you approved for fiscal year 21 had several new positions. For the most part
we're holding off, we'll make a few exceptions there, but most of those positions won't
be filled immediately come July 1s`. We'll wait until we have a little bit more clarity.
And then the Council has also, uh, been involved in discussions about our temporary staff
that aren't working (mumbled) furloughed (mumbled) went into place, um, earlier this
month. Long-term things we may need to consider, uh, these are things that we would
really get into with the ... the budget that we'll work on this fall, uh, but do we .... do we
need to reduce our workforce at all, um, in order to kinda meet those pressures that we're
expecting in the next couple of years, and how best do we do that. So questions we can't
really answer right now, but as, uh, again, the financial impact becomes clear,
we'll ... we'll need to consider whether the general fund can continue to support the
number of positions that we have, if those values stagnate. We'll have to look at all the
operating dollars that are being transferred to the City's capital improvement plan and
whether we need to scale those back, so that those dollars can be put into operations.
Um, and uh, if so we might need to reallocate some of our CIP funding and we might
need to look at those projects and .... and, uh, have to prioritize those a little bit more. So
we talked a little bit about that last time. We talked about the decrease in road use tax
and ... and the pressures that we see there. We also know that road funding is one of our
most critical needs, so going forward as we make adjustments to our capital plan, we're
really gonna have to look at how we can take dollars (noises in background, difficult to
hear speaker) set aside for purposes and put more towards roads, uh, just to fill those gaps
that we're gonna see in road use tax. Okay, so, uh, this is a pretty busy slide, but I wanna
give you a sense of just ... from a financial standpoint how we would look to fund recovery
efforts, and the first thing that we would do is we'd look at our existing operational funds.
So what are the budget line items that are either unused at this point, um, or that, um, are
budgeted for .... a non-essential purpose really, that could be, uh, targeted towards
something else and I'll walk through those with you, but understand this isn't meant to be
an exhaustive list. It's just to kinda give you a sense of where staff
would...where.... where our kind of mindset is and ... and what we would look to,
um .... where we would look first when developing programs. So we have some existing
funds that, um, are....are meant for more longer term efforts and .... and you have some of
those in your affordable housing fund. So as you know, over the years we've land -
banked dollars. We've set aside dollars every year with the idea that in four or five or six
years we'll go out and we'll buy some.... some property in the community to support an
affordable housing project. (mumbled) repurpose those dollars because of the short-term
emergency. You could say that the short-term emergency takes precedence over that
long-term effort and that we would rather use those land -banking dollars for short-term
rent relief, uh, as opposed to a long-term affordable, um, housing project. Uh, we also
have fee in lieu of dollars that we collected, uh, for affordable housing projects. Again
our strategy was to hold those and .... and put together a more expansive program in the
future, but given the emergent situation that many households find themselves in, we
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of May 19, 2020.
Page 5
could repurpose those, uh, rather quickly and, uh, supplement some of the other rent
relief dollars, uh, that are coming out. CDBG and HOME funds, we do have unallocated
program income dollars. These are .... these are programs, uh, loan programs that we have
offered for years and years. As those loans are repaid, uh, to the City, we have those, and
those are generally unallocated funds. And so we can put some of those to ... to use as
well. Um, with your fiscal year 21 budget, we did, uh, utilize the emergency levy for the,
uh, climate action fund, and so we could really get into that climate action fund, decide if
we wanna take some of that roughly million dollars, and, uh, repurpose maybe what our
game plan is for using those dollars. Doesn't mean you necessarily have to take the focus
off of climate action. There's certainly things, relief efforts that you could do that would,
um, be a little bit more, uh.... uh (mumbled) with, uh, how quickly we spend those, but
also tied back to our climate action goals. Um, we would certainly think that that
emergency levy, those dollars, uh, would fit well for any type of recovery effort. We
have economic development discretionary dollars that are unspent. Uh, the Council
knows we have a 1 % contingency line item, both in this year's budget and next year's
budget, um, that, um .... uh, can be deployed for some type of recovery efforts. Uh, we
talked about the capital improvement fund, um, we can delay some of our projects, um,
push `em off a couple of years, and take some of those general fund dollars that were
used to support our CII' and put those to use as well, and then we are already looking at
tax increment financing and how we might be able to use dollars in those districts, uh, to,
uh... uh, to help with recovery. So those are existing funds. Those are funds that are
budgeted that .... that could just be repurposed slightly and .... and put to use. We also
have reserve funds, and I .... we have our general fund reserve. We have utility reserves,
and we have our emergency reserves. Again, this is where you wanna be cautious
because these are ... these are intended to support our .... our operations, uh, and we don't
know the long-term impact on our operations. So we don't wanna be quick to draw these
down, only to find out we're going to need `em in years one, two, or three in this
recovery, uh, but know that they're there and know that they're healthy for the most part,
and uh, that ... that they could be used, uh, once we get to that comfort level. And then
finally we have the supplemental dollars that are coming from the federal government
and .... and perhaps from the State government later, but, uh, we have the CDBG
supplement, which was on your last Council agenda. Uh, we are getting word that the
State is likely to pass down some of their CDBG dollars that they got through the CARES
Act to entitlement cities. Uh, so, uh, we hope to be able to share with you, uh, in the
upcoming week or two that we'll have even more CDBG dollars, uh, to put to use, and
again those can be targeted toward individual relief or to relief for non-profit agencies
that are responding to COVID pressures. We have public housing dollars, uh, Iowa City
public housing funds that were granted through the, uh, CARES Act, and... and those'll be
put to good use in the community, and then at your MPO meeting on May 27s', you'll be
voting on how to allocate some transit dollars that we received from the .... from the
CARES Act. We may be able to put those to use as well. Again, kind of three different
three different sources of funding that staff is looking at now. Um, when we talk
about relief, uh, I've tried to categorize things into these four buckets. We have relief
efforts that are .... that are targeted towards households or individuals, uh, direct. Um, we
have relief efforts that would be targeted to non -profits. Uh, to our for-profit business
community, and then the fourth one's a little bit different. This is kind of what you think
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of May 19, 2020.
