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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommunity Development Block Grant Commission - Minutes - 01/09/2019COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT REGULAR MEETING JANUARY 9, 2019 – 5:30 PM 222 Laporte Avenue – Colorado River Room 01/09/2019 – MINUTES Page 1/7 1. CALL TO ORDER At 5:36 PM the meeting was called to order by Serena Thomas. ROLL CALL • Commission Members Present: o Serena Thomas – Co-Chair, 2018 o Anita Basham o Margaret Long o Sara Maranowicz o Steve Backsen o Joshua Johnson o Pat Hastings o Amy Dondale • Commission Members Absent o Olga Duvall • Staff Members: o Adam Molzer, Staff Liaison, Manager – City of Fort Collins • Presenters: o Ginny Sawyer, Project & Policy Manager – City of Fort Collins • Guests: o Joe Somodi – Fort Collins City Council District 1 candidate. 2. INTRODUCTIONS & WELCOME OF NEW COMMISSION MEMBERS Joshua Johnson introduced himself as a new Commission Member for 2019. He notes that he is a resident in the Old Town Fort Collins area and works at ANB Bank. Pat Hastings introduced himself as a new Commission Member for 2019 and as a recent Fort Collins resident. He is an Assistant Sociology Professor at Colorado State University with an interest in economic and social inequality. Thereafter, each current Commission member introduced themselves with a short, personal anecdote as follows: • Sara Maranowicz works at the Bohemian Foundation • Steve Backsen is retired from Social Work • Anita Basham has an eight-year tenure with the CDBG • Margaret Long is an eight-year CDBG member and retiree of Colorado Human Services COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT REGULAR MEETING 01/09/2019 – MINUTES Page 2/7 • Serena Thomas works at a local nonprofit Realities for Children • Adam Molzer is the City of Fort Collins Liaison for the CBDG • Amy Dondale is a four-year CDBG member and long-term Fort Collins resident who volunteers in different capacities throughout the city • Olga Duvall, who is not in attendance, was introduced by Adam as a long-time employee at the Salvation Army 3. AGENDA REVIEW Serena Thomas reviewed the Agenda with the Community Development Block Grant Commission (“CDBG”). The CDBG accepted the Agenda without modification. 4. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION Joe Somodi introduced himself noting that, in addition to tonight’s meeting being a part of his City of Fort Collins Boards and Commissions observation tour, he is a candidate for Fort Collins City Council District 1. He is a past participant of the Human Relations Commission. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES With a few modifications, The CDBG accepted the November 2018 minutes. Margaret Long motioned to approve the November 2018 meeting minutes as amended. Anita Basham seconded. The Vote passed unanimously. (5-0). Amy Dondale, Pat Hastings and Josh Johnson abstained because they were not in attendance at the November meeting. 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS The CDBG members thanked Anita Basham for hosting a wonderful Holiday Party in December 2018. 7. LEARNING SERIES PRESENTATION a. Keep Fort Collins Great Tax Sunset. Ginny Sawyer, Policy & Project Manager – City of Fort Collins presented to the CDBG figures, considerations and possible alternatives for the sunset of the Keep Fort Collins Great (“KFCG”) tax (.85) on December 31, 2020. She notes that Colorado’s 1992 Taxpayer Bill of Rights (“TABOR”) Amendment requires that all taxpayers approve any sales tax increases by vote. Also, she has been on a “presentation tour” with various groups (over 600 viewers) in the city to raise awareness re same. Adam Molzer noted that the City’s Human Services Program budget is funded at approximately $380 thousand from KFCG funds. Comparing the Colorado cities of Boulder, Colorado Springs, Denver, Loveland and Fort COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT REGULAR MEETING 01/09/2019 – MINUTES Page 3/7 Collins, Fort Collins has the lowest base rate, 2nd lowest tax rate, and without a RTD (Regional Transportation District), all transit is supported by a General Fund. Ginny facilitated her discussion with a slide presentation and accompanying handout summarizing key details. She added that Other Community Priorities encompass emerging community needs and trends. She explained the difficulty of building and capital projects that do not have funds allocated for on-going maintenance of those projects. She noted that all expenditures are listed in detail on the City of Fort Collins website, while the figures discussed tonight are a “high-level snapshot” of some of those expenditures. The current debate includes a recognition that keeping KFCG rate at .85 will preserve the several services similarly funded while a rate reduction results in service reductions. She emphasizes that there is no additional grocery tax, which are currently taxed at 2.25%. Poudre Fire Authority funding rates are to be protected. The ballot language (required by TABOR) will include the phrase “Shall the City by