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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-17-2025 Housing & Community Development CommissionHOUSING & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION (HCDC) November 17, 2025 Regular Meeting — 5:30 PM Emma J. Harvat Hall 410 E Washington Street (City Hall) AGENDA: 1. Call to Order 2. Welcome New Commissioners The Commission will welcome two new members, Marcelo Aruani and Stacy Kiser. This item provides an opportunity for new and existing commissioners to introduce themselves. 3. Consideration of Meeting Minutes: September 15, 2025 4. Public Comment of Items not on the Agenda Commentators shall address the Commission for no more than five minutes. Commissioners shall not engage in discussion with the public concerning said items. 5. Housing Trust Fund of Johnson County Overview Ellen McCabe, Executive Director of the Housing Trust Fund of Johnson County will provide an overview of the organization and answer questions from Commissioners. 6. Staff & Commission Updates This item includes an opportunity for brief updates from staff and Commissioners. Commissioners shall not engage in discussion on updates. 7. Adjournment If you will need disability -related accommodations to participate in this program or event, please contact Brianna Thul at bthul(a-_)iowa-city.orq or 319-356-5240. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet your access needs. Next Meeting: December 15, 2025 MINUTES HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION SEPTEMBER 15, 2025 — 5:30 PM FORMAL MEETING E M M A J. HARVAT HALL, CITY HALL DRAFT MEMBERS PRESENT: Maryann Dennis, Amos Kiche, Sarah Murray, Thomas Rocklin, Kyle Vogel MEMBERS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Brianna Thul OTHERS PRESENT: None RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL: By a vote of 5-0 the Commission recommends $212,132 of CDBG funding to the Iowa City Housing Authority for acquisition of affordable rental housing. CALL MEETING TO ORDER: Dennis called the meeting to order at 5:30 PM. CONSIDERATION OF MEETING MINUTES: AUGUST 18, 2025: Rocklin moved to approve the minutes of August 18, 2025. Kiche seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the minutes were approved 5-0. PUBLIC COMMENT FOR TOPICS NOT ON THE AGENDA: None. DISCUSS FY26 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FUNDING REQUEST AND CONSIDER BUDGET RECOMMENDATION: Thul noted in a normal year, the Commission would be comparing different proposals and trying to decide how to divide up the CDBG funding, but this year is a bit unusual with just one request, so the Commission is essentially deciding to fund or not fund this request. She noted the Commission is not obligated to fund it just because it is the only proposal. The City could recommend rolling those funds into the next competitive funding round. She also stated staff do recommend funding the proposal and that it would help the City meet spending deadlines but it's ultimately up to the Commission. Dennis stated she is going to vote to approve this, she thought it was a good application, the pro forma looked good and they do have some cash flow at the end. She does think finding a property that doesn't need any rehab for the price point that they're looking for could be difficult, but she has confidence that they'll be able to do it. Vogel noted when he saw the pro forma his concern was that there was more money left on the table. They're paying 9% and they have 9% management fees, he is not sure who they have manage it. However, he is also going to recommend approval as there is a legitimate need for larger properties, for larger families. It also is only within the last year that the city of Iowa City changed the housing code to allow for multifamily properties that were over three bedrooms or four bedrooms for multifamily residential Housing and Community Development Commission September 15, 2025 Page 2 of 7 so finding stock will be difficult, there's not a lot of four or five bedroom apartments built in the 80s out there and there's obviously not a lot of houses out there that are affordable either. Vogel is also concerned because he always hates approving money when not knowing what the actual amount is going to be. He noted this is what their best guess is and he went on the MILS and there's a lot of properties out there that are four or five bedrooms that are cheaper than what this is going to cost. But as pointed out there's also going probably going to be some upgrade or remodel needed to make it livable for larger families. He asked what if they find that property that's cheaper than the money awarded, and why not split it up and buy two properties with 50% down payments down on properties. Vogel stated that's not the proposal that was presented, but maybe in the future that's something that that they can look at and maybe there is a possibility to actually make this a bigger project, or the ability to serve more than just one family. Dennis noted the other thing about these funds is if a seller has a house on the market and somebody comes and says they want to buy the house but is not sure when they are going to get the money the seller is not going to just keep on paying property taxes and insurance and everything. Kiche stated he would support it just for the fact that is going to increase the supply of affordable housing and that's a big area that worries him, even if it is by one unit. Also the fact that is the rent is going