Page 6
of when you ... when you maybe think of the federal government and... and recovery efforts
of the past. Um, really thinking about stimulus and .... and how can we maybe spend
more, how can we prepare or...or move forward on a greater number of City projects, um,
and spread those out across many sectors to get that business community going. And...
and this is the part of the presentation where I think at the end we're gonna wan some
Council feedback on priorities, cause what you're going to see in the next few slides is...
is a list of...of various examples that we could pursue. Again not meant to be exhaustive
lists, but different things that we could do and we could explore, um, but know that we
can't do them all, and I'm not suggesting that the following list (mumbled) things, you
know, we can do all these things. Uh, just to kinda get you thinking about, um, what you
think is most important for our community. So when it comes to individual and
household relief, uh... um ... uh, I wanna talk about some of the considerations that I think
we need to keep in mind, and then again, share with you some examples. So on all these
slides you're gonna see the City's ability to pay. Um, I don't want us to lose sight of that,
uh, we have to be able to ... to afford these programs that we put together. What are those
thresholds for eligibility? Are we utilizing existing eligibility criteria? Are we gonna
look at new eligibility criteria, uh, such as unemployment, um, claims? Are we gonna
target, uh, certain types of relief? Um, as opposed to, you know, kind of the federal
checks, you know, the $1,200 checks, uh, are we gonna, uh, think first about let's make
sure that those who are in need of housing or food or healthcare or childcare, whatever
that is, um .... let's .... let's kinda target our relief efforts to those areas. How are we gonna
coordinate any type of relief with non-profit, uh, providers in our community? Um, again
you know, the classic example of that is rental assistance. We can provide rental
assistance direct to people, but we might not do that from City to household. We might
go from City to non-profit partner to ... to household there and... and be much more
efficient of how we handle that. We talked about the affordable housing funds. I think
that's one area that we can move pretty quickly in, if the Council wanted to look at
repurposing some of those longer-term affordable housing funds. Rebates and credits for
unused City services; uh, those are all types of considerations that I think we need to look
at. So examples of relief efforts, um, the two in red have already been done. That's the...
the foregoing water shut -offs and late fees, and then postponing that water rate increase.
Um, we could expand the City's utility discount program. We have an existing utility
discount program. We have about 450 households in that program that receive a discount
every month on their utilities. Uh, all the eligibility criteria is already taken place.
They've already submitted paperwork. Uh, we could really look to expand that, or you
could kinda throw that program out the window and look for a more expansive utility
relief, uh, effort. Um .... we could do more direct housing assistance. So in the last
meeting you approved CDBG dollars for some housing assistance but we also talked
about using some of the opportunity funds in the affordable housing fund, uh, to, uh,
make sure that undocumented residents also have access to those funds. Uh, we can
certainly look to supplement those efforts. How can we work on food security? Um, do
we .... do we look to, uh, try to provide some enhanced benefits through existing
programs, uh, that we have? There's great examples of existing programs out there.
There's the Food With Love program. There's our double -up bucks program. There's
some good frame work already started there that we could help supplement if ..if ...if that
food security was a priority for the Council. We talked a lot about childcare. We all
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of May 19, 2020.
Page 7
know that childcare was an existing, uh.... um, challenge for many in the community, and
that's going to really be exponentially increased going forward. So what could the City
do to provide some, ub, childcare, uh, credits, for those that need them. Maybe we could
could we work with, uh, childcare providers to .... to.....to help carry out some type of
new local program. Transit's another example, um, you know we were already, um,
contemplating of a fare -free transit, with some of the CARES Act dollars that we ... that
we may be getting, um, it may be that we have additional resources to .... to really focus
an effort on trying to reduce the transportation costs, uh, that many households, uh, have
in our community. Uh, employment enhancement partnerships, how ...how do we ... how
do we make sure that people who have been laid off in their .... in their positions can get
new skills, uh, to reenter the workforce, and can we partner with labor organizations or
some of our educational institutions. Again, these are all examples of..of what we might
be able to do, uh, should.... should individual and household relief be a priority for
Council. Uh, non-profit support, um, really when we think about non -profits we kinda
have two , uh.... um, two categories in mind. Uh, we have the human services, uh,
agencies — housing, food, healthcare, mental health — all those things. Uh, but we also
have a .... a very vibrant, uh, arts and culture, uh, scene that's been devastated by this
pandemic, and Council'd need to weigh if we wanna, uh, be more aggressive in trying to
help, uh, the arts and culture community rebound from this, and we .... we do know that
they play a significant role in our .... our economy as well. How do we encourage
collaborative efforts among .... among non -profits? How do we leverage some of the
existing private and ... and federal funds that are already out there? Um, we can do direct
operational grants. That's certainly familiar to us. We have the Aid to Agencies program.
We have some frame work in place where we could supplement those budgets, do an
extra application round, and tum things around pretty quickly. Uh, we could think about
loans to...to agencies, to really, um, look at how do we help them long-term? Right?
It's .... some of these, like the CARES Act funding, those are really meant to .... to help
some of those short-term issues, but how can we spend dollars, uh, to help these
organizations shore up their long-term futures, because as .... as many will be .... as many
are kinda fightin' for survival right now, uh, even when this pandemic passes, uh, there's
going to be challenging times for our non -profits community. So can we look at, uh,
ways to help them, uh, long-term, by reducing some of their operational costs, by
reducing some of their debt costs, uh, going forward. Direct business support, uh, is
the .... is the next one. Uh, there's been a lot of attention paid to this at the federal level.
