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HRA 03/03/2011 - 30013CITY OF FRIDLEY HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY COMMISSION MARCH 3. 2011 CALL TO ORDER: Vice Chairperson Gabel called the HRA Meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. ROLL CALL: MEMBERS PRESENT: William Holm Pat Gabel Stephen Eggert John Meyer MEMBERS ABSENT: Larry Commers NONMEMBERS PRESENT: Paul Bolin, HRA Assistant Executive Director Julie Jones, Planning Manager William Burns, City Manager Becky Kiernan, Accountant ACTION ITEMS: 1. Approval of Ezpenditures MOTION by Commissioner Holm to approve the expenditures as presented. Seconded by Commissioner Eggert. UPON VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, VICE CHAIRPERSON GABEL DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY 2. Approval of January 6, 2011 Meeting Minutes MOTION by Commissioner Holm to approve the January 6, 2011 minutes as presented. Seconded by Corru�issioner Meyer. UPON VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, VICE CHAIRPERSON GABEL DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY 3. Approval of 2011 Budget Paul Bolin, HRA Assistant Executive Director, provided highlights from the January 6, 2011 Meeting. At this meeting highlights of the 2010 financial activity were reviewed as well as an overview of the proposed 2011 budget. Minor changes were made to the Draft but no changes were made to the funding numbers. The document was reformatted so it is easier to read. Staff recommends a motion approving the 2011 HRA Budget as presented. Commissioner Holm asked if the tax increment districts that have been decertified should be listed. Mr. Bolin said that would be an easy change to make. Any districts that are past the year jurisdiction can be pulled from the list. MOTION by Commissioner Holm to approve the 2011 Budget. Seconded by Commissioner Eggert. UPON VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, VICE CHAIRPERSON GABEL DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY 4. Approval of Contract Extension for Home Loan Program Paul Bolin, HRA Assistant Executive Director, said that the HRA has contracted with the Center for Energy and Environment (CEE) for loan program administration since 1996. 'The Program Administration includes: marketing the program, processing loan applications, determining eligibility, and customizing loans to individual needs. CEE also provides residents with technical assistance on topics such as remodeling, energy cons�rvation, and indoor air quality. William Burns, City Manager, asked if there was a cost to the home owner for a remodel visit. Mr. Bolin said that the service is free to the homeowner; HRA pays the fee of $130. Commissioner Meyer asked how many municipalities CEE serves. Mr. Bolin was not sure but thought it was well over the 35 metro communities. Two groups provide this type of service and the other one is the Housing Resource Center. They do some work in Fridley through Anoka County and administer a deferred grant program for low income people. Commissioner Meyer thought CEE offers an efficient business for the fees they chazge. The service is very reasonable and they are doing an excellent job. Mr. Bolin said that CEE started as part of the City of Minneapolis Community Development Department and they were so successful they started their own nonprofit entity. Commissioner Eggert asked for further explanation of the fees and how they aze paid. Mr. Bolin said that the way the billing works with CEE for those residents interested in remodel advisor; all they have to do is call CEE and schedule an appointment. CEE will bill the city directly to pay for the remodel advisor visit. Also if you were to borrow money from CEE there isn't an additional $550 that the residents pay for closing costs, the origination fee is paid by the HRA. An advanta.ge in using this program is that in addition to the city building inspectors coming out to make sure that HRA loan dollars are being spent properly, CEE will also go out once the work is completed to ins}�ect that everything is done before the final payment is made. MOTION by Commissioner Meyer to approve the contract extension for home loan program. Seconded by Commissioner Holm. UPON VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, VICE CHAIRPERSON GABEL DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY 5. Approval of Resolution Declaring Properties Blighted Paul Bolin, HRA Assistant Executive Director, reviewed three commercial properties located in the Gateway Northeast (GWNE) area that are slated for demolition. To preserve the ability to place properties into a future redevelopment TIF District, a blight analysis and resolution declaring properties blighted is required. Statutes prescribe a 2-part test; Test 1 analyzes the defects in structural elements, utilities, light, ventilation, fire protection, accessibility, etc. and Test 2 determines if the cost of bringing the building up to new code standards exceeds 15% of cost of building new. All three properties meet the statutory requirements for substandard buildings. Test 1 for all three buildings lacked accessibility, had structural defects, lacked fire sprinkling and modern ventilation requirements. Mr. Bolin said that Staff recommends the Authority approve a resolution determining that these properties are structurally substandard, in accordance with State TIF Statutes. The Adoption of resolution is not required to demolish properties, but is necessary to preserve ability to place properties into any potential TIF District. MOTION by Commissioner Holm to