to be about 80% of the regular market fact is very important. Vogel noted it is less than that - they're looking at $1,300 a month for a four or five bedroom which is about 40% of market rent. This is going to serve a family of eight or nine who are 40% AMI, at probably $59,000 that only get $1,300 a month for the voucher. Right now on Zillow a five bedroom house in the area would probably be $3,300 or $3,400. MOTION: Dennis moved to recommend $212,132 of CDBG funding to the Iowa City Housing Authority for acquisition of affordable rental housing. Motion was seconded by Kiche. A vote was taken and the motion passed 5-0. FY25 CONSOLIDATED ANNUAL PERFORMANCE & EVALUATION REPORT (CAPER) OVERVIEW AND UPDATE ON CITY PROGRAMS: Thul introduced the Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report. The format of the report is prescribed by HUD and staff have prepared some slides to help supplement the report. Thul began with an overview of the Neighborhood and Development Service Department. NDS is led by Tracy Hightshoe and includes three divisions. Development Services includes Urban Planning and Building Inspections. Neighborhood Services is where the Community Development team is located along with Housing Inspection Services and the Iowa City Housing Authority. The third division is the Metropolitan Planning Organization. The City's Community Development team operates with a lean staff like many other City workgroups. There are two housing rehab specialists, a program assistant, and a grants specialist. The grants specialist is a temporary position they were able to hire through HOME -ARP funding which was a one-time allocation of funds related to COVID. The Community Development team administers different grants for the City including those specific to this plan which are Community Development Block Grant and HOME Investment Partnership Program funds. Thul encouraged Commissioners to keep in mind that the CAPER does not cover everything that the City does related to housing and community development. The report is very specific to the two HUD grants. The Community Development team also operates programs administered directly by the City such as down payment assistance. They also facilitate competitive funding rounds and work with subrecipients to undertake projects. Staff spend a lot of time working with nonprofits to provide technical assistance and help them through the complicated federal regulations. They want to make sure projects are set up for success and that subrecipients have what they need. Thul's team also undertakes planning initiatives Housing and Community Development Commission September 15, 2025 Page 3 of 7 related to community development. They recently completed a big five-year plan known as City Steps. Commissioners will see the Annual Action Plan each year with planned projects and then the CAPER is the last step of the annual planning process. The CAPER provides accountability to HUD. Thul continued that staff also handle monitoring and compliance for federally funded activities. For example, they review tenant information annually for affordable rental activities to make sure that the those assisted are at the correct income thresholds. Lastly, staff participate in different community groups like the Local Homeless Coordinating Board to stay in tune with what is happening in the community. Thul gave an overview of City administered programs that are funded with CDBG or HOME funds. The City's down payment assistance program began in 2022. Eligible households can receive just under $25,000 to purchase an affordable home. The assistance is provided in the form of a loan with no monthly payments or interest. If the buyer stays in the home for the full compliance period, usually 10 years, the loan is forgiven. The program is made possible through partnerships with GreenState Credit Union and Hills Bank. Both lenders provide flexibility in credit, assets, and job tenure in consideration of mortgage approval. To date, the City has invested about $580,0000 in affordable homeownership for 25 households. During the planning process for City Steps 2030, staff heard a lot from the community about down payment assistance. There is definitely a need for this assistance and the City will open this program again in FY26. Thul explained that a portion of the annual Aid to Agencies program budget come from federal CDBG funds. About 11 % of the FY26 budget was federally funded. HUD caps the amount of each grant that the City can use for public services, so the funds only cover a portion of the program. The City also operates a longstanding homeowner rehab program. For example, an income eligible homeowner may need to replace their leaking roof. The City's housing rehab specialists would help them develop a scope of work and collect bids to complete the work. Staff also inspect the work once completed to make sure everything looks okay. Thul explained that when people think of affordable housing, they generally think of adding new units, but it is also very important to preserve the City's existing housing stock to make sure the problem doesn't worsen. The programs are a great way to help do that. Thul continued that the City stated a new tenant based rental assistance program this year as well through the Iowa City Housing Authority. The Housing Authority has a waiting list for assistance and the TBRA program uses HOME funds to help pull people off the waiting list sooner as a transition before a voucher is available. This program serves elderly and disabled households below 30% AMI. This program is very new, but Thul noted they have served 8 households so far. Income limits vary based on funding source and activity. Area median income is established by HUD annually for Iowa City along with rent limits. In general, 51 % of CDBG beneficiaries are required to be below 80% AMI. One thing the City does really well is making sure the assistance gets to those that need it the most. 51 % is the minimum requirement for CDBG and Iowa City is achieving about 95%-99% under 80% AMI. In the FY25 CAPER, about 72% of beneficiaries were below 30% AMI. Thul highlighted the impact from projects completed in FY25. 