Obviously we talked about the PPP program, uh, quite a bit. The State has offered some
funding, as well, but we know it falls way short of the needs that are out there in the
business community. So what ... what might the City do, uh... uh, for direct business
support? Uh, we have seen some cities in Iowa respond with business grant programs.
Uh, I saw one today out of Muscatine. I believe the Des Moines area's, uh, seen a couple
of cities start some .... some grant programs. Uh, we can look at .... I think what we would
try to do is look at what ... what, uh, types of businesses were not able, uh, to access those
State and federal dollars or where did those dollars maybe not go for enough, and we'd
really try to find where those gaps are and ... and help those most in need. Uh,
traditionally in situation like this, cities would be targeting very small businesses, uh, for
our relief efforts, and we can expand existing programs that we have, like our loan
guarantee program, our CDBQ uh, program. We could ... you could look to create new
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of May 19, 2020.
Page 8
programs. Uh, we could look at targeting, uh, certain types of businesses, and a note on
here — minority and women -owned businesses. Um, it's been well documented that
minorities have been hit, um, much harder than the rest of the population by this
pandemic. So we may need to think about that as we're crafting our .... our grant
programs, uh, to make sure again, following those guiding principles, that we're .... we're
reachin' out to those who ... who need the help the most. Uh, had some conversations, uh,
with some of you and others in the community about what the City could do about, uh, to
make sure that businesses open up, um, and they have all the PPP they need for their
employees and their customers. As businesses are .... are strapped for cash right now, uh,
they may not have, uh, the resources to .... to properly equip, uh, their employees. Uh,
they may not have the resources to modify their, uh, their retail stores or their restaurants,
and that may be a .... that may be a good role for the City to step into and... and help. Uh,
we'll revisit the parking pass, uh, rebate credit, uh, type of program that really applies to
individual households, as well as businesses and non -profits, because I think they,
uh.... uh, there's several, um, types of businesses that, and people, that ... that have those,
uh, parking passes. So we could, uh, we could, um, revisit that one, uh, probably in
another few weeks or a month, uh, once we have the, urn .... uh, the lease issue worked
out on the Harrison Street deck. Um, but there's also possibilities to get creative with that
too. Is it a straight rebate? Do we provide some incentives? Uh, tie it in with the
community gift card program to encourage further spending in the economy? Uh, lots of
different ways we could go with that. And then the last bucket was the economic
stimulus. So this isn't necessarily, uh, direct support to businesses, but this is more about
how can we incentivize activity through.... through City investments? So, uh, while I
talked about scaling back our capital plan. You could look at it differently. If we wanted
to tap into more of our funds, our unused funds, our reserves, we really look to expand
our CIP. That's not something we can do overnight, um, but as we look at a two or three-
year period, we could really look to.....to.....to, um, bolster the amount of work that
we're .... that we're pushing out the door. We can do that through accelerated climate
action grants, as well, and really try to incentivize, uh, people to make improvements to
their ...their buildings and their homes, urn .... uh, through our climate action grant
program. Uh, we've talked, uh... uh, listed here (mumbled) livable wage job credit
programs. Really trying to .... how do we encourage employers to .... to add, urn ... uh, new
positions back. Can we incentivize jobs that are well paid, uh, or maybe that fit ... fit into
our climate action, uh, goals? Uh, prior to the pandemic we were already looking at a
commercial tax abatement program on Highway I and 6, and we're gettin' close to bring
that to the EDC for consideration. So that's... that's more of a, uh, a fortunate timing
situation, but that's certainly a program that Council could adopt that would, um, help
incentivize, uh, additional improvements in the .... in the community. And how do we
expand upon existing food, uh, service partnerships between, uh, restaurants and non-
profits? So again, just a different way to think about recovery there. Um, and uh... uh, we
could certainly explore these a little bit further. So this is my last slide here. I just warm
wrap up with a couple of thoughts. Um, we do have resources, uh, to .... to put towards a
recovery effort, um, and I think we're in a fortunate position. Not many cities across the
country are in a position to be offering local recovery, but I think we are. Uh, we just
have to be very careful with the speed at which we move and the size of the program. I'd
encourage the Council to ... to start small and scale it up as we get a little bit more
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of May 19, 2020.
Page 9
comfortable with our financial effort. We'd first like to use those existing budgeted
dollars before we moved into, um, any type of reserves, and again that's really just kind
of waitin' for that financial picture to clear up a little bit. And then lastly again, what I'm
hoping today, uh, results from, uh, the ensuing discussion that you'll have is for ...for the
City staff to walk away with just a better idea of where your priorities are. I don't expect
that you're going to be able to give us specific direction tonight, um, but we'd like you to
think about those guiding principles and we'd like you to start to talk about what areas,
um, that ... that you saw here, or maybe that we didn't present on that you think are the
highest priority for us as staff to be considering right now. I'll tum it back over to you,
Mayor, and happy to answer any questions.
Teague/ Thanks for givin' us a lot of information to think about right now. Um, I think it is very
clear that COVID-19 will have impacts that we're seeing now and that we'll see in the
future, and the reality is is that people in our community are the ones that are, uh, needin'
the relief, and so I believe that it's appropriate for staff to present this to Council and I
think it's our duties as Councilors to really look at it and give some direction, I think, um,
to the best of our ability now, realizin' that things... it's gonna be on a continuum and...
and .... and it could change. One of the things that I've been sayin' is that we have to co-
exist with COVID-19 because it....it appears it could be here a while and so ... thanks for
your presentation. I warm open it up to Councilors. I .... I jotted down some notes, and I
imagine others have notes and some thoughts as well, so I'll open it up to our Councilors
to kinda chime in.
