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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHousing & Redevelopment Authority Minutes 01-25-2000MINUTES PLYMOUTH HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY January 25, 2000 PRESENT: Chair Brad Brown, Commissioners Susan Henderson, Leon Michlitsch, Dick Abel, Tim Bildsoe ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Executive Director Anne Hurlburt, HRA Supervisor Ed Goldsmith, Housing Specialist Rebecca Stoen and Senior Clerk/Typist Barb Peterson OTHERS PRESENT: Planning Commission Liaison Sarah Reinhardt RECEPTION IN HONOR OF FORMER COMMISSIONERS CRAIN, HELMKEN, AND JOHNSON — 6:00 p.m. Chair Brown congratulated and presented former Commissioners Crain, Helmken, and Johnson with resolutions recognizing their contribution to the HRA and the City. 2. CALL TO ORDER A meeting of the Plymouth Housing and Redevelopment Authority was called to order by Chair Brown on January 25, 2000 at 7:00 p.m. at Plymouth Towne Square (PTS), 15500 37"' Avenue North. 3. RESOLUTION DEDICATING THE COMMUNITY/DINING ROOM AT PTS IN HONOR OF H. DAVID CRAIN Supervisor Goldsmith presented a staff recommendation for the Board to adopt Resolution 2000-01, resolution dedicating the Community/Dining Room at Plymouth Towne Square in honor of H. David Crain for his service on the HRA Board of Commissioners MOTION by Commissioner Bildsoe, seconded by Commissioner Michlitsch, recommending that the Board adopt the resolution dedicating the Community/Dining Room at Plymouth Towne Square in honor of H. David Crain for his service on the HRA Board of Commissioners. Roll Call Vote. 5 Ayes. Motion adopted unanimously. Following the motion former Commissioner H. David Crain was presented with a resolution dedicating the community/dining room at Plymouth Towne Square in his honor. He then hung the resolution by the entry to the dining room. The meeting was then opened to questions from the Plymouth Towne Square residents. A resident inquired about why the windows are so hard to open. Chair Brown said they will look into that matter. Another stated that the stoves are hard to clean. Chair Brown said that when they are replaced they will have self-cleaning ovens. The community room being hard to hear in was another concern of a resident. Discussion was also held regarding the traffic situation in the area of Plymouth Towne Square. 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION by Commissioner Henderson, seconded by Commissioner Abel, to recommend approval of the December 16, 1999 minutes. Vote. 5 Ayes. Motion adopted unanimously. Plymouth Housing and Redevelopment Authority January 25, 2000 Page 2 5. PLYMOUTH TOWN SQUARE MONTHLY REPORT Plymouth Towne Square Manager Burnham thanked the HRA Board for meeting at Plymouth Towne Square and for providing the meal. She said that the building entry door had to be re -keyed because a resident's purse had been stolen with the keys to the building in it. All residents have garage stalls at this time. 6. STATUS OF OUTLOT D BASS LAKE HEIGHTS ADDITION AND RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING SUBMISSION OF A FUNDING APPLICATION TO THE MHFA Housing Supervisor Goldsmith explained that Outlot D is a tax -forfeited property that the HRA is considering for development of affordable housing. An initial title search had been done and it was learned that the neighboring homeowners may have access and use easements over the property. An attorney for one of the homeowners also brought this to the attention of staff. Because of the need to further research the legal ramifications of this situation, there will be a delay in moving forward with acquisition and development of this property. This will also delay the HRA meeting with the neighbors that was to have been held in February. The dates of March 20 & March 28 are available at the library. Commissioner Henderson asked if we would be ready by then. The staff report included a recommendation to make an application for funding to the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency (MHFA) for financing the development, but considering the delay, staff is withdrawing this recommendation. Chair Brown asked what the legal process would be. If we decide to go forth and the City Attorney determines the neighbors do have an interest we could undertake a condemnation of those interests. Planning Commission Liaison Reinhardt wanted to know how the neighbor with the attorney was aware of this. Supervisor Goldsmith indicated that several of the neighbors have known about the tax forfeiture and the HRA's interest for well over a year. Surveyors had recently been surveying and stacking the property. This prompted several neighbors to contact the City to ask what was happening. There had never been a formal homeowners association. Jay Nelson, President of the Plymouth Housing Alliance asked about the nature of the usage easements over the property. Supervisor Goldsmith indicated that the Outlot had been intended to be used as greenspace. Chair Brown asked about a timeline. Supervisor Goldsmith responded that the attorneys are in the research phase right now. By the February meeting we should have further information. . Chair Brown asked the commissioners for their thoughts. Commissioner Abel said we need more information. He asked what the neighbor wants out of it. Supervisor Goldsmith indicated that some of them want it to remain greenspace. Our attorney is talking to the County's attorney regarding the County's position on the tax forfeiture. Chair Brown indicated we should go ahead and book a date for the public meeting. We will tentatively set the 28th of March if Ginny Black is available. Commissioner Abel asked if Ginny has received any calls regarding this. Supervisor Goldsmith indicated that he had talked with her and she has not. Approximately four residents have called the city in regards to the issue. HRA Specialist Stoen indicated that the next MFHA application deadline would be in June. The proposed HRA RESOLUTION 2000-02 was withdrawn by staff and not voted on due to the fact we are not submitting an application at this time. 7. WAIVER OF EQUITY REQUIREMENT FOR REHABILITATION LOAN PROGRAM HRA Specialist Stoen said that several residents for the Tiburon Rehabilitation Loan program are unable to meet the equity requirements. Their equity in their homes are less than the loan. Three applicants have problems under the equity requirements now and there will probably be one more also. Commissioner Abel asked what types of problems the homes have. HRA Specialist Stoen indicated that these are a combination of major items, such as foundation, roof, siding, and