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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommunity Development Block Grant Commission - Minutes - 10/11/2018COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING October 11, 2018 – 6:00 PM 215 North Mason, Fort Collins, Co – Community Meeting Room 10/11/2018 – MINUTES Page 1 1. CALL TO ORDER At 6:04 PM the meeting was called to order by Taylor Dunn. ROLL CALL • Board Members Present: o Taylor Dunn – Chair o Serena Thomas – Vice-Chair o Margaret Long o Olga Duvall o Sara Maranowicz o Steve Backsen o Amy Dondale • Board Members Absent o Anita Basham • Staff Members: o Adam Molzer – CP Funding manager / Grant Administrator • Guests: o Mandy Morgan – Student (Social Sciences) researching Affordable Housing and Homelessness o Tina Hopkins-Dukes – Assistant to Mandy Morgan o Evelin Preciado – CSU Alumni (Social Sustainability) 2. AGENDA REVIEW Taylor Dunn reviewed the Agenda with the Community Development Block Grant Commission (“CDBG”). Agenda accepted without modification. 3. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION Guests to the CDBG meeting (listed above) introduced themselves. They had no specific commentary to share with the CDBG. 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES With some modification, Margaret Long motioned to approve the September 2018 meeting minutes. Amy Dondale seconded. The Vote passed unanimously. (7-0). COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING 10/11/2018 – CDBG MINUTES Page 2 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. Budget Funding Follow Up: Amy Dondale diligently completed the CDBG written response to City Council regarding the City of Fort Collins Budget. The CDBG Commission advocates for changes to some line items in the proposed budget that is currently in the final review phase. The City Council received the letter as confirmed by email. Amy thanked CDBG members for their assistance and input. 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Amendment Of Bylaws: Adam Molzer provided the CDBG with a copy (showing markups and changes) of the By- Laws of the Community Development Block Grant Commission. The changes were administrative in nature concerning term elections for Chair and Vice-Chair and monthly meeting dates and times. (Note: The City’s Fiscal Year conforms to a regular Calendar Year). Olga Duvall commented that, since tenure ends in December, electing officers in February or March would leave the Commission without a Chair for, at least, the month of January. Adam said that a Co-chair (that is not term limited in the prior year) would assume the position temporarily. Generally, the CDBG resolved to address the issue as the occasion demands. Amy Dondale made a motion to accept changes to the CDBG Commission Bylaws. The motion was seconded by Olga Duvall. The Vote passed unanimously. (7-0). b. Learning Series for CDBG Commission: Over the summer of 2018, several CDBG members met (in sub-committee) to discuss some changes to the administration of the Grant Process. One idea to penetrate was an educational component to enhance the function-specific collective knowledge of the CDBG members. Adam Molzer noted that the months of November, December and January are the optimum timeframes for “mini” training sessions given the heavy workload in other months. He said that he is currently entertaining at least a couple of options. One idea is to extend an invitation to Beth Rosen, Affordable Housing Program Administrator – City of Fort Collins, to discuss “affordable housing” issues and proposals. Adam also noted that, of the current grantees, sixteen (16) encompass youth/childhood services. Accordingly, he proposed an COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING 10/11/2018 – CDBG MINUTES Page 3 invitation to a Poudre School District representative. At which point, he asked the CDBG members for additional ideas. CDBG members recommended senior and elderly services, homelessness and mental health issues as educational opportunities that would enhance their knowledge of community requirements. Margaret Long offered that Linda Meyer, Director - Larimer County Office of Aging would be an excellent resource on senior population issues. Olga Duvall thinks that extending a general invitation to other Boards and Commission members would be a good idea. Serena Thomas cautioned that the focus remain specific to the CDBG mission. Margaret Long and Adam Molzer believe extending the invitation to the Boards and Commissions in the Sustainability Department would be appropriate. Adam Molzer commits to inquiry, assessment and follow-up on these propositions. c. Grant Process Update: As previously mentioned (above), over the summer of 2018, several CDBG members met (in sub-committee) to discuss some changes to the administration of the Grant Process. Adam Molzer shared a preliminary example of additional proposed changes. The childcare discussion, for instance, encompasses the issues of access to services, affordability and workforce. In future grant processes, it is anticipated that there will be available data to help determine priorities and goal that the Commission will be able to direct funding towards. Amy Dondale inquired, based on the September CDBG meeting, as to the status of the staff review process regarding the proposal of changes (summary provided in September meeting) discussed by the subcommittee over the summer. Adam reported that the staff is in the process of reviewing everything from Grant Applications edits to process timelines. The staff is currently in the analysis and planning stage. December is the target for communicating to Grant Applicants the process changes, which should give ample time to prepare for the next funding cycle. 