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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/27/2015 RegularCity of Springfield Special Regular Meeting MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL REGULAR MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY APRIL 27, 2015 The City of Springfield Council met in regular session in the Jesse Maine Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, April 27, 2015 at 7:52 p.m., with Mayor Lundberg presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Lundberg and Councilors VanGordon, Wylie, Moore, Ralston, Woodrow and Pishioneri. Also present were City Manager Gino Grimaldi, City Attorney Mary Bridget Smith, City Recorder Amy Sowa and members of the staff. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Mayor Lundberg. BUSINESS FROM THE CITY MANAGER 1. 2015 Eugene -Springfield Consolidated Plan. RESOLUTION NO. 2015-11 — A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE EUGENE -SPRINGFIELD 2015 CONSOLIDATED PLAN FOR SUBMISSION TO THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT. Molly Markarian, Senior Planner, presented the staff report on this item. The Cities of Eugene and Springfield are required to submit a new five-year Consolidated Plan to HUD no later than May 15, 2015. Adoption resolutions from both City Councils must be included in the final submission to HUD. The Consolidated Plan is a HUD requirement and must be adopted every five years by communities that receive formula allocations of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) funds, and other HUD funds. The City of Springfield receives CDBG funds as a HUD entitlement community and receives HOME funds as part of a HUD consortium with the City of Eugene. As such, the two Cities complete a joint Consolidated Plan. Both Cities also collaborate with Lane County in developing the Plan because they administer funding related to basic human services and homelessness. While the Consolidated Plan is a requirement of HUD, the Plan primarily serves as a tool to guide the use of federal HUD funds in the most effective and coordinated manner possible. In summer 2014, staff from the Cities of Eugene and Springfield commenced preparation of the 2015 Consolidated Plan. The Plan, which was developed through an extensive process including data analysis and community input and consultation, identifies housing, homelessness, and community development needs and resources and establishes priorities, strategies, and target performance goals to address these needs using HUD funds. The public comment period for the Draft Plan ended on March 25, 2015. The Consolidated Plan Advisory Committee comprised of members of the Springfield Community Development Advisory Committee, Eugene CDBG Advisory Committee, and the Intergovernmental Housing Policy Board, recommended adoption of the Draft Plan to the Eugene and Springfield City Councils on March 31, 2015. Staff has addressed all public comments received on the Draft Plan and prepared a Final Plan City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes April 27, 2015 Page 2 for adoption by the Eugene and Springfield City Councils. The adopted plan will be submitted to HUD by May 15, 2015. Once approved by HUD, the new Consolidated Plan will be in effect from July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2020. Councilor Moore said she served on that committee as part of the Housing Policy Board (HPB). She appreciated what staff had brought forward. There were some changes in the final plan based on some very good suggestions. They are all frustrated about the changes in funding, but hope there will be funding for some Springfield projects in the future. IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR WOODROW WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR WYLIE TO ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 1. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 6 FOR AND 0 AGAINST. 2. Fiscal Year 2015-2016 One -Year Action Plan of the Eugene -Springfield Consolidated Plan for Housing and Community Development. Molly Markarian, Senior Planner, presented the staff report on this item. One -Year Action Plans must be submitted to HUD prior to the beginning of each fiscal year as amendments to the five-year Eugene -Springfield Consolidated Plan. The purpose of the annual action plan is to indicate how the Cities intend to use federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) funds to fulfill the goals established in the Consolidated Plan. This is the first One -Year Action Plan under the 2015 Consolidated Plan and covers the period beginning July 1, 2015 and ending June 30, 2016. Each spring, the City Council approves funding allocations for use of CDBG and HOME funds for the next fiscal year. The proposed uses of funds are described and submitted to HUD each year in a document called the One -Year Action Plan. The Action Plan must be submitted to HUD by May 15, 2015. The proposed uses of funding must align with allowed uses of funds and with the local community needs and strategic plan identified in the 2015 Eugene -Springfield Consolidated Plan. During the February 2, 2015 work session, the City Council discussed the 2015/2016 CDBG budget and identified funding priorities of contributing to the operations of human service agencies through the Human Services Commission, Springfield's Home Repair Program, Springfield's Home Ownership Program, and Springfield's Annual Request for Proposals from community agencies and groups, along with program administration and delivery. Springfield's CDAC met on February 19, 2015 to review and refine those priorities which were then published for public comment. On April 2, 2015, the CDAC held a public hearing on the proposed use of CDBG funds and recommended approval of the allocations summary in attachment 1 of the agenda packet. One comment was received during the public hearing commending Springfield for its continued support of affordable home ownership opportunities. No written comments were received during the 30 -day comment period. As discussed during the November 24, 2014, February 2, 2015 and March 9, 2015 work session, as a result of the 2013 HOME Rule and HUD monitoring, Springfield and Eugene are in the process of transitioning from a sub -recipient model to a lead entity model for the use of HOME funds. Staff' are still working through the details of an intergovernmental agreement that will outline decision making and project selection processes for FYI 5/16. In the meantime, a high level funding allocation summary must be included in the Action Plan. On page 8 of attachment 1 of the agenda packet, the consortium funding anticipated is listed for the coming fiscal year, and the proposed uses of 5% of those funds going to support the operations of community housing development organizations, 10% of the funds going to administration, and the remainder being allocated to housing development. Specific City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes April 27, 2015 Page 3 project selection for housing development for these funds will occur through a joint RFP this Fall. In the interim, a joint body was needed to hold a public hearing on this high level allocation. The Housing Policy Board conducted a public hearing on April 6, 2015 and recommended adoption to both Councils. No comments were made during the public hearing and no comments were received during the 30 -day comment period. The Draft Springfield CDBG section was published for public comment on March 5, 2015 and the Community Development Advisory Committee (CDAC) held a public hearing on this section on April 2, 2015. The CDAC recommended allocating CDBG funds for public services, housing programs, the annual CDBG project Request for Proposals (RFP), program and project delivery, and grant administration. Specific CDBG project selection will occur through Springfield's CDBG RFP process in Spring 2015. The Draft Consortium HOME section was published for public comment on March 13, 2015 and the Intergovernmental Housing Policy Board (HPB) held a public hearing on this section on April 6, 2015. The HPB recommended allocating HOME funds primarily for housing development with small allocations for Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) operating support and grant administration. Specific housing development project selection will occur through the Consortium's Housing RFP process in Fall 2015. Mayor Lundberg said the allocation in the CDBG funds included $93,000 to administration, and an additional $17,000 for project delivery. Together those costs equal $140,000 for staff to run the programs. Over a period of time, she would like to look at a reduction in the administration piece to allow more funding into the program funds. Mr. Grimaldi said in order to do that, they would need to put other funds into the administration so more federal funds could be used for projects. Mayor Lundberg said that is correct. IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR WOODROW WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR WYLIE TO ADOPT THE SPRINGFIELD CDBG AND EUGENE -SPRINGFIELD CONSORTIUM HOME SECTIONS OF THE FY2015-2016 ONE-YEAR ACTION PLAN. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 6 FOR AND 0 AGAINST. BUSINESS FROM THE CITY ATTORNEY ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned 8:03 p.m. Minutes Recorder Amy Sowa Christine L. LundbergrU Mayor Attest: aiw,4w` L_ CityRecord r