furnace. Commissioner Henderson asked what effect the waiver will have. There would be an increased risk that if the owner were to default on Plymouth Housing and Redevelopment Authority January 25, 2000 Page 3 their mortgage, there would not be enough equity to repay the loan. However, since at least half of the loan will be from the Metro Council grant, the HRA's exposure is more limited. The repairs are structural and will not add much additional value to the home. Mortgage and tax payments are verified to be certain that each homeowner is current on their payments before assistance is approved. These are the typical HRA 30 year deferred loans. Chair Brown wanted to know if the purchaser got a better deal because of the problems. These problems were not evident at the time of purchase or occurred after purchase. Chair Brown asked about using the waiver for emergency cases also. MOTION by Commissioner Abel, seconded by Commissioner Michlitsch, recommending that the Board approve a waiver of the equity requirement for applicants for the Tiburon Housing Rehabilitation Loan Program. They further recommended that the Board amend the Housing Rehabilitation Loan Guidelines to authorize the HRA Executive Director to waive the equity requirement in the case of emergency repairs as defined in the Guidelines for the citywide program. Vote. 5 Ayes. Motion adopted unanimously. 8. STATUS OF COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE — verbal report Director Hurlburt said they are in the final stages of the plan and should get it finished Feb. 4th or 7th There will be a workshop all day Saturday, Feb. 12th. We will hold open houses in March for the public and the entire plan will be on the City of Plymouth Website. March 29th is the official public hearing. The plan will be in place sometime this summer. A timed agenda will be put together for Feb. 12th. Supervisor Goldsmith suggested the three new commissioners read the housing and land use portions of the Plan. 9. HRA STRATEGIC PLAN — PRIORITIES WORKSHEET AND CONTINUATION FROM DECEMBER MEETING Chair Brown explained the four key result areas and how we have focused on affordable housing to date. He asked the commissioners to prioritize these areas. The majority felt that affordable housing would be number one, redevelopment number two, economic developmentibusiness climate number three, and social services number four. Housing Supervisor Goldsmith provided background on the social services aspect. Commissioner Henderson asked if there is any agency that takes responsibility for redevelopment. Director Hurlburt said it is the City of Plymouth and the HRA. Discussion took place regarding the redevelopment objectives. Director Hurlburt explained that it is a philosophical issue of how far we are willing to go in spending for redevelopment, condemning property and if we are willing to displace people from their homes. Commissioner Henderson and Commissioner Abel chose A2 - select target areas, solicit developers, and rely on market financing. Planning Commission Liaison Reinhardt chose a combination of A2 & A3, select target areas, but also encourage developers to propose sites, using market financing. Commissioner Michlitsch chose Al, select target areas with aggressive use of public financing. Director Hurlburt asked if we are comfortable encouraging developers to come to us. The Commissioners said they were. Commissioner Henderson wanted to know what role the City Council and Planning Commission take in this. Chair Brown said the HRA has to be the leader. The next topic discussed was the affordable housing objectives. Plymouth Housing and Redevelopment Authority January 25, 2000 Page 4 Commissioner Abel prioritized them as B2, B 1, B3 — actively find and acquire sites for private development, facilitate private and nonprofit developers, and as a last resort take a direct role by developing, owning, and managing. Commissioner Michlitsch chose B3 - take a direct role by developing, owning, and managing. Planning Commission Liaison Reinhardt B1, B2, B3 — emphasis on facilitating private and nonprofit development owning, but also finding and acquiring sites in support of private development, and as a last resort take a direct role by developing, owning, and managing. Commissioner Henderson would go up to B3, developing owning & managing when necessary to accomplish affordable housing goals. Chair Brown chose B2 and possibly B3 — actively find and acquire sites for private development, but if necessary develop, own, and manage. Economic Dev./Business Climate Objectives was the next topic. Commissioner Henderson chose C 1 — develop a promotional process to respond to businesses interested in locating in Plymouth, modified to include development of informational materials that are helpful and give support to businesses already located in Plymouth and C5 to be aware of issues around work force development. Planning Commission Liaison Reinhardt felt that most important were C5 — workforce development, C2 — use CDBG funds for eligible economic development activities, and C 1 — development of a promotional process to respond to businesses interested in locating in Plymouth. Commissioners Michlitsch and Abel chose C5 — participation in workforce development programs focusing on the relationship of affordable housing and transportation to employment. HRA Specialist Stoen brought up rehab loans for small businesses. Director Hurlburt said the revolving loan fund from Value Rx will be coming in so we will have funds to do this type of thing. It could be under Redevelopment or Economic Development. Chair Brown said we need to look at what type of businesses we want in Plymouth. Discussion took place regarding the human services objectives: Commissioners Abel and Michlitsch chose D4 — remaining focused on using CDBG funds for human services directly tied to housing and family self-sufficiency. Planning Commission Liaison Reinhardt recommended grouping all 4 objectives together and determine what services residents of the City need. Commissioner Henderson chose D3 and D4 — using and remaining focused on CDBG funds for services in support of housing and family self-sufficiency. Supervisor Goldsmith spoke about primary human services being split between PRISM, serving the Robbinsdale School District area & Interfaith Outreach and Community Partners, serving the Wayzata School District area. The above information will be further refined by staff for discussion in February. 10. OTHER BUSINESS The February meeting will be on Thursday, Feb. 17. It will include a public hearing for the allocation of program year 2000 CDBG funds. 11. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 10:00 p.m.