approve the resolution declaring properties blighted. Seconded by Commissioner Eggert. UPON VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, VICE CHAIRPERSON GABEL DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY 6. Awarding of Bid for Demolitions Paul Bolin, HRA Assistant Executive Director, said that the City Public Works Department ran a formal bid process on our behalf. Bids opened on March 3, 2011 and 11 bids were received. Bids ranged from $83,951 to $144,505 to demolish three commercial and one residential property. Staff recommends the contract be awarded to Buberl Recycling in the amount of $83,951. The bid price was within staff estimates and referrals from other Cities were very positive. Demolition will be completed in the desired timeframe. MOTION by Commissioner Holm to approve the bid for demolition. Seconded by Commissioner Meyer. UPON VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, VICE CHAIRPERSON GABEL DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY Commissioner Eggert asked when the demolition would start. Mr. BoGn said not before March 16 because the City Council will approve a similar resolution on March 14. All work needs to be completed by the end of May. Once the contractor is started, the work needs to be done in 30 days; and once they start tearing a building down, they have so many hours to get it hauled out and the hole filled up. 7. Approval of Mowing Contract Paul Bolin, HRA Executive Assistant Director, said that a formal proposal process was done in conjunction with Community Development code enforcement for one contractor for both HRA and CE Abatements. Proposals opened on February 25, 2011 and seven proposals were received. Bids ranged from $725 to $1325 / mc for the 28 properties owned by the Authority. Not all bidders have the capacity to respond as needed / not able to provide municipal references. Mr. Bolin said that staff recommends the Authority select Passau Inc. to mow the Authority properties in 2011. This company was best suited to meet the needs of both HRA and Community Development; they have experience in Fridley and presented a good price. Commissioner Meyer asked if this included weed control. Mr. Bolin said that dandelions are not considered a weed with city ordinance. Where there aze problems with other weeds staff will work with the contractor to spot fertilize, kill weeds or plant grass seed. Commissioner Meyer asked if there was a need to do more active weed control. Mr. Bolin said that part of the problem is that vacant lots don't have irrigation so they are not maintained very well. Lots that are cazed for with homes on it like on Mississippi Street, a better job is done. Each lot is maintained to a level that is appropriate for the circumstances. Commissioner Eggert asked what was paid for this service last year. Mr. Bolin didn't have the exact figure but recalled it to be around $18-20,000. The contractor that was used last summer made the highest proposal this year. MOTION by Commissioner Meyer to approve the mowing contract. Seconded by Commissioner Eggert. UPON VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, VICE CHAIRPERSON GABEL DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: 1. Housing Loan Program Update Paul Bolin, HRA Assistant Executive Director, said that in February one RLF loan was closed and two other loans. This makes a total of three loans year-to-date. There has been one Remodeling Advisor Visit so far this year. Mr. Bolin highlighted the following: Home and Garden Show was this past Sahuday and the snow and cold had a big impact on attendance. Usually about 1,500 people attend and this year closer to 500 people attended. Representatives from the Fire Department helped staff the booth this year and had good information to share on fire safety. A lot of positive comments were heard on the remodeling program. Open houses on the HRA properties were going on at the same time and 70 people went through the house on Saturday and 35 on Sunday. Mississippi Home had a few showings in the last month. As spring arrives we may want to start looking at a price reduction. People have not been saying that the home is overpriced, they just are not buying. If a price adjustment is needed, staff will bring that information to the April meeting. Commissioner Gabel asked if staff looked at comparables in that neighborhood. Mr. Bolin said that the home on Mississippi is not comparable as other homes are not remodeled and don't have the addition on the back. Faulkner Project will move into phase two this spring. This project has generated a lot of interest and phone calls. 28 beds are already spoken for in the facility that is being built and there is a great demand in Fridley for that type of housing. 2. Transit Overlay Zoning District Update Julie Jones, Planning Manager, said that on January 6 the HRA heard about the proposed TOD text amendment. Some excellent questions were raised that staff has spent time debating. The broad description best protects the city so that has not changed. Snow storage will be left up to the property owner and for industrial property additions with the new reduced front yard setback it was concluded it was not in some cases, so an exception was added in the code for industrial properties. Ms. Jones said that on January 19 a Public Hearing was before the Planning Commission. 