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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAffordable Housing Board - Minutes - 03/07/2013CITY OF FORT COLLINS AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD MINUTES BOARD MEETING 281 N. College Ave. Fort Collins, Colorado Mar. 7, 2013 4 to 6 p.m. Chair: Dan Byers Staff Liaison: Ken Waido 970-221-6753 City Council Liaison: Lisa Poppaw Board Members present: Dan Byers, Tatiana Martin, Curt Lyons, Troy Jones Board Members absent: Karen Miller, Jeffrey Johnson, Terence Hoaglund Staff present: Ken Waido Council Members present: None Other Staff present: Joe Frank, Director, Social Sustainability Department; Chadrick Martinez, Director of Development, Fort Collins Housing Authority; Beth Rosen, Affordable Housing Administrator; Michele Dunlop, Note Taker Guests: Denise Selders, Colorado Division of Housing; Marilyn Heller, League of Women Voters; Bill Reinke, CARE Housing Meeting called to order with a quorum present at 4:05 p.m. by Chair Dan Byers . AGENDA REVIEW Ken Waido proposed an additional item of business to be addressed later in the meeting. PUBLIC COMMENT Marilyn Heller announced that the League of Women Voters’ affordable housing team will be hosting a public panel on Tuesday, April 9 at 7:00 p.m. at the Harmony Library. The panel will discuss the crisis in affordable rental housing and will feature: Beth Rosen from the City of Fort Collins, Steve Kuehneman from Neighbor to Neighbor and Mike Easter from Rocky Mountain Property Management. The panel will also spotlight a local family’s experiences in trying to find rental housing. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The minutes of the meeting of December 7, 2012 were approved as presented on a motion from Troy Jones, seconded by Dan Byers, with all in favor. Curt Lyons commented that several remarks attributed to him in the minutes of the meeting of February 7, 2013 were said by other parties. As Troy Jones recognized many of these comments as his own, the Board agreed it would be possible to relabel them, pending an email to Ken Waido. Troy Jones moved to approve the minutes as amended, and Curt Lyons seconded the motion. The motion was approved 4:0. NEW BUSINESS INTRODUCING JOE FRANK Joe Frank announced that this would be Ken Waido’s last regular meeting with the Affordable Housing Board, and went on to discuss the transition process. Until a replacement can be found for Ken either Joe Frank or Beth Rosen will be available at future meetings. Joe Frank will be available to answer any questions members of the Board would normally send to Ken. Joe Frank offered additional background on the new Department of Social Sustainability in the Sustainability Services area. The Department of Social Sustainability, which was created to reinforce the City of Fort Collins’ social, economic and environmental triple bottom line, addresses social issues that were previously covered by a variety of different departments. Joe Frank, as Director of the Department, discussed a number of ongoing projects and issues, which include: affordable housing, homelessness, healthy communities, local food production, and early childhood care and education. By the end of 2013, the Department plans to initiate a gap analysis around social sustainability to determine its work program for the next 3-5 years. Beth Rosen took a moment to talk about a Colorado State University class focused on community development and dynamics. Every year the class undertakes a public project, in conjunction with a nonprofit entity, to research social sustainability, conduct a best practice review and identify metrics for success. The class will offer a public presentation of their findings on May 15 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at 215 N Mason in the community room. All members of the Board are welcome to attend. GUEST SPEAKER DENISE SELDERS Denise Selders gave a presentation on the Colorado Division of Housing. She explained that the Division of Housing is the state housing authority, which operates under the Division of Local Governments. It receives funds directly from HUD for the entire State of Colorado, split into four different geographic regions: Denver Metro, Western Slope, Southeastern Colorado, and Northeastern Colorado. Denise Selders described her region – Northeastern Colorado – which extends from Jackson County, south to Summit County, out to the Nebraska-Kansas border and back all the way to Wyoming. Within this region, Denise is responsible for passing federal funds through to local governments, housing authorities, non-profit organizations, and sometimes for-profit developers of affordable housing. The Division of Housing receives home funds (which can be used anywhere in the state) and community development block grant funds (which can only be used in non-entitlement areas, like Estes Park, that do not already receive a direct allocation from HUD). To give an idea of the Division’s level of funding, Denise shared the revised numbers for federal fiscal year 2013. The Division is anticipating (with regard to the 5% cuts being passed through under the sequestration) somewhere in the neighborhood of $2.5 million in CDBG funds for the entire State of Colorado (about an 8% reduction from what it received in 2012) and $4 million in home funds (a 5% reduction in addition to the 36% reduction sustained from 2011 to 2012). The Division is also expecting $1.6 million from the Emergency Solution Grant (a 15% increase between ’11 and ’12 fiscal