7. COMMISSION MEMBER REPORTS Some CDBG members attended “An Evening With Matthew Desmond” sponsored by Neighbor to Neighbor (N2N.org) on Wednesday – October 10 th . Mr. Desmond received the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for “Evicted”, a scholarly analysis of the national housing crisis. Olga Duvall noted that the affected communities include at-risk families, landlords and the local economy. Olga reported that the percentage of Colorado evictions is higher than COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING 10/11/2018 – CDBG MINUTES Page 4 several neighboring states (Utah, Nebraska & Nevada). Margaret Long added that Colorado’s cost of living is higher because we are such a desirable state to reside and relocate. Amy Dondale shared that Minnesota laws favored tenants over landlords and noted that some evictions in Denver are for nominal amounts such as $100 in arrears. Margaret Long agreed that her understanding (even in the 60’s and 70’s) is similar to what Amy reports in regards to evictions based on nominal amounts in arrears. Adam Molzer understands that the Front-Range figure is currently hovering at a $200 threshold for eviction proceedings. Sara Maranowicz noted that families with children are the most vulnerable. She added that the Eviction Lab (evictionlab.org) has a vast database of eviction rates in America. The hope is that policymakers, educators and journalists (etc.) use the data to understand more about the issue as it affects their community. Serena Thomas wonders if it is realistic to look to the private market to address these issues. Steve Backsen thought community emergency funds could be found at the $300 to $350 level. Olga Duvall added that the amounts could be flexible in different situations. She said that Neighbor to Neighbor (N2N.org) could provide several months of continuing support to stabilize a family. Taylor Dunn brought up a landlord issue. In the area of energy efficiency, landlords are interested in the investment, but due to current rules and regulations, they cannot get a return on the investment. This is because the person who pays the utility bill (the tenant) is the person who can receive the credit (rebates) for the energy enhancement, leaving the landlord “out of pocket”. A specific example is improved insulation for rental units, which is reasonable, but rent affordability goals can preclude a return on that investment. In addition, Taylor says that landlords who express interest in providing units for affordable housing efforts are finding that process difficult, especially in the era of energy efficiency. There is no incentive built-in to the current structure for landlords. Margaret Long commented that the new “SmartRegs” standards (requiring all licensed rental housing to meet energy efficiency standards by the end of 2018) in Boulder, Colorado would likely increase rents in an already high-rent county. Sara Maranowicz and Serena Thomas discussed the fact that of the families needed affordable housing alternatives, only 25% are able to find assistance. As a potential solution, some look to the homeowner tax credit. Consider that $171 billion nationally is the tax reduction incentive for home ownership and it directly benefits higher income households. Tapping this credit might provide money for tenant subsidies. Margaret Long COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING 10/11/2018 – CDBG MINUTES Page 5 said that any plan in this area had to be “progressive” to abate the exchange effects. Steve Backsen discussed the current economy where he feels that very high paid and very low paid jobs have made a return to the economy; however, the middle class jobs have not recovered. This has a substantial impact on affordable housing because the middle class job market is not actually as good as it was 30-40 years ago. The middle class is rapidly diminishing in Colorado was the general CDBG member understanding. Sara Maranowicz said that Larimer County United Way and the Bell Policy Center are presenting “Colorado’s Middle Class Families: A Community Conversation”. The event occurs at the CSU Lory Student Center on Tuesday - October 16 from 3:00 to 4:00 PM. 8. STAFF REPORTS Thereafter, Adam Molzer reported on the current position of 2017 funding activities. He noted that final disbursement of 2017 grants will soon ge complete. In addition, October will mark the activation of current 2018 grants. The process required six (6) signatures on each of thirty-four (34) contracts. Adam also reported that, in the spring, the staff had completed the required annual visit to the six- (6) federally funded programs. In the summer, about twenty-five (25) agencies were compliance checked. There is some conversation regarding annual or biennial compliance review for programs not federally funded. Some of the compliance activities include residential requirement verification, poster exhibition and review of client files. There were only a few issues, but generally, all of the findings were favorable. Additionally, Adam Molzer wanted to record that the December meeting would actually be a holiday gathering at CDBG member Anita Basham’s house. 9. OTHER BUSINESS a. Boards and Commissions Appreciation Dinner: The City of fort Collins Boards and Commissions appreciation dinner is October 29 th at 5:30 to 7:00 PM. Adam Molzer reminds the CDBG members to RSVP by October 22 nd . b. Joint Boards and Commissions Pilot Update Steve Backsen, as CDBG member representative, said the project is struggling to find a mutually acceptable date for an “all members” meeting. Discussion is trending towards the end of November or early December with an emphasis on quorum issues. Victoria Shaw, Sr Financial Analyst – City of Fort Collins has forwarded a “doodle poll” to all COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING 10/11/2018 – CDBG MINUTES Page 6 representatives. The meeting focus may be KFCG (Keep Fort Collins Great) funding, but could change. c. Grantee Client Story Adam Molzer closed the meeting with a narrative about the direct impact of funding on a Fort Collins Resident. Grantee Volunteers of America received city funding for the Meals on Wheels program. One recipient, Betty - who is 94 years old - reports so much gratitude for this program and says being able to still “enjoy music and dance with her dogs” gives her such a positive attitude. This program provides her much appreciated independence. Adam says, depending on comments, he will continue to share such stories with CDBG members to reflect on the invaluable impact their work has in the community. Taylor Dunn announced that his term concludes this December and he is considering relocation out of the area, so he will not renew his application. In addition, he will not be available for November’s meeting. 10. ADJOURNMENT Meeting Adjourned at 7:07 PM.