Taylor/ This is Pauline. Can ya.... can ya hear me?
Teague/Yes!
Taylor/ Geoff, you, uh, stressed several times, uh, to avoid duplication of any sort of, uh,
assistance to certain groups or individuals, but I think you also talked a couple of times
about the undocumented, and we've heard that over and over again that, uh, these folks
oftentimes don't qualify for the federal assistance or even the state assistance. So I think
one of our priorities should be looking at that group of individuals and .... and seeing
where we might be able to help them out, whether it'd be the utilities or, uh, housing
assistance, those kinds of things. I think that should be one of our key priorities.
Weiner/ This is Janice. As part of that, I think that we've been hearing that the federal dollars
that were sent out, the $1,200, um, per person or per household did not go to households
that have ... at least.... even one person who is, um, who is not ... either a citizen or in the
citizenship process. So it could be that .... I don't know how many folks here are, um,
affected by that, but what.....you can have one spouse and the kids be citizens, but they
didn't get it because the other spouse is not.
Salih/ What do you mean by that? Do you mean like .... green card resident but not citizen, or
what do you mean exactly? Or undocumented?
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of May 19, 2020.
Page 10
Weiner/ I don't ..... I don't know exactly what it ... what it means, but I just have read a number of
stories that indicate that, uh, despite the fact that a part .... at least one partner in the house
household, and the kids were citizens, because the other one was not, they did not
receive any .... any of the federal relief dollars, and so I'm just putting that out there,
because that will put those households in an even more difficult situation because they
will be short the $1,200, in addition to everything else.
Salih/ Yes, that's true for all the undocumented, uh, people. If the parent undocumented and the
kids are U.S. citizen, it still they are not eligible. The whole house. Well that's true. But
for residents, all the residents are, uh, you know, if you have a green card, you are
eligible. (unable to understand) but undocumented, of course they are the ones that get
hit really bad because they don't get anything.
Mims/ I guess my thought would be, Geoff, when you talked about not .... not trying to duplicate
services and looking at what venues are already in place, they're used to helping the
people in our community that have the greatest need .... I guess where I would be most
comfortable is that we at least start our initial priority in.....putting money to the non-
profits to let them .... give them more money to get out to the individuals and the
households. They already have the mechanisms in place, um, to help, whether it's
through the food insecurity issues, whether it's housing or other issues, to me that seems
the place where we could get, uh, maybe the most benefit to the neediest individuals in
our community the quickest. Urn ... and then look at some of these ar...other areas as our
financial picture, you know, kinda... we get a little bit more definition of...of what we
really have available, and I'm concerned that we don't, as you said Geoff, that we don't
do too much too fast. Let's figure out what we really feel like we can afford. It's not
going to hurt us long-term, and ... uh, utilize the mechanisms through our non -profits.
Thomas/ (mumbled) This is John. Yeah, Susan.....I would agree with Susan's comment on the
sector, uh, of services that are provided by the non -profits, uh.... I think we (mumbled)
that's one of Iowa City's great strengths. So I think it's building on their ability to
maximize and leverage the funds that they received, the connections they have within
those who they serve, um ... that's an extraordinary resource that we have that I think, uh,
will .... will help us as ... as a city to, um, maximize our .... our reach and ... and benefit. Um,
I found this whole exercise that if you will of the pandemic and the question of what's
essential and what's not essential to be a very interesting and kind of provocative way of
thinking about our response. I know on a ...... just on a personal level, you know, I've
really been asking myself, `What's essential to meT Uh, and so I think as a city, at trying
to understand what that may mean, uh, I think, would be a useful exercise, and Geoff,
you've thrown ... just a ton of stuff at us here (laughs) so I'm looking forward to trying
to, um .... kind of (mumbled) and process it a little bit more. I am interested at the same
time with how it may provide opportunity, and I've sent to you, uh, an email on how from
the urbanist standpoint, uh, many cities are responding to .... to the pandemic because it
has changed the way in which public space can function properly, you know, with respect
to safe distancing. Some of those efforts may have long-term benefits, uh, so I think it's,
in that sense, kind of an interesting opportunity to explore ideas for how to help our
neighborhood commercial districts, how to help our neighborhoods, uh, moving forward,
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of May 19, 2020.
Page l l
both in the short-term and in the long-term. You know, one .... one example, for me,
would be the, uh, in the commercial districts, uh, Northside Market Place, the idea of
closing Linn Street from Jefferson to the alleyway north of Hamburg Inn. You know
that's the kind of thing that we've done on an event basis, with the, uh, was it the, uh
mumbled) to Table events that we've been staging, as well as special events. Think...
think of that as kind of a, more of a pedestrian mall, where there's flow ...in that space
with tables and movement, you know, from one side of the street to the other. I think we
may find that might be of value beyond the pandemic perhaps, and we can test that over
the short-term. So I ... I think there are ways in which the situation we're in, uh, may be
it's .... it's going to force us to let go of some of our preconceptions and, uh, you know,
while it's certainly going to be a struggle because of the .... the financial aspects to this, it
may at the same time offer opportunities moving forward.
Bergus/ Geoff, maybe you could just share that slide again that listed out the different, um,
priorities. All of those looked, I mean just as you read through them, all of them seemed
appropriate to me, but I think if you're looking for, um, a little more guidance from us
on .... on ordering those, is that .... a little bit of what we're trying to do tonight? Or is that
too ambitious?