years), $0.4 million from Housing Opportunity for Persons with Aids (a 5% increase between ’11 and ’12), and $4.25 million in housing development grant funds from the Colorado State Legislature (an increase of $2 million that has not yet been approved). Denise provided a quick summary of the types of projects the Division of Housing has funded. The Division has funded new rental construction: Provincetowne Phase One, Harmony Apartments (for persons with physical and cognitive disabilities), and Caribou Phase Two. The Division also worked to refurbish the Crossroads Safe House with state funds. In addition to these projects, the Division received $13 million in settlement funds from the Attorney General, as part of the National Mortgage Settlement. These funds were directed into the Colorado Housing Investment Fund (CHIF). The Division used $2.5 million from CHIF to assist the Fort Collins Housing Authority with the acquisition of the cottages at Cunningham Corners and the Madison Avenue apartments in Loveland. The Division also provides a very small amount of Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) funds to support agencies that meet certain criteria and help them with their operating costs. Denise noted the Division’s involvement with the City of Fort Collins, in preparing a Housing Needs Assessment several years back. She cited this as an example of a project that was ineligible for Federal funds, which was funded through the Division of Local Government’s Energy Impact Dollars. Lastly, Denise discussed the Division’s involvement with the Larimer County Down Payment Assistance Program (Larimer Home Ownership Program). The Division also runs a loan program that helps home owners receive low interest loans to complete home repairs. The program is funded through both the county and the Loveland Housing Development Corporation. Denise emphasized that the role of the Division of Housing is not to dictate affordable housing priorities to communities, but to partner with them. In an area like the City of Fort Collins, the Division looks to match dollars with what the City puts into a project. As an example, Denise cited the Redtail Ponds project, which requested 20 project-based vouchers (rental subsidies for tenants) from the Division and offered to bring another 20 vouchers to the table to match that contribution. When the city puts home dollars into a project, the Division of Housing asks: What’s your level of commitment? Denise noted that the Division tries to keep its grant dollars at around $10,000 per unit, and offered to take questions at this time. The Board asked if the Division of Housing worked on home ownership projects. Denise answered that the Division provides assistance with land acquisition and, sometimes, with construction costs. The Division provides the Colorado Habitat for Humanity group with a yearly grant, and offers down payment assistance for home owners. The Board went on to ask about the application process for Division of Housing funds. Beth Rosen commented that the Division of Housing requires a higher level of project readiness before providing funding. She explained that projects still in a conceptual phase are going to struggle with the Division’s strict readiness to proceed standard. Ken Waido remarked that the State usually wants to see a financial commitment from the local community before contributing funds. Denise Selders offered additional insight into the application process. The Division tries not to exceed a range of $5,000-$10,000 per unit. She also explained that, although the Division of Housing doesn’t dictate priorities to communities, it does have some top priorities of its own. Those priorities include expanding options for areas with a very low vacancy rate in rental housing (such as Fort Collins and Loveland) and serving the homeless, persons with disabilities and ex-offenders who have recently been released from prison. As an example, the Division is working to repurpose southeastern Colorado’s Fort Lyon Facility into a rehabilitation center for veterans and the chronically homeless, based on the Denver Rescue Mission’s Harvest Farm. Denise also mentioned the Division’s Homeless Prevention Team, a group of staff dedicated to working with local agencies and continuums of care to end homelessness. Denise concluded with a discussion of the approval process that goes to the state. The Division of Housing submits recommendations to the State Housing Board. Applicants make a presentation to the Board, and then the Board makes a recommendation to the DOLA executive director. Ultimately, the DOLA executive director makes the final decision on funding. The Affordable Housing Board thanked Denise Selders for coming. For more information, the Division of Housing will be holding a Developers’ Toolkit class on April 16 and 17 in Aurora. Denise asked anyone interested to email her for details. INTRODUCTIONS The Affordable Housing Board took a moment to reintroduce participating members. Dan Byers is a commercial loan officer with Farmers Bank; this is his 2nd term on the Board. Troy Jones is an architect and planner who designs buildings and gets developments approved for clients. He worked for the City of Fort Collins about eight years ago. Curt Lyons is an aspiring developer of sustainable, affordable housing. He thinks the cost of housing is a huge social issue. Tatiana Martin works for a real estate investor in town. She has an interest in commercial and development projects and has worked on student housing. Two representatives from local housing agencies also introduced themselves: Chadrick Martinez (from the Fort Collins Housing Authority) and Bill Reinke (from CARE Housing). Chadrick has been involved in affordable housing for 18 years, and Bill has been involved for 15-20. Troy Jones took a moment to introduce absent Board Members Jeff Johnson (an attorney) and Terence Hoaglund (an architect and builder). REVIEW OF THE 2013 WORK PLAN The Board reviewed comments made to the 2013 Work Plan by Council Liaison Lisa Poppaw. In particular, the Board looked at three proposed changes: 1) Remove the words ‘economic vitality’ in the 2013 Work Plan and replace them with ‘triple bottom line values’. 