'There was much opposition from the Hyde Park neighborhood. Remember that we also have a proposed text amendment in progress that would allow multi-family housing to rebuild as multi- family housing. While that change has already been made by State Statute 7 yrs ago, bringing the matter forward at the same time as TOD has caused some added concern for folks. Ms. Jones said that following public notice, stafF has heard both sides of the story from property owners — apt. owners want to be able to rebuild to a different design, but many single family owners are concerned about more units added to the neighborhood. There was much negative political testimony about Northstar, which was discouraging, when the premise of a TOD area is to accentuate the positives that Northstar brings. One change was made to the proposed TOD text following that hearing — changed landscaping requirements for a TOD Plan in Hyde Park to match R-3 code Ms. Jones said that on February 7 a Public Hearing was before City Council and between the Planning Commission and City Council hearings, Pam Reynold's circulated a petition throughout Hyde Park, based on an assumption that changing Hyde Park code required a petition. The wording of the petition voiced concern about allowing more multi-family and commercial development in the neighborhood. Of course, many property owners signed it. The petition demonstrated strong opposition from the Hyde Park neighborhood. Ms. Jones said that HRA should be aware that staff received a couple of phone calls from Hyde Pazk residents tellin� us what people were being told that the HRA was planning to build townhomes along 3` Street now with the land they own instead of single family homes. Ms. Jones said that Council decided to table the public hearing to April 11 and directed staff to host some additional meetings on TOD to give the public more time to study the proposed code and react to it. Since then, I have heard from Holiday Companies, who opposes it, citing that TOD zonings typically regulate a gas station out of the area. Ms. Jones said that public meetings are occurring next Monday at 3:30pm and 6:30pm, where we will let folks ask questions. The only major concern there seems to be for the Hyde Park neighborhood is the proposal to allow the maximum building height to go from 30' to 45'. 5taff feels this height allowance is necessary to allow the rebuilding of two-story buildings with tuck under parking. Just this past week, we experienced a setback that demonstrates why we need the TOD overlay zoning district. Triland informed us that they are changing their redevelopment plans for the CUB Foods site, so they are going to be submitting a new PUD Plan, which by what we have been told, has fewer TOD-like features than their current plan. Ms. Jones said that good things aze happening. While the TOD overlay zoning district is still under discussion, we are seeing some exciting things happen because of it. The City just received TLC grant funding for sidewalk and bikeway improvements along Main Street in the TOD area from BWTC. The City is evaluating a partnership with the County on a TE grant application with assistance from SHIP for a pedestrian bridge over 694 at Main Street. NCDA received a$150,000 HUD grant to conduct market studies around the various train stations, including Fridley's. Ms. Jones said that staff is finding that when we mention we are implementing a TOD zoning district around the station, we are getting much more enthusiasm about getting grant funds, so it is really opening a lot of doors for us to secure county, state and federal funding that will allow us to stretch our City dollars to improve the areas around the train station. It is a busy and exciting time for us in Planning. Thank you for your interest in following our work on this text amendment. I hope to be able to report soon that we have a finished product that lays the foundation for Fridley to experience some positive redevelopment in the Northstar area in the future. Commissioner Gabel asked how much the grant was and when work would begin. Ms. Jones said Fridley would receive $110,000 and it is a$200,000 project. T'he project is set to happen along with the repaving of Main Street this summer. Commissioner Gabel asked what HRA's intentions were in the Hyde Park area. T'he plan is to build single family homes there and development the area. Significant progress has been made in this area but the developer had financial problems. HRA is still hopeful things will turn around and a new developer will be found to take over the lots and continue what was started. Commissioner Meyer suggested formulating something regarding this issue. Commissioner Holm said that when the Gateway West development was approved HRA had to obtain City Council approval for proper zoning of this property. People wanted single family homes and HRA said okay; it was clear what we wanted and still plan to go forward with that plan. William Burns, City Manager, suggested the following statement: HRA intends to complete redevelopment of single family homes on Third Street in Hyde Park as originally planned. MOTION by Commissioner Holm to approve the above resolution statement. Seconded by Commissioner Eggert. UPON VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, VICE CHAIRPERSON GABEL DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY ADJOURNMENT: MOTION by Commissioner Meyer to adjourn. Seconded by Commissioner Holm. UPON VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, VICE CHAIRPERSON GABEL DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY AND THE MEETING ADJOURNED AT 9:30 P.M. Respectfully Submitted, . � �� Krista Monsrud, Recording Secretary CITY OF FRIDLEY SIGN-IN SHEET HOUSING & REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MEETING �i�t-� ��° J �, �C�� i Name and Address Agenda Item of Interest � �