increasing taxes …” The city favors advancing the issue to voters in the local April election cycle because the November elections option can cost over $200K. The options currently under consideration, both maintaining commitments to PFA, are: • A.) Base Total: 3.10 o Base .85 & 0% dedicated • B.) Base Total: 2.85 o Base .60 & .15% dedicated transportation / .10% Sustainability The overall general support lies with putting into the base where the service level and price seem good. The local government enjoys a generally favorable trust rating. Option A provides more funding flexibility for the City. Steve Backsen is interested in public sentiment thus far. Ginny summarized the public sentiment as follows: • Some residents were opposed to any tax preferring lower rates and some favored a higher tax rate noting community needs such as transit • General appreciation for services provided • Newer residents feel the tax rate is affordable and longer-term residents worry about housing and affordability • Some prefer flexibility to meet city needs as they arise and some prefer dedicated funding Joshua Johnson asked about trends. Ginny offered that at 125K population this equals 1.71% growth. The city sales tax is flattening because neighboring communities have more local shopping options and online shopping continues to increase. Sara Maranowicz asked that there might be a variation in the resident experience based on COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT REGULAR MEETING 01/09/2019 – MINUTES Page 4/7 projections. Ginny said the .85 in the base is likely unnoticeable. Regardless, she thinks that in 3-5 years there will likely be a transit or parks and recreation tax. With changes in funding, something will naturally go away. Steve Backsen believes that residents typically prefer to know the details of what gets funded with tax dollars in a dedicated funding model. Ginny Sawyer says there is merit in all viewpoints based on her observations. Ginny said the CDBG could, if warranted, prepare a formal response by January 22, 2019 for City Council consideration. 8. NEW BUSINESS a. Response to KFCG Presentation Margaret Long observed that under Option B .10 sustainability will maintain our status. Her experience is that conservative counties seem to prefer dedicated funding. She, however, prefers Option A because things can be uncertain, and that option offers flexibility. Anita Basham, discussing CDBG funds, asks if Option B is “below the line” in the city’s budgetary process, explaining that she prefers Option B if its an “above the line” item. Adam Molzer clarified that the additional CDBG $100K funding is locked in and the $150K is in play for only the next two years. Margaret Long added that, for example, the Police would not hire additional staff in times of uncertainty. Therefore, CDBG $150K in funding may be difficult to hold on to, so she likes the flexible option for that reason. Anita Basham said that she sees difficulty with the community going from 2.25% to 3.10% perceiving it as a tax increase instead of an allocation change. Sara Maranowicz says that, in Option A, taxes don’t increase, rather it changes the allocation. Steve Backsen is happy with the allocation of $150K for two years but is concerned about potential outcomes since it is not permanent. Margaret and Anita followed up with their concerns about potential declining charitable contributions due to the change in itemized federal tax incentives under the new tax laws. There is a consensus among CDBG members that once a fixed option was endorsed by the city, there would be a more tangible basis to create a response if necessary. Adam offered that the Sustainability Department generally favors Option A with some COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT REGULAR MEETING 01/09/2019 – MINUTES Page 5/7 tepidness on Option B due to uncertainty. Serena Thomas said there would be no formal action at this time by the CDBG. b. Grant Process Update Adam Molzer handed out the CDBG 2019 funding process schedule. Adam pointed out that the grantee application window opens tomorrow Thursday, January 10, 2019, Pre- applications numbers will be available on January 25, 2019 and final due date is Friday, February 15, 2019. The funding documentation can be found online. The application is enhanced with a section prompting candidates to choose one or two of the 32 funding priorities. Applicants are accordingly requested to focus in on how their project or proposal intersects the city’s Human Service priorities and concentrations. Adam handed out a template for decision making outlining department and community priorities and concentrations. It outlines the city priorities in a simple format assisting the CDBG members and enhancing their decision-making processes. He pointed out the five (5) HUD priorities for Federal funding currently only encompass 6 projects/applications in the human services grant portfolio. Adam also discussed the updated scorecard method which will include weighted criteria. Factors such as measurable outcomes, number of people served, community