Fruin/ (both talking) Yeah, I think, um....you know, you guys (mumbled) decide how ...how deep
you wanna jump into this tonight. As .... as John mentioned (laughs) it's a lot to get
thrown at ya, uh, and react to, uh, on the spot here. So, um, I can ... uh, I can get you a
copy of this presentation. Uh, I'll email ya that, uh... and .... and, well, maybe I'll just put
it in the Thursday info packet and then the public will have access to it too. Um .... you'll
probably wanna sit and think about those a little bit (mumbled) but um, tonight, you
know, to the extent that time allows, but, um, my purpose tonight wasn't to necessarily
pin .... pin the Council down on ... and .... and give staff clear direction. It was just to kind
of feel you out and get a sense of, uh, where you might wanna go, but we can ... we can
revisit this at your next meeting as well.
Bergus/ Well I would just say for myself that, you know, the principles that you've set forth here
do look good to me, and I think, you know, none of those give me pause. They certainly,
I think, are in line with our values, and our .... our policies, at least as .... as far as that
goes. So my initial impression is, um, you know, the direction that you were thinking,
based on this presentation, is .... is exciting and helpful. Good!
Salih/ Well I mean I really believe I, you know, we should (unable to understand) the.... assisting
on housing, because everyone is, uh, I guess the rent or the mortgage is larger bill
everybody pay, ev...every month. So if we can really, you know, focus first like the ... the
first priority. I know that you have it there, but I really wanna just say we .... we need to
have that the first priority on, uh, I .... I agree with everyone who said that the non-profit
organizations should handle this. This is ... this is true because they ...they have a system in
place. They know how to evaluate people, uh, you know, and they can .... they have the
ability to write the check to the bank for mortgage, or to the landlord for rent, and also I
would like to see what our Housing Authority's is doing for the people who have Section
8, uh, because I know some people they have portion of the rent that they have to pay.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of May 19, 2020.
Page 12
Is ... are they adjusting it immediately if their income, like, went down or...and also I know
that there is some people who pay more than, uh, like they pay 40%, not 30%, up to 40%
and that different is being paid by them, regardless if their income went down or not. Uh,
I would love to see also what the Housing Authority's doing. Can we give also the
Housing Authority some of the money to cover those or not?
Teague/ I think for me there's a lot of ...items to think about, but I just wanted to maybe talk a
little bit about, um .... prioritizin' the ... how we assist. I think that's gonna be a real
challenge, because in our community I think we have so many people, uh, that potentially
have need. We have households that have need, and ... and that's somethin' that if we're
gonna be lookin' at how to .... you know, create some relief for those that are in our
community, it ... it, you know, we have a lot of households that have needs. We have our
non -profits that I believe can help us in, uh, administering some of the funds. They have
existin' programs, um, men .... it's been mentioned about undocumented individuals
within our community. I would love to have them a part of a, uh, of a recovery effort.
Um, but we also have the business community. I know of a business that is, um, they're
struggling, um, and .... where PPP money has been readily available through .... to others
throughout our community, there are some businesses that either, um, they're not in the
loop as to how to, um, fill out for some of these items. Maybe they were so stressed out,
but um, to .... to really navigate some relief efforts. I'm very happy to know that we have
a group that is meeting, um, and that is the one that, uh, Councilor Mims is appointed to,
and that is ... where better together there will be navigating various things, and I'm not
sure how that'll all play out, but I .... one big thing is, uh, I think that will be beneficial is
just information sharing and trying to reach those communities, or individuals, um,
businesses or individuals that have, um, that may just (garbled) resources and some
information to be successful durin' this time. I ... I like the idea of, um .... for the
businesses, potentially lookin' at them a little more, whereas loans .... loans to agencies, to
help their survival, but there's..... there's..... our community is widely impacted. I know
that we won't be able to do everything. I will say for the parking garages, um, I ... I hear
some creative ideas and I may just say that we might want to, uh, really zone it in to
maybe a rebate refunding those, um ... parking garage passes, or...givin' credit for future
parkin' or somethin' like that. Um, there's rationale behind that. Um, we did open up
those garages without any fee and so .... people still are paying. So I ... I mean that's the
only rationale that I have, not to get into any more minutiae on anything, but I .... I wanna
appreciate, uh, and say thanks to Geoff for all the work that you and staff have done, uh,
to bring some thoughts and ideas to us and .... um, please have this in our next packet so
we can really think about it, because there's a lot to think about.
Weiner/ Could I add something, Mr. Mayor?
Teague/ Absolutely!
Weiner/ Um, I ... I, uh, am ... agree with the non .... the non-profit focus. I also think that as we go
forward that it's helpful for the City to focus on things that either already exist within
within the City's toolbox, like utility rebates or...or a reduction in utility bills, helping to
some extent with that. The proposal that, um, that, Geoff, you made with respect to
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of May 19, 2020.
Page ] 3
transit. Because I think we can think of things in different baskets, and one basket can be
basically as, uh, ability to live at home, and then people are gonna need to get back to
work. How do you .... how do you do that? You do that through public transit. You do it
through daycare. Um, but you live based on your rent and your ability to pay utilities,
and that's sort of how I'm focusing on things. (noises in background) Sorry for the
background noise here.
Teague/ I think a lot of us can piggyback off that. Oh, go right ahead, Ryan, please!
Longenecker/ I just wanted to .... to echo, um, something quickly, and just bring .... aware of the
fact that, um, the eviction freeze is ending, um, next Wednesday, and so that is something
to consider any relief plans is that many people if they haven't been able to pay their rent,
if their landlord chooses to go ahead with eviction proceedings, that can start again next
week. So that may be something to look at when talking about, uh, the financial needs
and direct assistances, are people are to be forced out of their homes in the middle of the
pandemic.
Salih/ Thank you, Ryan. I was really trying to bring that and I forget, uh, because we have to act
quickly about this really, you know. I don't know if like waiting until the next Council
meeting and .... until we come up with something will be (sound ends) ideal, because
some people are not paying the rent of March and April and May, and now June is
coming and those people are not .... they are the one who gonna be evicted because they
have (unable to understand) I ... I just wish the Council will ... will act on this quickly so
Geoff have clear idea what you do, uh, and I .... I just like everything that you put together
and this is, uh, the base. We just have to add little thing on it and we can just act quickly.
