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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/03/2017 Work Session City of Springfield Work Session Meeting MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD "TUESDAY JANUARY 3, 2017 The City of Springfield Council met in a work session in the Jesse Maine Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Tuesday January 3, 2017 at 6:30 p.m.,with Mayor Lundberg presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Lundberg and Councilors VanGordon, Moore, Stoehr, Woodrow and Pishioneri. Also present were City Manager Gino Grimaldi, City Attorney Mary Bridget Smith, City Recorder Amy Sowa and members of the staff. Councilor Wylie was absent(excused). 1. Community Development Block Grant(CDBG)FYI Allocation Process. Erin Fifield, Community Development Analyst,presented the staff report on this item. Ms. Fifield said staff will discuss and receive direction from Council on the draft allocation of the Community Development Block Grant(CDBG)One Year Action Plan for fiscal year 2018. As part of the process,the City will publish the draft allocation for public comment in January. The Community Development Advisory Committee (CDAC)will hold a public hearing in March,make a final recommendation to the Council during that time, and the Council will have a discussion and make their final decision in May. Ms. Fifield said in putting the draft together, staff has estimated revenues for FYI 8 to be about $600,000.At this time,the Housing and Urban Development(HUD)entitlement funds are unknown and should be finalized by Congress in the next few months. Staff also included some prior year resources based on current projects that are in transition, such as Glenwood Place. Timing is uncertain, so they have allowed as much flexibility as possible to be re-allocated if needed, or used for land acquisition for that project. It is uncertain whether or not they will be ready to use those funds in FYI 8. She noted the CDAC recommendations for expenditures. Discussion during the CDAC meeting centered around the allocation of funds for land acquisition and money towards Requests for Proposals (RFP)that will allow non-profits to apply for funds for capital needs. Both programs and strategies are unknown since the City doesn't have a land acquisition program. Council has been discussing that strategy during discussions regarding affordable housing. The RFP may need to be reworked based on direction from HUD. Ms. Fifield reviewed the options the CDAC had discussed during their meeting. The group was split on whether or not to include money for the RFP. Ultimately,their recommendation was to include $100,000 to be put out for the RFP. They also had suggested criteria for the selection process. It is Council direction on how they want to allocate those funds. Councilor Moore asked if the rehabilitation funds were grants and the average amount. Ms. Fifield said the grant is from the Federal HUD. When the City provides the rehab, it is a grant that is capped at$5000 per household over a five-year period. It is tracked per household. The City has City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes January 3,2017 Page 2 averaged about 46 households per year at a total amount of about$40,000 in repairs plus staff costs. The funds included in the information is lower than we have used previously,but is set that way to try to shore up those figures. Councilor Moore asked about the home ownership program and if it was a grant or loan. Ms. Fifield said it is a loan and is capped at about$7000. The current loans have come in around $4000 to $5000. It is a zero percent interest loan that is paid off when the home is sold. At this time, the funds have been coming back through the HOME program, but could come back through CDBG. Councilor Woodrow asked what was allocated for home emergency in the past. Ms. Fifield said $110,000 and then$140,000. They have been spending about$110,000. This year, they opted to lower the amount to reassess how to use the funds in the future. Councilor Woodrow asked if information about these funds was available to people who might need them. Ms. Fifield said Ms. Olsen had put together a list of housing repair options and a brochure. They get referrals through other organizations. Councilor Woodrow said a lot of seniors could use assistance. She wondered if the City could reach out further to people since the money is there. She wants to make sure it is fully publicized before cutting the funds. Ms. Fifield said they could work on improving their outreach, and sharing information on how much money we have. She didn't think they would have to say `no' to anyone requesting. Councilor VanGordon said he has the same concern and would like more outreach before cutting the amount of those funds. He asked if the $225,000 was for land banking. Ms. Fifield said this is up to Council and how the program is structured. It could be used for acquisition of land or a building that could be repurposed for housing. Councilor VanGordon said he would like to see a line item for the G Street Project in the $100,000. Ms. Fifield said previously,they were able to put the allocations into G Street because we received excess program income,which allowed us to use additional funds towards public services. There is a 15%cap on the level of activity for public service and we currently allocate that amount to the Human Services Commission. Councilor VanGordon said it sounds like they would need to have something specific the funds would be used for, otherwise it comes out of the capital costs that go to the Human Services Commission. Perhaps they should follow-up with them about the options. Ms. Fifield said they could have that as part of the Human Services Commission(HSC)conversation, or as part of the request for proposals conversation. Either way, she would want that allocation to come through this process by April so it is approved by the Council as part of their plan. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes January 3,2017 Page 3 Councilor VanGordon confirmed that if it wasn't part of the 15% used:for services, it would need to be a capital expenditure. He would like staff to have a conversation with Tom Mulhern regarding possible capital expenditure related to G Street. Councilor Pishioneri asked for clarification of the $598,000. Ms.Fifield said it is an estimate of the total funds with carryover. Councilor Pishioneri discussed the maximum of 20%for grant administration and whether or not that was based on actual work being done or only because it was the maximum allowed. Acquisition of land or property is important to add to our inventory and he's not sure RFP's are as important. It's a small figure. The emergency home repair program is a great program. He suggested contacting Lane Council of Governments(LCOG)about getting referrals from those in their Senior Service program. We could perhaps help some of those people and partner with LCOG and their program. Mayor Lundberg said another work session is needed on this topic. The administrative costs are larger since they don't separate out the project costs. Project delivery is a much bigger piece. She asked where they were in terms of reporting. She discussed the two options: going out for an RFP, or moving the $100,000 to other categories without an RFP. She asked about the status of the non-profits who have not completed the work with the funds already allocated. When it comes to home repair, it is a bigger audience than those involved in the LCOG senior program. When she managed the service department for an HVAC company,technicians would let her know about people they had visited who needed assistance with finance repairs or purchases. The Mayor was able to contact staff at the City to visit the home. She suggested reaching out to those types of companies to have them refer people. The City of Eugene and Lane County have similar programs. There are other avenues we should tap into to make sure people are aware of these funds. She asked about the status of the Glenwood Place project. The City committed funding and she wanted to know if it was moving forward. She would like to see the administrative funds percentage for project delivery taken out and separated. Councilor VanGordon asked if the $118,000 in rollover funds can be used for non-capital expenditures. Ms. Fifield said it can't be used for public services. Council-elect Stoehr asked about 45 "Support a human services delivery system". He asked if that meant shelter and food. Ms. Fifield said it is to pay for staff costs for non-profits who help those who need food and shelter, such as Food for Lane County, Relief Nursery, etc. Council-elect Stoehr said it looks like we are capped in terms of funds we can provide to the HSC. There are a large number of people including students who are homeless and he would like to see some of the $100,000 go to Human Services. Mr. Grimaldi said the City does provide other funds from our General Fund,to the HSC. Ms. Fifield said the Poverty and Homelessness Board is also working on finding housing. They do not have a funding source on their own,but include a coalition of people who could help. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes January 3,2017 Page 4 Mayor Lundberg said she has an issue with how HSC spends money because they have no strategy. If we want to look at our community needs,we need to look at surveys and assessments from community partners such as LCOG,United Way, and Lane Livability Consortium. The Council needs to choose priorities based on policies. They won't be able to get non-profits to work on the City's priorities unless Council sets them. Those priorities could help determine the RFP. This money can be used for housing. The fact that the HOME funds got separated from the CDBG funds is a roadblock in what can be done that is substantial. Council has prioritized affordable housing, land banking,home repair home ownership assistance. She would prefer not putting out the RFP until they answer those questions. They could then base the RFP on those priorities. Councilor Moore said she would like to see how the HSC funds are broken down. Mr. Grimaldi clarified that included funds only provided by the City of Springfield through CDBG and General Funds. He said staff could provide that information. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:59 p.m. Minutes Recorder—Amy Sowa G4iri-sti4w4T-0g a n G o r d o n Mayor Council President Attest: Amy Sow City Recorder