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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHousing & Redevelopment Authority Minutes 01-28-2010APPROVED MINUTES PLYMOUTH HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY JANUARY 28, 2010 PRESENT: Chairman Jeff Kulaszewicz, Commissioners Paul Caryotakis, Steve Ludovissie, David Miller and Bob Stein ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Housing Program Manager Jim Barnes and Office Support Specialist Laurie Lokken OTHERS PRESENT: Grace Management Representative Jody Boedigheimer 1. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Kulaszewicz called the Plymouth Housing and Redevelopment Authority meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. 2. CONSENT AGENDA A. Approve HRA Meeting Minutes from November 19, 2009. B. Plymouth Towne Square. Accept November 2009 and December 2009 housing reports. C. Vicksburg Crossing. Accept November 2009 and December 2009 housing reports. D. Shenandoah Woods Apartments. Approve revised Management Agreement. MOTION by Commissioner Caryotakis, seconded by Commissioner Miller, to approve the consent agenda. Vote. 5 Ayes. MOTION approved unanimously. 3. NEW BUSINESS A. Vicksburg Crossing. November 2009 and December 2009 Marketing Reports. Grace Management Representative Boedigheimer said that there had been another deposit since generating the reports. She said that there were eight units available as another one bedroom had been rented. She said that the Style E unit would be occupied soon. Grace Management Representative Boedigheimer said that the next big marketing event would be a Cinco de Mayo party. She said that the December open house had been successful with consistent traffic and tours. She said that interested prospects need to sell their house first or are looking six months down the road. Approved Plymouth Housing and Redevelopment Authority January 28, 2010 Page 2 Grace Management Representative Boedigheimer said that there would be one affordable unit coming available as the resident is moving to Plymouth Towne Square. Chair Kulaszewicz asked how long the affordable waiting list was. Grace Management Representative Boedigheimer said that they have 39 to 40 names and they would be able get someone relatively quickly. She said that the longest wait had been about a month. Chair Kulaszewicz asked what the rent would be. Grace Management Representative Boedigheimer replied $720 per month for a one bedroom. Grace Management Representative Boedigheimer said that November and December 2009 were very quiet but that it had been picking up again. Chair Kulaszewicz asked if she had any sense for the general climate for senior housing metro wide. Grace Management Representative Boedigheimer said that has been quiet; however, she had heard about a new building going up in Maple Grove. Chair Kulaszewicz asked if it would be market rate. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that he would check into the kind of building and program there. Commissioner Caryotakis said that there was also a senior housing building going up in Wayzata. Grace Management Representative Boedigheimer said that was a Presbyterian Homes venture and it was quiet for now. She said that development had been very slow and that nationally, the independent market was around 90 percent with some areas suffering more and some with lower occupancy rates. B. Plymouth Towne Square. Letter from Residents Concerning Rent Increases. Housing Program Manager Barnes gave an overview of the staff report. He added that after the staff report had been sent, staff had an opportunity to gather additional information that the City of Maple Grove has a senior independent living building that they own and operate. He said that for a one bedroom unit, they are charging $628 to $793 per month and for a two bedroom unit they are charging $809 to $886 per month. Chair Kulaszewicz asked if that was market rate. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that wouldn't be market rate rents because they would have the same market events that we would have, so they are below what they would consider market as well. Commissioner Ludovissie asked how old the building was. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that the building in Maple Grove was built around 1996, not too much newer than our building. Commissioner Stein asked if that would be considered a subsidized building. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that they income qualify their residents and that he did not know their source of subsidy. Commissioner Miller asked if they had the same minimum rents as Plymouth. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that he only asked what their rent ranges were. Grace Management Representative said that they were like the affordable apartments set up at Vicksburg Crossing, Approved Plymouth Housing and Redevelopment Authority January 28, 2010 Page 3 where they would have to qualify based on income. Housing Program Manager Barnes added that they would get the same tax advantages that we would get. David Katsnelson, spokesperson for residents of Plymouth Towne Square, gave a presentation of a chart they created analyzing rent increases. He said that from 2001 to 2010, the rent was raised 63 percent. He said that the City receives $10,000 and more revenue per month. He said that this did not include two-thirds of the residents at Plymouth Towne Square whose income was 35 percent above the minimum. He said that their incomes had not changed at all, so this change in the rent hit mostly the low income residents. He said that these are residents who get SSI, subsidy assistance from the federal government. He said that this revenue came only from these residents and they did not think that was fair. Mr. Katsnelson said that rents changed for different parts of the building. He said that for residents whose incomes are 35 percent above the minimum, the rent didn't change at all through the ten years. He said that residents who pay the full price