13 households were provided with down payment assistance. 13 owner units and 2 rental units were rehabbed. The City also completed ADA curb ramps at 10 intersections on the southeast side of Iowa City. Over 3,000 individuals were assisted with public services funding. Shelter beds for survivors of domestic violence doubled from 35 to 70 beds thanks in part to CDBG and HOME -ARP funds and just under 2,000 people were assisted through public facility improvements. Thul noted that FY25 was the final year of the previous five-year plan, City Steps 2025 and that there was a flyer in the meeting packet that included project highlights from partnerships with local nonprofits. Having nonprofits in the community with the capacity to undertake federally funded projects is an important piece of this funding. Other highlights from FY25 include the highest spending levels in more than a decade which allowed the City to meet HUD's timeliness test in May. The spending test also underscores the importance of the Commission's work with reviewing applications. If projects are funded that are likely to encounter Housing and Community Development Commission September 15, 2025 Page 4 of 7 significant or repeated delays, it makes it a lot harder for the City to meet HUD's requirements. In FY25 the City also approved a new five-year consolidated plan, transitioned to new software for select programs, and committed all HOME -ARP funding to projects. Challenges from FY25 include many new changes to regulations with little guidance on how to implement. Staff work hard to keep tabs on these changes to make sure they are following the most current guidance. Other challenges include complex federal regulations that make it difficult to get bids for projects and general decreases in annual funding allocations, especially considering inflation. Thul noted that FY25 was the conclusion of City Steps 2025 and that not all goals were achieved for the five-year period. The plan was approved in January of 2020 right before the pandemic which changed everything. For example, only two rental units were constructed during the five-year period. The infusion of funds from HUD and from the state in response to COVID really shifted the focus for several years. Looking ahead to City Steps 2030, one of the City's goals is to strategically use all the federal and non- federal resources available. The City has also simplified the competitive funding rounds and changed the annual set aside amounts to reserve funds for ongoing programs such as down payment assistance. The public comment period for the CAPER began on September 4th and runs through September 21 st. No comments have been received to date. This plan isn't required to be approved by the HCDC or by City Council, but staff typically request approval from HCDC annually. Vogel asked for comments or questions from Commissioners about the report. Kiche asked about contractors and noted that the tables in the report do not specify if contractors are local or if they are coming from other areas. He is concerned that less experienced local contractors may not be given opportunities. Thul responded that table only includes information that is required by HUD to report on, but that anecdotally she can confirm that they do see small local contractors come through various programs. Contractors can reach out staff for more information on City programs. Dennis asked for clarification on the table that summarizes progress towards goals. Are the goals annual or for the full five years? Thul explained that the table includes both. Two columns show the cumulative progress for the five-year period and two of the columns show the annual goals and progress. The way this table downloads from HUD's software can be very confusing and staff have added tables under Appendix A for clarity. Rocklin asked what the barrier was to build 20 units of rental housing. Thul explained that the construction goal was set in January of 2020 right before the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded in March the same year. This created many challenges including construction costs. Dennis asked about the HOME match requirements and confirmed if the City can carry extra match forward. Thul confirmed and explained the requirement and that the City uses property taxes forgone for match. Kiche asked about the difference between special needs households the City planned to serve and the actual outcome. Thul explained that accomplishments are reported in the CAPER the year the activity is completed. The TBRA Program began in FY25 and has a target to serve 80 households. Since the program started recently, the accomplishments for this program will be reported in a later CAPER upon completion. One of the extra tables in Appendix A shows the partial funds expended to indicate the program is underway. Kiche