Weiner/ Do we have any idea what Johnson County is gonna do on evictions? Linn County has
said that they are going to proceed after the 27th. Last I heard Johnson County that ... had..
had made no decision.
Fruin/ I .... I have not heard a decision communicated publicly, Janice.
Dilkes/ Nor have I. I can ... I can, I know there are conversations going on. But I haven't heard
anything definitive. I don't think.....I'm trying to pull up the Supreme Court's order right
now, but I'm not sure they're even gonna schedule evictions, um, in June, but let me pull
that up and I'll look at it.
Teague/ Um, while .... while that conversation is I think very important, I do wonder if we don't
consider .... allocatin' some funds that may not be controversial (laughs) amongst us, um,
I think about the land banking. I know what those dollars have been used for, or are
intended for, but.... potentially we could look at allocatin' that, and I don't know if that's
somethin' that Geoff wanted to take back to, um, staff and maybe make recommendations
to Council. One thing is the urgency of it, or potential urgency of it. I .... if people are
gonna be evicted, I think that is somethin' that we wanna at least look at within our
community. Um ... that would be one immediate action that we could take.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of May 19, 2020.
Page 14
Fruin/ We could do .... we could put together, um, a suggestion for your .... for your next meeting,
um, on .... on rental emergencies. One of the, um, you know, we were gonna look at, um,
60% of our .... our CARES Act allocation from CDBG to ... to go to that purpose. We still
don't have authorization to ... to get that .... get those monies out the door, and with the
State possibly adding money to that, um, we may not be able to get it out in the next few
weeks, cause there's some additional work that has to go to incorporate a new allocation
of federal dollars. So we could look at, um, lookin' at some of our .... we could look at
some of our existing budget line items and get some rental relief monies out the door,
uh.... uh, quicker, knowing that the CARES Act will .... will come later in June. Um, we
would look towards those existing budget line items like I .... like I said, so we could....
we could sketch something out for ya for your .... for your first June meeting, if you'd
like.
Salih/ Geoff, you saying that the 410, you still have something to do with it, because I thought
you told me last time we need to spend that as soon as possible.
Fruin/ Yeah, so ... so what we did is we ... we got Council approval. We went through and did all
the .... all the kind of the paperwork and approvals that were needed, um, but we still don't
have the authority to spend it from HUD. Um, HUD... basically we were gettin'
everything ready to go and then once HUD gives us the green light, we're able to move
forward. Um, the final rules on .... on what the eligible expenses, uh, are for those funds
have not been established yet, and that's what we're waitin' on. So ... that could be, you
know, there's good news and bad news here. You know, our 400, um, may end up being
closer to a million dollars worth of funding, with the new money from the State. So that's
great news, but that's gonna cause a whole other set of approvals potentially, and ... and
delay in getting those dollars out the door. We're gonna try to do everything we can to
get those dollars spent as quickly as possible, um, but if. ... if your .... if your direction
tonight is we need to move very quickly on rental assistance, what we're probably gonna
have to do is get some local funds out the door first and then let the .... let the federal
funds supplement those, um ... hopefully later in June.
Salih/ But if you don't know the guideline, how we gonna ... like use .... you mean like use local
fund and when we get the federal fund just replace the ... the fund. Uh, the problem is, if
we don't know the guideline, uh, how they supposed to use those? Or we ... you have
those things, like you have the guideline (both talking)
Fruin/ Yeah, so what I would suggest is, um, now I'm gonna pick a number. Don't hold me to
this, but if...but if the City came up with $200,000 to, uh.... uh, yeah, say $200,000 of
local money, we could put our own rules to that. We can work with our .... our non-profit
partners and say, you know, here .... here's the rules on how to spend that and we can
move as quickly as we need to. Um, the federal dollars that we get in after that would not
replace what we would spend. Uh, they would supplement it. So they would be on top
of what we spend, so (both talking)
Salih/ Oh, okay!
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of May 19, 2020.
Page 15
Fruin/ .....um, we, you know, it wouldn't be ... this isn't a cash advance that gets paid back with
federal dollars. This is a cash advance to address an emergency that you're seeing, and
then knowing that those funds aren't going to stretch very far, they hopefully will stretch
far enough to a point in time when the CARES Act dollars can then be added to the pot.
Salih/ I just don't wanna use like City money that we can, uh, do whatever we wanna do with it
and, uh, after that get the money (unable to understand) restricted to certain things. So if
the federal fund will be good to use for housing, and if the waiting time is not that long,
we just should wait, I guess, but uh, I really urge people to do the .... because a lot people
I know that they .... they just been coming and asking for rental assistance. I .... I really
don't know. This is tough!
Teague/ It sounds like, uh, Geoff will come back with recommendations at our next meeting. So
and we .... I'm sure he's open to Council meetin...... you know, reaching out to `em if
they have additional thoughts or questions. All right, well thanks to everybody for
chimin' in on this item. Any other thing for this item, before we move on?
Fruin/ Uh, Mayor, I just wanted to give the Council an opportunity again, um, for any other
COVID related, our ...our work session topic is just general COVID. We focused on
recovery, but before we move on to the next item, if you have operational questions,
urn ... uh, or .... or questions about our emergency response, I'd be happy to field those.
Salih/ No, thanks.
Weiner/ (mumbled) this is, uh, I think that the.... Geoff, you said that (noises in background) said
things correctly at the beginning, that this is ongoing. We don't know what .... what the
end is going to be on this. I was watching the Johnson County Emergency Center press
conference, um, this afternoon (noises in background; goes silent) .....Sorry! It happens
mumbled) Council at home. Uh, and ... and Teresa Brennan, Dr. Brennan of UIHC said
yes, Johnson County has flattened the curve. We have no new cases today.
