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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommunity Development Block Grant Commission - Minutes - 05/13/2020 CDBG COMMISSION SPECIAL MEETING Wednesday, May 13, 2020, 4:00pm Remote / Online via Zoom due to COVID-19 5/13/2020 – MINUTES Page 1 1. CALL TO ORDER • At 4:04 PM the meeting was called to order by Josh Johnson. 2. ROLL CALL • BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT o Michael Kulisheck o Nick Verni- Lau o Serena Thomas o Olga Duvall o Josh Johnson, Chair o Steve Backsen o Sara Maranowicz o Pat Hastings • AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD MEMBERS: o Jen Bray, Chairperson for the Affordable Housing Board • STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT o Adam Molzer, Staff Liaison, CDBG Commission – City of Fort Collins o Beth Rosen, Social Sustainability – City of Fort Collins o Sue Beck Ferkiss, Social Sustainability – City of Fort Collins o Janet Freeman, Social Sustainability – City of Fort Collins o Hannah Tinklenberg, Social Sustainability – City of Fort Collins (Minutes) Due to the duration and extent of the grant deliberation, the summary of the meeting reflected in the minutes below may not include all details of the CDBG Commission’s recommendation proceedings. For further information, details and insight, video and audio recording resources are available by contacting the CDBG Commission staff liaison. 3. AGENDA REVIEW Josh Johnson read remote session instructions for the Community Development Block Grant Commission (“CDBG”) and public attendees. Purpose of the special meeting is to make funding recommendations. Meeting date is dictated by public review period, agenda items summary, HUD requirements, and staff timeline. The Commission accepted the agenda without modification. DocuSign Envelope ID: 86795806-4A23-4E9F-B947-63B6488CC10C CDBG COMMISION REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING 5/13/2020 – MINUTES Page 2 4. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION • Jenny Maeda • Doug Snyder • Holly LeMasurier • Steve Kuehneman • Linda Wright • Bob Pawlikowski • Kelly Evans • Lindsey Ex No public comments. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mr. Hastings motioned to approve the May 4th, 2020 special meeting minutes as presented, Mr. Johnson seconds the motion – unanimously approved. 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS • None. 7. NEW BUSINESS a. Presentation of Affordable Housing Board Rankings Jen Bray from the Affordable Housing Board (AHB) was introduced and proceeded to share AHB’s ranking and remarks on the grant proposals under consideration in the housing category. A copy of the memo from AHB was distributed in advance (attached). Jen shared that the Board was favorable of the new construction and rehabilitation projects as they aligned strongly with the strategic goals. Ms. Thomas asked if we can’t honor 100% of the request, what amount is still worthwhile or useful. Ms. Rosen stated that working through the matrix and prioritize funding you’ll land at a place where you can. High-level housing applicants require the full funding amount to move the project forward. If an applicant can use partial funding, it may be beneficial to show some support. Another option is that if funding is leftover after recommendations have been made, they can be allocated at next year’s competitive process. Mr. Kulisheck sought clarification if this is also true for rehab projects. Ms. Rosen stated that generally yes, assuming they get tax credits and private activity bonds. If a rehab project doesn’t receive full funding they can scale back (value engineering). For the current rehab proposals, if they do not get the full recommendation, they can’t demonstrate that they have the gap funding needed to leverage other resources. The entire rehab project has to be at full scale to provide 15- DocuSign Envelope ID: 86795806-4A23-4E9F-B947-63B6488CC10C CDBG COMMISION REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING 5/13/2020 – MINUTES Page 3 20 years of sustainability. LHIP is the only project proposal that doesn’t need full funding. Ms. Bray confirmed that the AHB had received updates on the private activity bonds but did not use to weigh on ranking. Mr. Johnson sought clarification on confidence level for application HO-6 that the project is ready to move forward if funding is approved and what would happen if they do not receive funding this year. Ms. Rosen said that they are relatively confident, and they are one month from knowing the status of their CHFA allocation, which puts them in a stronger position than the other tax-credit applications under review. If they do not fund this year, their allocation from last year would be rescinded and funding would be available for the 2021 competitive process. b. Deliberations to Formulate Funding Recommendations – Affordable Housing Mr. Molzer confirmed that the total housing funding available is $2.214 million. Mr. Johnson opened discussion for the deliberations to formulate funding recommendations. Mr. Johnson asked the commission members to make a motion for dollars amounts as they proceed and motions will be discussed, as needed, after the motion has been seconded. Friendly amendments are allowed but must be agreed by the persons that puts forth the initial motion and seconds. Ms. Rosen highlighted that she just received news that CHFA made a decision on tax credit recommendations and recommended VOA for their tax credits. HO-6: Volunteers of America - VOA Senior Residences Motion by Ms. Thomas to fund at $250,000. Seconded by Ms. Duvall. The motion passed unanimously 8-0. HO-4: Mercy Housing – Northfield Affordable Motion by Mr. Backsen to fund at $550,000. Seconded by Ms. Duvall. The motion passed unanimously 8-0. Discussion: Mr. Johnson asked if organization has received or applied for additional funding. Ms. Rosen stated that Mercy needed the private activity bond (PAB) allocation in order to move forward. This recommendation plus the PAB gives them the first money in commitment that they need to move forward with their tax credit application. DocuSign Envelope ID: 86795806-4A23-4E9F-B947-63B6488CC10C CDBG COMMISION REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING 5/13/2020 – MINUTES Page 4 HO-1: CARE Housing – Swallow Road Rehabilitation Motion by Mr. Hastings to fund at $1,000,000. Seconded by Mr. Backsen. The motion passed unanimously 7-0. Ms. Maranowicz abstained. Discussion: Mr. Kulisheck asked for clarification about an advantage that CARE had over Neighbor to Neighbor based on a PAB recommendation. Ms. Rosen shared that both CARE and Neighbor to Neighbor were each separately planning to submit applications for a PAB cap to pair PAB funding with their 4% tax credit for the rehab. In terms of readiness to go, neither had received the funding dependent to move forward. Since the AHB on the PAB, CARE has now received the bond cap to move forward and gives them more of the funding needed. Another allocation for the bond cap won’t be received for another year and has become increasingly competitive on the state level. CARE Housing has secured the resources they need to move forward. Ms. Rosen also clarified that the PAB has to go to Council for final approval, so as of now it is a recommendation. Mr. Johnson sought clarification on the potential for the need scale back on funding for Housing projects, similarly to Human Services. Mr. Molzer answered that Housing will not be affected. HO-5: Neighbor to Neighbor Motion by Mr. Kulisheck to funded at $0. Seconded Mr. Backsen. Motion passed to unanimously 8-0. Discussion: The Commission discussed that there wasn’t enough funding available to fully fund the project and applicant needs the full amount to move forward. The Commission can recommend to fully fund the last two applicants. The remaining balance would roll into next year’s competitive process. It was also discussed on the potential to use the remaining balance to support COVID-19 response efforts. Ms. Rosen explained that these funds are designated for affordable housing, therefore, cannot be used for emergency response. HO-3: Loveland Housing Corp – Larimer Home Improvement Project Motion by Mr. Hastings fund at $150,000. Seconded by Mr. Johnson. Motion passed unanimously 8-0. Discussion: The Commission discussed the possibility to recommend funding above the applicant’s requested amount. The Commission decided to remain at the full amount and utilize the remaining unused balance for next year’s process. DocuSign Envelope ID: 86795806-4A23-4E9F-B947-63B6488CC10C CDBG COMMISION REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING 5/13/2020 – MINUTES Page 5 HO-2: Habitat for Humanity – Poudre Build #7 Motion by Ms. Thomas to fund at $80,000. Seconded by Mr. Hastings. Motion passed unanimously 8-0. Discussion: Mr. Johnson asked if the potential remote learning in the fall would impact the completion of this project and if so, could funds be used in the following school year, or would the applicant need to re-submit. Ms. Rosen clarified that if the project started in the spring it could have a summer completion. A recommendation for these funds would include some conditional language in the contract to support the delay of the project to the 2021-22 school year without having to reapply. All housing proposals were discussed, and funding amounts recommended. The Commission discussed that the remaining balance of $184,015 will be rolled over to next year. Motion by Mr. Johnson to approve the FY2020 Housing funding recommendations for Council. Seconded by Mr. Verni-Lau. Motion passed unanimously 8-0. 8. COMMISSION MEMBER REPORTS • None. 9. OTHER BUSINESS • Mr. Molzer. provided a reminder and overview for the Human Service deliberations taking place tomorrow, Thursday, May 14, 2020 at 4:00 PM. • Mr. Molzer gave an overview of the scoring matrix / ranking process for Human Service deliberations. Using the similar process as last year, clean breaks between different funding rankings allow for different bands to be established that present a data point to aid in the discussion. He provided an overview of three scenarios for the rankings this year and requested that the Commission vote which scenario they would like to use for Human Service deliberations. The Commission discussed the values of using each scoring matrix scenario. Mr. Molzer highlighted that funding recommendations should not be influenced by current impacts nonprofits are experiencing as a result of COVID-19. Keeping in mind that these funds won’t be available until early Fall 2020. Mr. Johnson made a motion to use Option B for the scoring matrix in the Human Service deliberations. Seconded by Mr. Backsen. Motion passed 7-1. Opposed by Mr. Hastings. DocuSign Envelope ID: 86795806-4A23-4E9F-B947-63B6488CC10C CDBG COMMISION REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING 5/13/2020 – MINUTES Page 6 • Mr. Molzer mentioned that there will be a motion to afford flexibility to scale grant recommendations based on City revenues forecasted that is based on guidance from the City Finance Department. Grantees that receive funding from HUD will not be affected. 10. NEXT MEETING • Funding Deliberation Special Meeting – Human Services O Thursday, May 14, 2020 | 4:00pm | Remote / Online via Zoom 11. ADJOURNMENT • Meeting adjourned by Mr. Johnson at 5:52 PM. EXPLAINATION OF WHY NEW BUSINESS ITEMS ARE REQUIRED TO BE CONSIDERED AT THIS SPECIAL MEETING CONVENED ON ZOOM: The grant evaluation process conducted by the CDBG Commission occurs each spring and includes funding recommendations for the City's use of federal HUD dollars to support affordable housing projects and human services programs. HUD has a firm deadline in mid-August that must be met. Working back from the mid-August HUD deadline, we arrive at dates in mid-May for the latest possible meeting options for the CDBG Commission to conduct their business. This timeline is dictated by public review period and publishing requirements, City Council summer meeting dates, Agenda Item Summary submission deadlines, and the necessary time required for staff to assemble and disseminate the funding recommendation information. Minutes were finalized and approved by the CDBG Commission on ____________________ City of Fort Collins Staff Liaison: ____________________________________________ Adam Molzer DocuSign Envelope ID: 86795806-4A23-4E9F-B947-63B6488CC10C September 16, 2020