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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAffordable Housing Board - Minutes - 10/05/2023AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 10/5 /2023 – M I N U TE S Page 1 October 5, 2023, 4:00-6:00pm Colorado River Room, 222 Laporte Ave CALL TO ORDER At 4:03 PM the meeting was called to order by John Singleton. 1. ROLL CALL • Board Members Present: Bob Pawlikowski, John Singleton, Jennifer Bray, Kristin Fritz, Sheila Seaver-Davis, Stefanie Berganini • Board Members Absent: Ed Hermsen • Staff Members Present: • Sue Beck-Ferkiss, Staff Liaison – City of Fort Collins • Tamra Leavenworth, Minutes – City of Fort Collins • Guests Present: • Marilyn Heller 2. AGENDA REVIEW – No changes. 3. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION Marilyn Heller informed the Board that a safe parking pilot program in Loveland is anticipated to begin this month. King of Glory Lutheran Church and Saint Spyridon Orthodox Church will each be hosting the program for one month. 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Bob Pawlikowski motioned to approve the September 7 Regular Meeting Minutes. Kristin Fritz seconded. Approved 6-0. Jennifer Bray abstained due to absence at the September meeting. 5. NEW BUSINESS A. Things to consider when evaluating applications for funding – Bob Pawlikowski and Kristin Fritz • Kristin Fritz and Bob Pawlikowski led a discussion regarding key factors to consider when evaluating affordable housing projects as it pertains to the competitive process. Factors included but were not limited to, alignment with adopted City policy, AMI (Area Median Income) levels being served, cost per unit, readiness of a project to proceed, and land costs associated with a project. AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 10/5 /2023 – M I N U TE S Page 2 • DISCUSSION: • Is there anything you would consider a “red flag” when looking at a housing application? It’s important to consider if the population being served by the project is being accommodated properly. For example, a senior housing project that doesn’t have an elevator would be a red flag. It’s also important to consider the AMI level being served and access to transportation and amenities. Generally, lower AMI levels are more dependent on public transportation so it’s important to consider if projects serving those populations are being built along transit corridors. • Do nonprofit developers have the ability to build less expensively without the assistance of subsidies, grants, and tax credits when compared to for-profit developers? Sometimes the housing authority has tax-exemptions on construction materials for nonprofit developers and that can have a small impact. If for-profits are vertically integrated (meaning they are the contractor, architect, and most times the lender for their project), their construction costs will appear much lower because they are able to absorb overhead fees. For-profits are structured differently than nonprofits who have to pay a contractor who sets their own fees. Nonprofits completely depend on developer fees to function while for-profits have different guarantees built in. • Do banks ever do cross-collateralization, or will they only give loans to the subject project? Tax-credit programs are very shielded. They will require agency to have liquidity requirements and collateral for the loan. They will only lend for specific instances. B. City Strategic Plan – Sue Beck-Ferkiss • Sue Beck-Ferkiss explained that the Budget and Finance Department is asking each Board to describe what their strategic outcome area means to them and what kind of projects they think would be funded under their respective outcome area. The Affordable Housing Board’s strategic outcome area is Neighborhood Livability and Social Health. The Board used the following terms to describe their outcome area: affordable housing, housing choice, access to public transportation, bike paths and other non-vehicle transportation access, access to food, parks and green space, the ability to live where you work and play, air quality, equity, social diversity, physical and mental health, overall wellbeing, access to schools, and safe communities. AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 10/5 /2023 – M I N U TE S Page 3 C. Affordable Housing Board 2024 Work Plan – John Singleton, Board Chair • The 2024 Work Plan is very similar to the 2023 Work Plan but does incorporate some changes and new ideas such as focusing more on populations with special needs, understanding funding sources and development initiatives, evaluating the effectiveness of development incentives, learning more about the land bank, prioritizing education to the public and City Council, more involvement at City Council meetings and with other Boards and Commissions, and prioritizing the community’s effort to end homelessness. • The November meeting will be used to make any changes to the draft work plan and finalize the document. • The Affordable Housing Board Work Plan is due to the Clerk’s Office at the end of November. D. External Board Communications – John Singleton, Board Chair • John Singleton reminded the Board that he and Bob Pawlikowski will be meeting with the Senior Advisory Board on October 11 to discuss what the Affordable Housing Board does as well as affordable housing in general. He asked Board members to share anything they would like them to discuss with the Senior Advisory Board, or if they had any ideas on how affordable housing can contribute or align with the goals of the Senior Advisory Board. • The Board discussed how the installation of accessibility equipment (such as grab bars) could be incentivized in senior housing projects. They also discussed the possibility of gathering qualitative feedback from seniors in the community regarding their needs, their thoughts on affordable housing, what they are seeing/hearing about the availability of and access to senior housing, and persistent issues seniors face when trying to obtain affordable housing. E. Board Member Ideas • None. 6. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS a. Meeting Logistics • The Board will continue to have hybrid meetings for the remainder of 2023. b. Liaison Reports • None. 7. OTHER BUSINESS None. 8. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 6:07 PM.