Hospitalizations are down, but that doesn't mean that any of us can let our guard down,
um, and the best way to keep that going is for people to be considerate of other people,
um, by .... we can prevent 85% of infections by everybody wai....wearing some sort of
face covering, as .... as things, um, as things open up. The .... we have now lost over
91,000 people. I did the math. That's 60% of Johnson County, if you sort of wanna try
and conceptualize it. Um, I would love to see us continue to flatten and crush the curve
here, but it's gonna really take everybody. So I would just make a plea that this is not a
curtailment of people's freedom to wear a face covering of some sort, or a shield. It
actually is liberating, because it allows people, um, to go out without necessarily putting
themselves or others at risk. Thanks.
Teague/ I've been actually wearing a shield since you, uh, told me about your shield, uh,
Councilor Weiner, and .... it is liberating! It really is, and urn .... sol ...I've enjoyed
wearing it, but I do believe you're right. I think, um, sharin' the message that we need to
continue doin' all that we can, to make sure that we don't see a .... a change in what our
current status is here in Johnson County. All right, hearin' nothin' else on this topic, uh,
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of May 19, 2020.
Page 16
we're gonna move on to continuin' the conversation of our strategic plan, which we
started, um, I wanna say it was back in .... it was back when we could meet, so that was
prior to March 8°i (laughs) Yes! So we have our Assistant City Manager Ashley Monroe
and, um ... I'm gonna just let you take it from here because I'll .... one thought I, I don't
know if you're thinking.... maybe we go through some clean-up language first and then
jump into the last item, but I'll let you kinda navigate.
Continue Development of the 2020-21 Strategic Plan (IP#):
Monroe/ Well thank you! Um, I do have the document where we, um, left off with some
adjustments to language, based on discussion, and I'll share that momentarily. Okay! So
here we ... we have a couple of the other sections, uh, worked through the initiatives,
included the .... the, uh, demonstrate leadership in climate action. Uh, we had advancing
social justice, racial equity and human rights. As far as I'm aware, uh, Council came to
an agreement generally on the principles and .... and bullets that we find in .... in these
sections. Uh, the last time we spoke about this, the section....(mumbled) initiative
mumbled) strengthening community engagement and intergovernmental relations. Um,
there was a suggestion to add `and neighborhoods' to the .... to the item related to creative
engagement techniques, and focusing on reaching diverse populations in neighborhoods.
So if we're ... are we okay with that generally.... amongst this group? Okay. Uh, there
were not any changes. We discussed thoroughly the.... initiative to invest in public
infrastructure facilities and fiscal reserves. So we won't talk about that. Uh, there was
some discussion about fostering healthy neighborhoods and affordable housing
throughout the city. Uh, recall that we added the affordable housing, called that out
specifically in this section. So we expanded on that in this first item to continue efforts to
expand and adapt the City's affordable housing and neighborhood improvement
strategies.... to meet the needs throughout the community. So that was speaking a little
bit to not only the housing affordability, but also what happens within our neighborhoods
and kinda .... other improvements to .... to those areas. And then through the discussion,
we also talked about .... the activities within the neighborhoods. So what happens in those
places, um, that make those areas so special to us (noises in background) community, and
so I...I added, uh, from your discussion `support neighborhood activities and
improvements that create vibrant, creative spaces and inspire a sense of place and
community.' And so I wanted thoughts and feedback from you on whether you like this,
whether it embodies what you're trying to capture here through a variety of programming
and other.... opportunities to engage with the neighborhoods.
Salih/ Ashley, before you go (garbled) I really would like ... I remember when we talked about it
at the Recycling Center. I was mentioning that we need to have like clear plan for
affordable housing, like a goal for .... like (unable to understand) like long-term plan for
affordable housing. I really would love to see that language in place.
Teague/ I....I have to agree. I, when I look at what we did before in the first one, you know, it
kinda talked about strategies to improve avail... availability and affordability of housin' in
Iowa City, but I think that .... we have opportunity here to really streamline and focus on
our affordability .... on our affordable housing and I would suggest that we really do look
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of May 19, 2020.
STAFF PRESENTATION TO FOLLOW:
Geoff Fruin, City Manager: COVID-19 Economic Response Framework
r
ui A
CITY OF IMA CITY
410 East Washington 5trcct
owa City, Iowa 52240-1826
3 19) 356-5000
319) 356-5009 FAX
WWWJcgov.org
CITY OF IOWA CITY
COVID-19 Economic Response Framework
May Zg, 2020
Future federal relief - CARES 2.0 / Phase IV
anticipated June - July)
State relief including pass through of federal funding
anticipated June)
State budget efforts, including backfill dollars
anticipated June)
Duration of health crisis, including possible
reemergence of the coronavirus
Intermediate health guidelines
Implications on the short term business activity
University of Iowa instructional plans
Shape and speed of full economic recovery
Two Tier Recovery Focus
Objective: Create a shared regional
Johnson County) vision for accelerating
economic recovery and reshaping a strong
future for the well-being of our community.
Scope: To develop an agile renewal strategy
and set of recommendations that define a
transformed future for our community with
greater economic diversity, growth,
inclusivity, resilience, and well-being for all.
