HRA 01/09/1993 JOINT - 29638BIIMMARY MINQTEB OF JANOARY 9, 1993�
�"� JOINT CITY COIINCIL/80IISIN(,� & REDTVELOPMENT AIITHORITY MEETIN�
Attending the meeting were Larry Commers, John Meyer, Virginia
Schnabel (11:30 a.m.), Jim McFarland, William Nee, Nancy Jorgenson,
Dennis Schneider, Steve Billings, William Burns, and Barbara Dacy.
1. 8ousinq Proqram overview
Barbara Dacy and William Burns presented the overview of the
Housing Program etements and reviewed the proposed budget.
2. sinqle Familp Rehabilitation Proqrams
Barbara Dacy reviewed the program details of the Community
Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program, the Minnesota Housing
Finance Agency (MHFA) Fix-up Fund Program, and the Fannie Mae
and Moderate Income Rehab components of the Low and Moderate
Income Program.
The City Council and the HRA identified the following issues
about the Single Family Rehabilitation Program:
A. CDBG
�.-� (1) Why doesn't the Housing Coordinator run the
Community Development Block Grant Program?
(2) Does CDBG cover painting?
(3) The HRA and the City Council questioned the
first-come/first-serve distribution policy.
(4) Does our CDBG money supplant existing ACCAP
efforts in Fridley?
(5) Can we get CDBG money back if we have a
revolving loan program?
B. MHFA Fix-up Fund
(1) The HRA and City Council wanted to enforce a
home ownership requirement for gap funding on
the N�iFA program.
(2) There was concern about the use of gap
financing to add additional living space
instead of code improvements.
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C. Low and Moderate Income Program
(1)
(2)
There was concern e�ressed over the income
limits of up to $76,500.
Is the 5�s assistance on the Fannie Mae program
adequate?
(3) Can we prescreen the applications instead of
enforcing a first-come/first-serve distribution
policy?
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(4) On the Moderate Income Program, the City
Council and HRA expressed the following
concerns.
a. Income limit of $76,500 is too high.
b. Questioned the first-come/first-serve
policy.
c. Review Implementation steps
,� Barbara Dacy then reviewed the implementation steps
necessary to implement the Single Family
Rehabilitation Program. They included the
following:
(1) Hire a housing coordinator.
( 2) Draft RFP to local banks and Fannie Mae lenders
to solicit participation in programs (require
1�iFA certification as a condition for
participation).
(3) Select banks and negotiate contracts.
(4)
(5)
Prepare and execute contract with ACCAP for
CDBG program.
HRA approval of manual and resolution
initiating housing programs.
The HRA and City Council were in agreement with
implementation steps #2-#5 and then discussed the issue
of hiring a housing coordinator.
The HRA and City Council reviewed a proposed job
description prepared by Barbara Dacy. The City Council
^ and HRA agreed that an employee would be hired. The HRA
would be responsible for payment of the salary and
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3.
4.
benefits as part of the administrative budget of the
housing program.
Further, the HRA and City Council discussed the job
responsibilities of the housing coordinator. Because of
the extent of the list of responsibilities and because
of the time necessary to initiate the proposed programs,
it was agreed that the housing coordinator would not
administer the CDBG program but would evaluate doing so
next year.
Rental Rehabilitation Proqrams
Barbara Dacy reviewed the major elements of the Rental
Rehabilitation Loan Program as proposed by NIIiFA. The HRA
assistance is proposed to pay for the "gap" between the costs
of needed improvements in the building and the amount of the
loan for the owner.
The HRA and City Council identified the following issues with
the Rental Rehab Loan Program:
A.
B.
Are aesthetic improvements eligible improvements� under
the program such as painting or siding? Also, are land-
scaping and parking lot improvements included?
Should monies from the scattered site acquisition budget
be used to add on to the monies in the Rental
Rehabilitation Loan Program?
C. The HRA would consider assisting multiple family owners
with application fees if it is determined that the
application fees can be returned if the application is
not funded.
Review Sinqle Family Rehab Issues and Achieve Consenaus
A. The HRA and City Council agreed that ACCAP would
administer the CDBG program for the first year.
B. The City should not pursue a first-come/first-serve
application basis. Instead, the City should develop a
program to target rehab monies for specific properties
and to prioritize applications that provide for the best
return on the investment.
C. Staff is to follow up on the other CDBG related
questions.
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D. Staff is to follow up on the NgiFA related Fix-up Fund
program questions, but the HRA and City Council did agree
to the priority of eligible improvements as distributed
in the handout prepared by Barbara Dacy.
E. The City Council and HRA determined that the income
limits of the single family rehab programs would not
exceed $55,000 or 150� of the City of Fridley median
income.
F. The 5o assistance on the Fannie Mae program would be
implemented and then reviewed after six months of
experience.
G. The Moderate Income Rehab Only project would not be
funded and would remain in name only. The program would
be re-evaluated after six months of experience.
H. Authorization was given to hire a housing coordinator.
5. Review Multiple Family Rehab issues and Achieve Consensus
A. It was determined that the proposed budget for rental
^ rehab was adequate.
B. The scattered site aaquisition budget, as well as all
allocations, will be evaluated after the first six months
of experience.
C. Staff was to follow up on eligible improvements questions
for rental properties.
6. Review Proposal on Rental L3censinq Inspection Proqram and
Aahieve Consensus
Barbara Dacy presented the following proposal on the Rental
Inspection Program:
A. The housing coordinator would develop a strategy for
rental inspection program with the following parameters:
(1) Inspections to be completed by a contract inspector.
(2) Clerical work to be completed by part-time contract
employee.
(3) Cost not to exceed $55,000.
(4) Inspect up to 1,000 units per year.
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B. Housing coordinator will prepare ordinance amendments to:
(1} Raise rental licensing fees to cover contract
employee costs and costs for repeat inspections.
(2) Amend Chapter 220 to adopt HUD Housing Quality
Standards or other requirements.
The HRA and City Council agreed to the housing coordinator
preparing a strategy on the rental inspection program as
presented, by Barbara Dacy. Stressed, however, was the
necessity to amend the Rental Licensing ordinance to adopt
code standards that would improve the appearance and the
livability of the units. Barbara Dacy suggested that other
communities' ordinances be reviewed, and the best of the
ordinances be used to make amendments. Further, she agreed
to research whether it would be legal to require owners to
mandate draperies or other appropriate window treatments
inside the units.
Also discussed was the necessity to raise the licensing fees
to offset the costs for the inspection program. John Meyer
suggested that the City investigate the alternative of
,� crediting the rental license fee if owners actively use an
agency to check potential tenants' credit and rental history.
� The HRA and City Council directed staff to investigate this
issue further.
Councilmember Billings also suggested that the City
investigate the St. Paul model of certificate of occupancy
inspections, as well as the rental licensing fees.
�. A�journ
The meeting was adjourned at 3:00 p.m.
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