noted the City does a lot to support homeless serves in the community and yet there is no data from Shelter House on their federal grants. Thul stated that this report specifically deals with CDBG and HOME funds. Shelter House receives funding from other federal entities, and they own have their own obligations to report to their funders. An example of when they would see data from Shelter House in this 4 Housing and Community Development Commission September 15, 2025 Page 5 of 7 CAPER is when they use CDBG funds to make public facility improvements at their shelter. In that case, they would be reporting on the beneficiaries specific to that project only. Kiche commented on the Section 3 report and the few number of projects listed. Staff clarified that the Section 3 rules only kick in for certain projects receiving federal assistance above $200,000. The Section 3 table is not representative of all projects. Vogel noted that the City puts out other information all year for the public that is designed for the public. This report is what HUD has asked for. Murray asked if it is fair to say that this report does not capture a wider scope than what it is at this moment. Vogel confirmed. Thul added that if there is information or data points that Commissioners are interested in that falls outside the scope of the CAPER, staff are happy to provide more information. She continued that the department does an annual Neighborhood and Development Services report that highlights department wide work and is intended to be user friendly for the public. Rocklin asked what happens after the report is submitted to HUD. Thul stated that they will submit the through HUD's software system and HUD staff will typically get back to them with any questions or points of clarification about the report before approving. Kiche asked if the report can be used for internal decision making. Thul responded that it depends on what decisions you are looking at. This report is a good representation of what the City has achieved during FY25 with CDBG and HOME funds, but it is a narrow view of the work being done by the City. As Vogel and Dennis mentioned, there is a lot of work being done by the City outside of these federal funds. Thul doesn't want Kiche to think that this report is the only affordable housing activity going on at the City. Also, things like local Aid to Agencies outcomes aren't reflected in this report either. Thul stated the CAPER is the City's accountability to HUD for CDBG and HOME specifically. Kiche wondered why they don't use the funds to use grants to increase the level of effort with inspections, so houses are in good condition. Vogel responded that he has not seen an organization come to HCDC in the time he has served to ask for a request like that. They do occasionally have new agencies that come forward. Thul added that when the agenda for HCDC isn't so busy with funding decisions, they can also have presenters come in to give an overview of different topics like housing inspections. She also stated that there is $1.1 million available right now for affordable housing projects through the Housing Trust Fund of Johnson County. Applications are due October 3rd. If there are entities interested in housing activities, there are other funds available as well beyond CDBG and HOME. Motion: Murray motions to approve the FY25 CAPER for submission to HUD. Dennis seconded the motion. A vote was taken and motion passed 5-0. STAFF & COMMISSION UPDATES: Vogel reminded everyone if they have not signed up for one of the required trainings, please do so. There is a training on September 29 that's currently open for registration at Terry Trueblood. He added if they can't make this one on September 29, they'll be sending out a notice for another one on Wednesday October 22. Vogel also noted for the October HCDC meeting there is a conflict for this space at 5:30 that night. So they could meet either the week before, which is October 13, or the week after October 27. Thul noted because there's not a lot coming up they could just say it's no October meeting as there are not any funding decisions or plans, and nothing time sensitive. Housing and Community Development Commission September 15, 2025 Page 6 of 7 Vogel asked when City Council might appoint replacements. Thul stated they are supposed to appoint one person tomorrow to fill George Kivarkis's seat and now will have to fill another one as Karol Krotz has also resigned. Vogel noted it might be best to wait then until November and have both of the new members come together to their first meeting. Everyone agreed to no October meeting ADJOURNMENT: Murray moved to adjourn, Dennis seconded the motion and a vote was taken and the motion passed 5-0 Housing and Community Development Commission September 15, 2025 Page 7 of 7 Housing and Community Development Commission Attendance Record 2024-2025 Name Terms Exp. 6/13 8/19 9/16 10/21 3/24 4/21 5/19 6/16 7/21 8/18 9/15 -- A A P A A D D D D D Balde, Daouda 6/30/27 P P A A P P A P Borgen, Horacio 6/30/25 (zoom) P P P P P P P P P P P Dennis, Maryann 6/30/25 -- -- P P P P P P P Kiche, Amos 6/30/25 -- P P A P P P P P Kivarkis, George 6/30/27 (zoom) (zoom) P A P P A A P P A A Krotz, Karol 6/30/27 Murray, Sarah 6/30/27 Patel, Kiran 6/30/26 Pierce, James 6/30/26 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- P P P Rocklin, Thomas 6/30/28 Szecsei, Denise 6/30/25 A P P P P P P P P P P Vogel, Kyle 6/30/26 Key: P = Present A = Absent * = Resigned -- = Vacant D = Discharged