at Plymouth Towne Square, the rent raises by the cost of the apartment (it's 11 percent). He said that for the low income residents, they have gotten a 63 percent rent increase since 2006. He said that the City didn't get a penny from the residents who pay rent above the minimum. Mr. Katsnelson said that this approach creates a very bad feeling for the society and the relationships in their building. He said that it seems that the Board had been shown just part of the rent and just half truths of the history. He said that if the Board would know a little bit more about them, the Board wouldn't make such a decision about raising the minimum rent permanently. He said that they didn't think that the Board made the decision because it's immoral. He said that it is just poor people who barely make a living and that it looks discriminating for them. Mr. Katsnelson said that they have proposals to solve this problem. He said that one of the proposals would be to make the minimum rent $400 per month for a two bedroom apartment and 300 per month for a one bedroom apartment. He said that was how it was in 2006. He said that the second proposal would be for the current residents rent to be 35 percent of their income and for any new residents, the rent would be $500 per month. Commissioner Miller asked if they wanted the Board to grandfather them in at the old cost but then increase the rent to new residents that come in. Mr. Katsnelson said to install the minimum payment for new residents. He said that for those who live there now, the minimum rent was covered by their 35 percent. He said that they were not told that rent would be raised all the time. He said that they do not want a raise in their rent and the Board should just install the minimum, which would be above the 35 percent. He said that the government didn't raise their income this year and the City was trying to take more money away. Mr. Katsnelson said that they compared their rents to their friends in other apartments. He said that they pay less in Golden Valley and Maple Grove than they do in Plymouth. He said that Approved Plymouth Housing and Redevelopment Authority January 28, 2010 Page 4 Section 8 and subsidized housing residents have much better apartments than theirs (balconies and larger). He said that most of them have their garage payment included in their rent. Commissioner Ludovissie asked what the current monthly rent is for Mr. Katsnelson's unit. Mr. Katsnelson said that it is $450 now and it would be $490 at the next recertification. Commissioner Ludovissie asked if he lived in a two bedroom apartment and how long he had been a resident. Mr. Katsnelson said he lives in a two bedroom and that he had lived there since 2002. Commissioner Ludovissie asked what his rent was in 2002. Mr. Katsnelson said that it was $300. He added that they have to pay $450 for the apartment and $45 for the garage. Commissioner Ludovissie asked if they had pursued less expensive alternatives. Mr. Katsnelson said that they are elderly people and that they don't want to move anywhere. He said that they like this place. Chair Kulaszewicz said that one of the proposals was for the residents already living there to maintain some sort of a current monthly rate before the proposed raise and to increase the rate for new residents not already existing there. Virginia Klevom, Chair of Human Rights Commission, said that one of their proposals was that the rent would be kept at the 2009 rent level. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that they have requested that the rents would not be at the 2009 levels but rather at the 2006 levels. He said that would be applied to everyone that is currently living at Plymouth Towne Square and they propose for any new residents that move in, they would pay the higher minimum rates for both one and two bedrooms for 2010. Mr. Katsnelson said that was correct. Commissioner Ludovissie asked what the average market rate rent was for a two bedroom. Grace Management Representative Boedigheimer said it was just over $1,100. Commissioner Ludovissie said that this was City -owned property and was subsidized strictly by the citizens and their neighbors in the building. He said the revenue sources come from right here in the community and not from out of state. He said that there are certain expenses that are fixed with the building. Mr. Katsnelson said that was not the question. He said that they raised the minimum $40 to poor people who don't have the money. He said that now the minimum payment had changed from $450 to $490 per month. He said that they represent 20 apartments in the building, so the City receives additional revenue of $800 per month from them. He said that the City does not get a penny from the other residents who live there and that was not right. Commissioner Stein asked if there had been any contract, statement or fact that the rents on subsidized apartments would not be increased over time. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that all of the units are subsidized. He said that on a per unit basis, the taxpayers of the City of Plymouth put $240,000 annually into this building just so it can operate and make sure that debt services are paid. He said that equated to $202 per unit per month. He said that residents moving in have never been told that the rents will stay the same with no further increases. He said that the costs, debt service, maintenance and salaries to run the building are evaluated annually to make sure that all those obligations are met. Approved Plymouth Housing and Redevelopment Authority January 28, 2010 Page 5 Commissioner Stein asked that if the market rate was around $1,100 per month, were those also subsidized. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that there are three or four residents at Plymouth Towne Square who have 35 percent of their income at that level. He said that those are not subsidized. He said that there are very few at that level and the rest are getting some sort of subsidy. Commissioner Stein said that all businesses and households that pay property taxes within the City of Plymouth subsidize, in one degree or another, all but three or four units in this building. He asked if only these 20 units are affected by the budget by raising the minimum rents or if all the units are affected. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that it's the ones who are paying the minimum rates that are affected. He said that he did not have the exact number of units now that are paying the minimum rates. He said that staff looks at how far below market we are and how much revenue the building needs to operate. He said that staff tries to balance that out between operating the building and putting the tax levy burden on the citizens of Plymouth. He said that in looking at all of the other rent data that is out there, with the exception of federally funded Section 8 programs or other federal funded programs, we are well below what other housing authorities in other cities are charging in their buildings. Mr. Katsnelson said that he did not believe that raising the minimums by $40 per month for 20 apartments would fix that much. He said that they never got an explanation for the increase until it was too late. Commissioner Caryotakis said that minimums were set for all the apartments regardless of whether people have been living there for a long time or whether they are new to the building. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that was correct. Commissioner Caryotakis asked if there was anything that prevents the Board from setting different minimums for residents who have been living in the building and for new residents coming in to the building. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that staff tries to have a policy that is for the entire building and not individual policies. He said that rents for residents who are at 35 percent go up and down, depending on what their incomes are, and those are adjusted every year as well. Commissioner Caryotakis said that the amounts that residents pay would be adjusted based on the level of income when they move in, so the minimums would not need to be raised for everyone who's coming in because they would be paying 35 percent of their income. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that minimums or maximums might not apply because the income for new residents might be between those thresholds. He said that it was the policy decision of this Board to set the minimums and maximums within the buildings that they operate. Commissioner Caryotakis said that he understood the mechanisms for having a minimum and the reasons why that minimum would tend to go up faster than inflation. He asked that for new residents, who are starting at the minimum and might be planning to be in the building for many years on fixed income, was there any kind of communication about the kind of increases that might occur. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that our building is operated the same as a private entity would operate. He said that staff evaluates expenses, the market and what our Approved Plymouth Housing and Redevelopment Authority January 28, 2010 Page 6 needs would be to determine whether or not a rent increase would be forthcoming. He said that is told to people when they inquire about how rent increases would be handled. Commissioner Caryotakis said that our expenses are going to continue to rise along with the inflation rate. He said that on average, all the property rents would have to go up at the inflation rate. He said that if someone's rent would go up at less than the inflation rate, others would have to go up. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that inflation wasn't always looked at when designing the budget. He said that vendors are contacted and, a lot of times, their rates are going up a lot faster than inflation. Commissioner Ludovissie asked if $300 was the minimum back in 2002. Grace Management Representative Boedigheimer said the minimum was lower than that when the building was built. Commissioner Stein said that it was $150 from 1994 to 2000. Ms. Klevorn said that she had not met with the residents nor had she been asked to advocate for them. She said that she had received notification from Jeannette Sobania, City Human Resources Manager, that the residents had contacted the Human Rights Commission. She said that this type of request was new to her and she went to the HUD website to learn about what the minimums were. She said that the staff report stated that HUD said that they could go up to a 50 percent threshold but on the HUD website, she found that 30 percent was generally the maximum. She said that the generally accepted definition of affordability on their website was that households would pay no more than 30 percent of their annual income on housing and families who pay more than 30 percent of their income are considered cost burdened and may have difficulty affording items such as food, clothing, transportation and medical care. She said that she placed calls to other organizations to ask them about the standard. Commissioner Stein asked what was meant by standard. Ms. Klevorn said the standard for what percentage of income could be used to pay rent. She said that it was explained to her that HUD had a 35 percent threshold for Section 8, where they cannot charge anything more. She said that she had not seen the Plymouth Towne Square agreement. She said that the City might be able to charge more than 35 percent and that she does not know where the funding comes from. Ms. Klevorn said that if these families are paid at the very low social security rate and they have an income of $1,100 per month to pay their food, medical and housing, then asking for $490 would be extreme. She said that they are all elderly so she doesn't know what their medical expenses would be or what kind of subsidy they would have to help with those expenses. She said to remember that we are talking about people, their livelihood and their housing. She said that housing was