Assessment and alignment of city
resources, community needs
Determination of guiding principles
Crafting of recovery programs to fill most
pressing needs of our residents, non-profit
agencies and businesses
The City's long-term fiscal stability and ability to provide essential services must not be
compromised
Individual or household relief must be equitable and prioritize those most in need
Relief efforts for non-profit agencies should reward collaboration and create lasting operational
benefits
Business relief programs should be coordinated with actions of regional partners and aim to
leverage external funding
Economic stimulus efforts must target Iowa City based businesses and support jobs across
multiple sectors
All relief efforts should yield enduring outcomes that align with the City Council's Climate Action
objectives
Local funds must not duplicate benefits provided by other private, state and federal relief efforts
Duration of the pandemic and resulting financial impact
is unknown
Impact across City funds is varied and will require short
and long-term mitigation efforts
Greatest short-term impacts on Parking, Transit, Road
UseTax and Water Funds. Possible short-term impacts
may arise in the General Fund if property tax collections
drop or backfill payments are withheld
Long-term impacts may include the above funds and will
notably impact the General Fund in the next 2-5 years
with FY 24 anticipated as being a particularly difficult
year
Maintaining strong reserves will be important for future
stability and the long-term health of the city operations
Short-term
Elimination or delay in discretionary non-essential
expenditures
Delay of capital improvement projects
Delay in filling some vacant and newly authorized positions
Furlough of temporary staff
Long-term
Reduction in overall workforce through attrition and
position elimination
Reduction of operating dollars being transferred forthe
City's Capital Improvement Program
Reallocation of Capital Improvement Program dollarsto fill
gaps in infrastructure funding
Continued debt restructuring
Potential Recovery Program Funding Opportunities
Existing Operational Funds:
Affordable Housing Fund: opportunityfunds, land banking dollars, fee -in -lieu collections
CDBG / Home Funds: unallocated program income dollars
Climate Action Fund: reallocation of emergency levy funds
Economic Development Opportunity Line Item: discretionary funds
General Fund Contingency Line Item: discretionary but may be needed to offset revenue loss
Capital Improvement Fund: Delay or cancellation of projects and transfers in from otherfunds
Tax Increment Financing: Use of capacity in existing Urban Renewal Areas to spur relief
Reserve Funds:
General Fund Reserve: utilize any FY 20 surplus dollars and/or reduce targeted reserve within policy guidelines
Utility Fund Reserves: reduce current reserve levels and maintain required coverages
Emergency Reserve: discretionary use for emergencies
CARESAct
CDBG Supplement: Council authorized use on May Stn (Additional funding possible this summer)
ICPH Funds: Administrative fees and public housing operating subsidy supplements
Transit Funds: Awaiting FTA guidance, MPO to award funds on May 27th
Individual and Household Relief
L . - . Potential
V1
C
City's ability to pay
Thresholds for eligibility
Ensure most basic needs are met
housing, food, healthcare, childcare
and transportation)
Coordination with non-profit service
providers or other community partners
Potential repurposing of Affordable
Housing Funds
Rebates / credits for unused city
services
Leverage outside funds
Avoid duplication of benefits
Forgo water shutoffs and late fees
Completed: issued in March
Postponement of approved water rate increase
Completed: 3 month delay authorized
Expansion of City's existing utility discount program
Direct housing assistance (contracted)
Expansion of food security efforts (e.g. double up
food bucks program, coordination with local food-
service businesses, farmers and non -profits)
Local childcare credit program
Free transit pass distribution
Employment skills enhancement partnership with
local education institutions, labor organizations and
business partners
Parking pass rebate / credit (option: possible
coordination with a community gift card program)
Non -Profit Support
City's abilityto pay
Target most essential human service
needs for all residents (housing, food,
healthcare / mental health, youth
services)
Support Iowa City based arts and culture
organizations that build community and
drive economic activity
Encourage collaborative efforts
Leverage outside relief funds
Avoid duplication of benefits
Direct operational grants (additional
supplement of Aid to Agencies program)
Forgivable / low-interest loans to ease
debt burdens, pursue organizational
efficiencies, or otherwise reduce long-
term operational costs
Interim arts and culture funding program
and supplemented marketing efforts
Direct Business Support
City's abilityto pay
Rebates / credits for unused city services
Coordination with regional business
partners and local lending institutions
Leverage outside relief funds
Avoid duplication of benefits
Expansion of the marketing commitment to
https://icareatogether.com/ and amplification of the
buy local message
Committed $7k in April along with other cities
Sidewalk cafe fee waivers
Completed in May
Expansion of micro -loan / loan guarantee program
with lending institutions
Creation of small business grant/ loan program
prioritizing those not receiving state and federal relief
Targeted grants / loans to minority & women owned
businesses
Assistance securing personal protective equipment
for employees and customers
Parking pass rebate / credit (option: possible
coordination with a community gift card program)
Economic Stimulus
onsiderations:
WAor Potential Examples:
JJ
City's abilityto pay
Exclusive use of Iowa City based
businesses whenever possible
Alignment with Climate Action
objectives
Impact on multiple industry sectors
Leverage outside relief funds
Expanded 2021-23 capital program (open
space, roadways, utilities, facilities)
Accelerated Climate Action grant
programs (residential and commercial)
Permit fee abatement for climate action
related improvements
Creation of green & livable wage job
credit program
Commercial tax abatement program
launch
Expansion of food service partnership
between restaurants and non -profits
Wrap Up
Iowa City can dedicate financial resources to a recovery effort, however there is
financial and operational risk in moving too quickly with a large effort
Initial effort should focus on existing budgeted dollars and any possible year-end surplus
Long-term efforts can target budgeted dollars and reserves afterwe have more clarity
on ourfinancial outlook
The City Council should articulate short and long-term recovery priorities including
your guiding principles and allow staff to develop detailed programs for your
review and approval
STAFF PRESENTATION CONCLUDED
r
rrM as
h
CITY OF IOWA CITY
410 East Washington Strect
Iowa City, Iowa 52240-1826
3 19) 356-5000
3 19) 356-5009 FAX
www. icgov. o rg