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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommunity Development Block Grant Commission - Minutes - 01/14/20161 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING MINUTES 215 N Mason Street, Fort Collins January 14, 2016, 6:00PM COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT: Margaret Long – Chair Holly Carroll – Vice-Chair Anita Basham Stephanie Crookston Steve Backsen Taylor Dunn Amy Dondale Annette Zacharias COMMISSION MEMBERS ABSENT: Deb Westcott STAFF PRESENT: Sharon Thomas – Staff Liaison Tina Hopkins-Dukes – Minute Taker The meeting was called to order by Chair, Margaret Long at 6:00 pm. ELECTION OF OFFICERS: Margaret Long nominated Holly Carroll for Chair, seconded by Steve Backsen and unanimously accepted by Commission Members and Carroll. Carroll nominated Margaret Long for Vice-Chair, seconded by Annette Zacharias and unanimously accepted by Commission Members and Long. PUBLIC COMMENT: None INTRODUCTION OF NEW COMMISSION MEMBERS: Introductions were made to welcome new Commission members. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Corrections to the spelling of Amy Dondale’s name were made to the December minutes. Anita Basham asked for clarification to the Murphy Center updates in regards to the returning of $75,000 for reallocation. Sharon Thomas explained that the money was program income. The City of Fort Collins helped pay for the land to build the Murphy Center. When the Bohemian Foundation took ownership of the Murphy Center they chose to pay off the loans with Fort Collins and Loveland. Basham made a motion to accept the December minutes with the 2 corrections and Taylor Dunn seconded. Dunn made a motion to accept the November minutes and Margaret Long seconded, unanimously approved. APPROVE WORK PLAN AND ANNUAL REPORT: Anita Basham made a motion to accept the Work Plan and Stephanie Crookston seconded. Holly Carroll asked for a motion to approve the Annual Report and Margaret Long moved to accept seconded by Anita Basham. Both reports were unanimously approved. STAFF REPORTS: Holly Carroll suggested the members read the Social Sustainability Strategic Plan and discuss it at the meeting in February to prepare for the spring funding cycle. Sharon Thomas announced that the Competitive Process has begun. The City returned to a pre- application process that is open for two weeks to help screen eligible applicants and allow staff to prepare for presentations. The pre-application is due January 21, 2016. Thomas mentioned she anticipates less money this year for public service funding, approximately $750,000 which is about $50,000 less than last year. In the housing category approximately $2 million is expected to be available to allocate. Thomas will supply all members with binders, ZoomGrants login information and passwords when proposals are ready for distribution. Thomas stated that B.A.S.E. Camp is exploring the possibilities of starting a teen center for middle school students. This center would be based on the model in operation in Colorado Springs called “The Hangar”. The Hangar is highly successful and on average accommodates approximately 400 youth a night. The founder of the Colorado Springs teen center now lives in Fort Collins, works at B.A.S.E. Camp and wants to create a similar program here. The activities they offer will be driven by the interests of the teens. They are working towards having a kick- off during spring break at Club Tico and invite area youth to introduce them to the center. Locations have not been fully identified at this time. Another project in discussion is providing childcare for City community outreach meetings. Discussions are taking place with some of the City’s childcare partners. Funding would come from the departments hosting the meetings and would be a minimal expense. New flyers were created for the Homebuyers Assistance Program. The program is for low- income persons with the capacity to purchase a home. The City provides loans up to 6% of the purchase price with 5% going towards the down payment and 1% for closing costs. The maximum purchase price has increased from $250,000 to $279,775. The number of loans has decreased over the years. In 2015 nine loans were approved, in 2014 eight loans and in 2013 only 15 loans were granted. Prior to 2013 the number of loans was around 30-40 a year. Land Bank Program – during 2002-2006 the City purchased several parcels of land in order to have sites available for future affordable housing projects. Recently Council agreed to allow the City to sell some of the properties. An RFP was created for the Horsetooth property and received three bids. The Housing Authority was awarded the RFP. 3 Habitat for Humanity is having a moving in celebration for the Gonzales family Sunday at 1:00 pm and 2:00 pm at Avondale. This was one of the properties the CDBG Commission recommended the City fund. OTHER: Holly Carroll asked if anyone had followed up on contacting Councilmembers regarding the letter submitted to Councilmember Stevens requesting additional funding for Public Service applicants. Steve Backsen and Taylor Dunn said they met with Mayor Pro Tem Gerry Horak about a month ago. For the last two years the City received requests for $500,000 more than available funds for allocation. Backsen stated that Horak indicated the City has additional funding coming in but not as much as what was reported in the newspapers. Horak also indicated that other organizations were also looking to capitalize on the additional funds. Horak suggested that City staff make a formal request for additional funding through the normal budgeting process. Dunn stated that Horak wants to see more coordination between the funders. Backsen agreed and would like to have some of the larger organizations, (i.e. United Way, Community Foundation, Bohemian Foundation) get together to ensure maximum utilization of all resources available and identify gaps. Carroll would like to hear more from the Bohemian Foundation in regards to their priorities, strategic plan and funding strategies. Annette Zacharias informed the members of the upcoming orientation meeting the Bohemian Foundation is hosting on January 21, 2016 at the Senior Center. Margaret Long indicated that United Way is collaborating with CSU to gather data and measures in terms of poverty eradication outcomes. Zacharias will be attending the Balance of State meeting which will indicate where Fort Collins stands regarding homelessness. Backsen asked about inviting representatives from other organizations to attend a CDBG Commission meeting. Anita Basham and Dunn would like to have specific objectives before inviting others. Long suggested waiting until the current funding cycle is completed to give time to refine what can be gained from these interactions. Backsen would like major funders to provide information about who they are partnering with. Zacharias mentioned that designations may/may not have impact on allocations. Donors are designating where their dollars are to be allocated which is why there seems to be less funding available. A suggestion was made to have the Commission create a letter/memo requesting a Budgeting for Outcomes (BFO) offer and submit it to the Social Sustainability Department. Amy Dondale agreed to contact Councilmember Gino Campana and Carroll and Long will meet with Councilmember Bob Overbeck before sending out the letter/memo. Thomas will have number of funding requests and an estimated dollar amount to substantiate the request for BFO offer. ADJOURNMENT: Anita Basham made a motion to adjourn and Margaret Long seconded. Meeting was adjourned at 7:36 pm.