leverage, synergies and partnerships, triple bottom line considerations, and a “gut” score are an integral part of the process. Adam mentioned that in March, Victoria Shaw, Sr. Financial Analyst – City of Fort Collins, will present the CDBG with protocol options on making funding decisions. Due to the changes of the funding processes, Adam is confident that the actual funding deliberations will be more efficient and expeditious. He noted that Affordable Housing will continue with funding presentations. He feels that the changes also address an issue whereby the applicants can prepare answers to CDBG questions beforehand enabling a more cohesive application process. Adam explained an important consideration is that many applicants replicate their efforts in the neighboring city of Loveland. However, a point was made that while the purposes were similar, the applications for funding were not. This resulted in double effort for similar but inexact questions. By making some City of Fort Collins questions match closely to Loveland applications materials, the grant applicants were better served by reducing duplication of efforts expended in the applications processes for neighboring communities. Overall, Adam was happy that the changes appear to be acceptable to the agencies he has spoken with. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT REGULAR MEETING 01/09/2019 – MINUTES Page 6/7 c. 2019 Officers election in February or March The CDBG is agreed that each member will start the process of considering who might be potential Chair and Vice-chair for 2019. The elections will be held in either February or March. 9. COMMISSION MEMBER REPORTS 10. STAFF REPORTS • Serena Thomas reposts that the Alliance for Suicide Prevention is seeking a new Director since the current individual had just stepped-down. Also, the Jacobs Center Executive Director has recently passed away. • Serena Thomas inquired if other CDBG members were aware of United Way of Larimer County’s efforts to create a program for nonprofit back office support. Sara Maranowicz reported that United Way is working on a project to provide high quality, low-cost accounting, finance and human resources services to non-profits. The State of Alaska has a model program. • Adam Molzer reported that there were $100K funds expended for childcare support in the city. Examples of funding recipients are the Teaching Tree Childhood Center, the Family Center, a childcare workforce project in partnership with Front Range Community College, Boys & Girls Club, Base Camp and Respite Care scholarships. Adam will email the details to the CDBG. • Affordable Housing Board is seeking two volunteers from the CDBG to assist in refreshing the City’s Affordable Housing Strategic Plan over the next year. Next month there will be a formal presentation and request re same. 11. OTHER BUSINESS a. Joint Boards & Commissions Pilot Update Steve Backsen reports, as an effort to update the new CDBG members, that the Triple Bottom Line pilot project is proposing solutions to provide more effective and influential communication to City Council. He noted that he is the CDBG representative to the project. He said that while the focus of the project has changed over the past year, there has been no consensus on the goals of the project. The various Boards and Commissions are diverse and common issues present difficulties to the processes. Currently, there is a joint issue to be discussed during the week of February 25th regarding EBikes and Scooters. Adam Molzer discussed that the City Plan and the “Housing Options” contained therein are now the updated focus. E-bikes and Scooters were moved up the schedule and will have been addressed already. The Lincoln Center will be the likely site for that updated meeting agenda. Affected Sustainability Department Boards and Commissions will convene for a unified message on common issues. Steve further explained that the CDBG has such a focused purpose that the issues affecting many Boards and Commissions in the Sustainability Department are not common to the CDBG. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT REGULAR MEETING 01/09/2019 – MINUTES Page 7/7 After some further discussion, Adam segued to pointing out that Victoria Shaw will provide guidance on a Triple Bottom Line scan “tool” which assists in measuring harm and benefit on three core sustainability criteria of project and program proposals. This tool is helpful in providing different Boards and Commissions with an overall perspective relating to the three core sustainability goals. b. Grantee Client Story Adam Molzer recounted a story originating at funding recipient Matthews House about a seventeen-year-old mother, who had faced many life challenges, is receiving individual parenting classes. She is working hard at becoming a good parent with the support received including smoking cessation. The Matthews House staff reports happiness and pride in her accomplishments thus far. 12. NEXT MEETING a. Wednesday - February 13, 2019 / 5:30 PM / 222 Laporte Ave. – Colorado Room 13. ADJOURNMENT Meeting Adjourned at 7:00 PM.