2) Remove the term ‘new incentives’. 3) Add, under ongoing work: review the Fort Collins Housing Authority Monthly Activity Reports. The Board discussed the Council’s triple bottom line values and how, going forward, they could use those values to communicate with and advise the Council. Ken Waido explained that, as the triple bottom line continues to morph its way through the Council, more information and training can be given to the Affordable Housing Board to help keep Board Members up to speed with Council priorities. The Board debated removal of the term ‘new incentives’. Ken Waido pointed out that the City of Fort Collins already offers many financial and non-financial incentives unavailable to other communities. Curt Lyons, however, expressed the concern that the City could offer more accessible incentives for aspiring developers. Finally, the Board considered a more effective way to review City activity. Chadrick Martinez suggested that it would be better to review information from the Monthly Activity Report than the Minutes, as the Minutes may not match what’s in the Activity Reports. Each department has a responsibility to put something in the board packet. He agreed to make this information available to the Board for review. Dan Byers motioned to change Item #1 on the 2013 Work Plan to remove the words ‘economic vitality’ and replace them with ‘triple bottom line values’ and to add, under ongoing work: review the Fort Collins Housing Authority Monthly Activity Reports. Troy Jones seconded the motion, which was approved 4:0. AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD BYLAWS The Board conducted a brief review of its bylaws. The following changes were proposed: 1) In section 2, as pertains to special meetings called by the Chairperson of the Board, replace the word ‘admissible’ with ‘acceptable’. 2) In section 6 of article 3, change title to ‘board staff liaison’. 3) Quorum will be defined by the total actual number of members of the board. The Board discussed the importance of Section 7, in which any Board Member with a personal or financial interest as defined by City Charter is required to declare such interest. Board Members with a conflict of interest are asked to fill out a form provided by the City Clerk. After review of the bylaws, Dan Byers motioned to change the bylaws of the Affordable Housing Board as discussed. Tatiana Martin seconded the motion, which was approved 4:0. SPRING CYCLE HOUSING PROPOSALS Ken Waido distributed a list of six housing proposals under consideration by the City of Fort Collins. The Board will review and rank the proposals and then send its findings to the CDBG and City Council. It is not the Board’s responsibility to decide which project gets how much money, only to rank them in terms of priority. All Board members have been sent an email with a login code for ZOOMGrants, to facilitate this process. As an additional reference, Ken passed out charts that provide measurable criteria for evaluating each project. Members of the Board will have two weeks to independently review project proposals, and are encouraged to ask questions early in the process. Tentatively, the Board plans to reconvene Wednesday, March 27 at 4:00 p.m. to compare findings. Ken Waido announced that Revised Provincetowne is scheduled to go to Council on the 19th of March. He requested permission to include the Affordable Housing Board’s recommendation in the agenda items, with minor editorial changes made by Ingrid Decker. The Board informally agreed to accept the tweaks made to the original memo. LIAISON REPORTS Troy Jones reported on a February 20 special meeting of the Transportation Board, referred to as ‘social impacts of transportation’. The panel discussed impediments to special populations and the struggle to provide adequate transportation for people who would usually also qualify for affordable housing. During open dialogue, Troy identified himself as a member of the board and talked about the importance of planning affordable housing with access to public transit. Dan Byers took a moment to reaffirm current liaison assignments: Troy Jones for Transportation Board, Dan Byers for Economic Advisory Board and Karen Miller for Affordable Housing Coalition. Tatiana Martin volunteered to pick up the Board of Realtors, and Curt Lyons volunteered for Planning and Zoning. OFFICER ELECTIONS After a brief discussion of candidates, Curt Lyons motioned to elect Dan Byers as Chair and Troy Jones as Vice- Chair of the Affordable Housing Board. Tatiana Martin seconded the motion, which was approved 4:0. CLOSING COMMENTS Ken Waido noted that the Human Relations Commission is interested in facilitating an affordable housing summit, and suggested that Dan Byers reach out to them on behalf of the Affordable Housing Board. -- Meeting adjourned at 6:20 PM by Chair Dan Byers. --