a basic human right, which was why she was interested in this. She said to see them as people and not as apartments. She said that taxpayers in the City of Plymouth are asked to subsidize their housing but they are at the very lowest income level. She said that on a chart for incomes and housing in the City of Plymouth that reflects what's considered very low, extremely low and low incomes, the limits for extremely low income for 2009 were $20,000 household income for a family of two. Approved Plymouth Housing and Redevelopment Authority January 28, 2010 Page 7 Commissioner Stein asked if any of the residents have investment income or savings. Ms. Klevorn said that she did not know anything about the resident's financials. Commissioner Ludovissie said that back in 2002, a two bedroom unit was $300 per month. Ms. Klevorn said that was also a significant increase. Commissioner Ludovissie said that one of the key things was that this was not federally assisted. Ms. Klevorn said that she only asked that they be looked at as individuals and that the Board understand what it was that they were asking of them. Commissioner Stein said that when the City Council approved the budget for this year, there was a concerted effort to pass the budget with a 0 percent increase in property taxes for the average household in Plymouth. He said that was due to the economic conditions that the average person was facing. He said that the City was able to meet that goal, with City staff layoffs, a drastic cut in City services, elimination of many Parks and Recreation programs, all of the athletic associations were asked to pay $100,000 towards the maintenance of athletic fields used, a freeze on hiring, elimination of numerous staff programs and elimination of any superfluous items. He said that this was basically looked upon as shared sacrifices across the City. He said that to go back now and ask the citizens to increase their taxes to subsidize even more what was already subsidized would be a burden on the taxpayers. He said that budgets have been passed and rents could not be rolled back unless reserve funds for this building were dipped into. He said that he would not recommend or vote for that. He said that these rents may be a burden for some but that he doesn't know of very many families, elderly or those just starting out, that pay 30 percent of their income for their homes. Chair Kulaszewicz closed the meeting to the public but allowed two additional residents of Plymouth Towne Square to speak. Tom Cochran said that he was there only to offer morale support for his Russian -American friends and neighbors. He said that one of the hardships was that they were not on full social security but rather on SSI. He said that SSI and social security cost of living adjustments were frozen for the current year. He said that the problem that they are enduring might be temporary for this year or for two years at the most. He asked if it would set a bad precedence for the Board to change what was already set up, would there be any hardship funds available on a federal level for one to two years. He asked if someone could research that and then work with the residents to see if they would qualify for that. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that he did not know of a program that would be available. He said that over the past twenty years, federal dollars had dried up dramatically for housing and economic development. He said that was one of the reasons why the City built this building on their own and were funding and subsidizing it on their own. Housing Program Manager Barnes stated that he was not in the social service side of government but that he would get a name of someone at Hennepin County to contact. Ms. Klevorn volunteered her services to help. Approved Plymouth Housing and Redevelopment Authority January 28, 2010 Page 8 Matvey Portnoy, resident of Plymouth Towne Square, said that he moved into this building six years ago and he paid $300 per month. He said that there were probably thirty Russian people in this building. He said that all of them cannot understand why they were being asked to pay more. He said that their income was not very big. He said that this year, the United States government did not increase their SSI pension and they were paying more for their apartments every year. He said that they cannot afford that. He asked that the rents go down and that the money for 2009 be returned to everybody. Commissioner Miller said that the rent had increased every single year since 2006. He asked why they were questioning the increase this year. Mr. Portnoy said that it went up $100 in one year. Mr. Katsnelson said that it had been raised $100 in 2006 and this year $40. Commissioner Miller asked why they did not come before the Board in 2006 when it increased 100 per month. He asked why they were asking to go back to $300 per month when they hadn't been paying that amount for four years. Mr. Katsnelson said the concern was the 35 percent and that the rent did not change for everybody. Commissioner Miller said that rents were raised for everybody. Mr. Katsnelson said that they paid 35 percent for ten years. Commissioner Stein asked if there was a maximum income level to qualify. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that there was not and that was why there were maximum rents. Commissioner Stein asked if the maximum rents went up. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that maximum rents were not raised within our own housing authority. He said that there was a rent survey that was used in determining where the minimum and maximum rents should be in this building. He said that this survey was also used by our Section 8 program for their fair market rents. He said that this year the maximums did not go up because the market wasn't going up. Chair Kulaszewicz asked that when minimums and maximums were set, were they done without regards to any one particular group's income, age or any other criteria other than the circumstances that the minimum rent was the minimum rent. He said that it didn't matter if using 35 percent, 30 percent or 50 percent, as long as, the percentage used was lower than $365 than you were going to pay $365. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that was correct. Chair Kulaszewicz said that how long someone had lived there or any other criteria had nothing to do with that. He said that if 35 percent was larger than the minimum, then that would be paid up to the maximum. Chair Kulaszewicz asked that out of all the residents in the building, for rents proposed for 2010, what happened to the overall rent percentage for 2010. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that overall, the rental income was up 2 percent over last year. Chair Kulaszewicz said that he had gotten a sense from one of the speakers that the only increase in the entire building was on the shoulders of those with the minimum rent and that was just not true. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that statement was correct. Approved Plymouth Housing and Redevelopment Authority January 28, 2010 Page 9 Commissioner Ludovissie said that for a substantial amount of time, the minimum rent did not change. He said that if things had moved in a positive direction, it could have lowered those annual adjustments to a much smaller percentage over time. He said that the point was that sooner or later this had to be addressed in order to deal with the bigger scope of things, which was that increased operating expenses have to be paid for. He said that the Board had attempted to address this issue for the past four years. He said that it was unfortunate that some residents were affected very negatively on this and the Board understood their concern. He said to the residents that they were important to the Board as residents of Plymouth Towne Square. He said that the Board had to look at the entire building and could not look at selected tenants or selected groups and handle them differently. Commissioner Stein asked for the average rent for all these units. Grace Management Representative Boedigheimer said that it was calculated every year and in 2009, the average rent went down by $20 per unit per month. Commissioner Stein asked if that was based on the income levels. Housing Program Manager Barnes said it was. Commissioner Stein said that from 1994 to 2005 there were no rent increases. He asked if the debt structure was set up to be low at the beginning and that towards the pay off of the building it was higher. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that he could not remember why the Board chose not to raise the minimum rents during that time. Commissioner Stein asked what the taxpayer subsidy of the building was in 2005. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that it was approximately $270,000. Commissioner Stein said that the taxpayer subsidy had stayed pretty even. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that it stays pretty even but that it fluctuates a little each year. Commissioner Stein said that there was no money made on this building and that it just pays the debt service and other operating costs. Commissioner Stein said that if the subsidy stays pretty much the same, then the increase in rent was due to the increase in operating expenses. He said that we are not raising the rent to make money but that we are raising the rent to keep up with the expenses and to provide low income housing. Commissioner Miller asked what percentage of residents was paying over 35 percent of their income this year. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that it would be about 25-30 percent. Commissioner Caryotakis said that the balance of residents were paying 35 percent of their income and if their income had dropped, they were actually paying less. Housing Program Manager Barnes said they were paying a higher percentage of their income but fewer dollars. Grace Management Representative Boedigheimer said that if they were within that threshold and their income dropped, they would have a rent decrease, as long as they were not below the minimum. Commissioner Caryotakis said that the overall expenses were going up at the inflation rate so there was a structural problem. Grace Management Representative Boedigheimer said that historically, the number of minimum rent paying apartments had gone up each year over the last five or six years. Commissioner Stein said that wages weren't keeping up with inflation. Approved Plymouth Housing and Redevelopment Authority January 28, 2010 Page 10 Commissioner Caryotakis said that we are serving a fixed income population, so their incomes weren't going up. He said the only way our rents would go up was when we had turnover. Chair Kulaszewicz asked if someone were to pay 50 percent of their income, would they still be charged the minimum. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that under our policy, they would be charged the $365 or $490 depending on the unit. He said that this was tough and the 30 percent threshold that was discussed in so many documents had been a standard for over 50 years. He said that the City didn't have the resources that the federal government had at its disposal for many of its programs where they could start at 30 percent. He said that the 30 or 35 percent thresholds for Section 8 were only applicable to the very first year when they were put on to the program and after that they were allowed to go up to 50 percent. He said that the government had to rely on Section 8 private sector owners to accept their vouchers and they had to allow for increases. He said that their costs were increasing, too. He said that if they were to be held at that 30-35 percent level that they start out at, there wouldn't be anybody willing to rent to Section 8 tenants. Commissioner Caryotakis said that the volume of housing available would drop and there wouldn't be housing development. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that was right. He said that there are many people who are within the Section 8 program who are paying more than 30 or 35 percent than they originally started with. He said that this rent structure was designed and adopted by the Board back in 2001. Commissioner Ludovissie said that one of the charges as a Board was to maintain quality housing and if there wasn't a good stream of revenue, it would get into the issue of deferred maintenance and that was not acceptable either. Commissioner Caryotakis said that would be a downward spiral because then tenants would be lost who were paying market rents. Commissioner Ludovissie said that this was being addressed locally and nationally right now. Commissioner Stein asked if residents would move out if the maximum rents were increased. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that was likely and we would price ourselves out of the market. He said that the building was 16 years old and didn't have a lot of the amenities that other buildings have. Commissioner Caryotakis said that the goal was to provide affordable housing for the largest number of people possible and the only other alternative would be to raise the rents on everyone so that everyone was paying even more of their income. He asked if it was allowed to raise the minimum rent to 40 percent of income. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that would certainly be a possibility. Commissioner Caryotakis said that they might want to explore lower cost housing alternatives outside the building even though they didn't want to move. Commissioner Stein said to look for external sources of funds. He asked if Interfaith Outreach, for example, provides any sort of funds for people in this type of situation to keep them in their Approved Plymouth Housing and Redevelopment Authority January 28, 2010 Page 11 units when they have trouble affording them. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that this would be in Interfaith's jurisdiction but that he did not know how they operate their housing assistance programs. He said that he could provide a contact to the residents for Interfaith Outreach. Commissioner Stein asked what Common Bond charges. Housing Program Manager Barnes said $500 to $800. He said that they were subsidized by about eight different funding sources. He said that Common Bond had received an allocation of federal tax credits to build their building. Commissioner Stein asked if rents were comparable. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that our minimum rents were lower. Commissioner Ludovissie said that in these inflationary times, management needs to be available to guide residents to alternative housing opportunities because there were usually waiting lists, such as with Section 8 opportunities. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that Section 8 waiting lists are rarely opened. He said that there were approximately 13 jurisdictions in the metro area that administer Section 8 and Plymouth was one of them. He said that Plymouth opens their list every three to five years and it was very competitive. He said that public housing was a little different and tends to have more availability. He said that there is an organization in the community called Housing Link that is a great resource. He said that they are a clearing house for people to learn all about affordable housing in the metro area. Commissioner Caryotakis said that he had seen a number of people move from a two bedroom to a one bedroom and he asked if residents in this building would have priority to move within the building. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that all they would have to do would be to put in a request to the management office that they would like to change units. He added that on the Section 8 program, a two -person household only gets a one bedroom voucher. Commissioner Stein asked if staff could work with the residents to see if there was some funding sources to help them. He said that this problem would get a lot worse before it gets better. He said that he did not see the federal government raising social security or SSI to keep up with inflation. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that he would contact IOCP and Hennepin County to see if there was anything else available. Chair Kulaszewicz asked if any other types of services that the City funds in a different part of the budget could be encouraged to come in before the next budget period that might possibly be an alternative for this type of situation. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that he would keep that in mind. Commissioner Stein asked if it would be possible for the City, the Board or some community based organization to set up a fund that could be funded through the community development grant fund to help low income residents of Plymouth Towne Square that were paying excess percentage of their income to rent. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that rental assistance was not eligible through the community block grant program. He said that if the funds were for bricks and mortar or if it went to build the building, it would be an allowable use. He said that Approved Plymouth Housing and Redevelopment Authority January 28, 2010 Page 12 there are specific rules and regulations excluding rental assistance. Commissioner Stein said that if $500 was given to Interfaith Outreach, could they in turn give that $500 for rent subsidy. Housing Program Manager Barnes said they could, as long as, the dollars were tax dollars and not community development block grant funds. He said that the use of the money was dictated by the source. Chair Kulaszewicz asked if utilities were included in rents. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that phone and cable are not included. Grace Management Representative Boedigheimer said that heat is provided. Commissioner Ludovissie said that household electric, such as, range, lights and air would be separate. Chair Kulaszewicz asked how much that would be. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that it would vary on consumption. Grace Management Representative Boedigheimer added that a utility credit was in the rent calculation also. Commissioner Stein asked if they would get a rent rebate from the state. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that they would. Commissioner Stein asked if the building pays property taxes. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that a flat fee was paid in lieu of taxes, which for that particular building was about $25,000 to $30,000 per year. Chair Kulaszewicz asked if CBDG could be used as a way to subsidize utilities. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that it could not. Commissioner Caryotakis asked if it could be used for repairs to a building. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that CBDG funds could possibly be looked at to use for a renovation. Commissioner Stein asked if units are refurbished when someone moves out. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that about 15 to 20 units are refurbished per year, depending on the year. Commissioner Stein asked if CBDG money could be used to refurbish the units. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that it could but then it takes away from already programmed dollars for affordable housing projects as well, such as the First Time Homebuyer program and rehabilitation loans program. He said that if there were a larger capital improvement that was needed, like a roof, we would use reserves. Chair Kulaszewicz said that the 2010 budget had already been set and the Plymouth taxpayers levied. He said that the Board would try to look for another source of funds that could be used or see if another program could be set up that might help folks in situations like this that are on a fixed income, yet are faced with the minimums. He stated the Board was trying to help their situation and that the Board appreciated their concern. Commissioner Stein encouraged the residents to contact their state representative and state senator about the need for increased funding for housing programs through the state and federal government. Approved Plymouth Housing and Redevelopment Authority January 28, 2010 Page 13 C. Senior Buildings. Revisions to the Smoking Policy. Housing Program Manager Barnes gave an overview of the staff report. Commissioner Ludovissie asked if the options for the residents would be to either quit smoking or they would have to move. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that they could choose to continue smoking but that they could not smoke anywhere on the property. He added that was what the industry had been doing. Commissioner Ludovissie said that when smoking is allowed anywhere on site, it becomes a monitoring problem. Commissioner Stein asked when the policy would take effect. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that current residents would have six months to adjust to it and then the policy would be in effect. He said that the policy would be in effect for any new residents moving in after its adoption. Commissioner Stein asked if the residents that would be grandfathered in could smoke on the property. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that they could smoke in their unit for six months but then entire property would be smoke free immediately. Commissioner Stein asked how much time was left on their leases. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that some of them had just renewed but within the lease it allows for amendments to be made on a month to month basis with notice, with the exception of rent increases, which would not be raised more than once a year. Commissioner Stein asked if they would be allowed to cancel their lease. Housing Program Manager Barnes said we would accommodate them. Commissioner Ludovissie said to wait until lease renewal for policy to take effect to avoid ending up in court. He said that there weren't a lot of residents that were affected, so they might be asked to move in six months. He said that he would be concerned about the understanding they had when they moved in if it wasn't really clarified. Grace Management Representative Boedigheimer said that we had lost three or four prospective residents at Vicksburg Crossing and one resident actually moved out because we allow smoking in the units. Chair Kulaszewicz said that we could lose four smokers, too. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that we could but that was the reason to amend the policy now. Chair Kulaszewicz said that his concern would be that the smoking policy didn't hinder the occupancy rate. Housing Program Manager Barnes said that the residents that would be lost were paying a higher rent for more expensive units than the residents that would potentially be lost if the smokers moved out. Commissioner Miller said to go smoke-free inside immediately and allow them to smoke outside until the end of their lease. Commissioner Ludovissie said that a lot of them would probably leave if they knew that at the end of their lease they would be leaving anyway. Grace Management Representative Boedigheimer said that they would start looking for alternatives. Approved Plymouth Housing and Redevelopment Authority January 28, 2010 Page 14 Housing Program Manager Barnes added that HUD had published guidance to all housing authorities that it was their desire that housing authorities take their buildings smoke-free. Commissioner Ludovissie said that would be another reason to honor that lease if they had just renewed their lease. Commissioner Stein said to make it smoke-free inside effective May 1 st for existing residents because it was a little warmer then and they would be able to go outside. Housing Program Manager Barnes added that effective December 31, 2010 it would be smoke-free for the entire building and campus because that would be when the last of the leases just renewed would be up for renewal. He added that it would be effective immediately for all new leases. MOTION by Commissioner Miller, seconded by Commissioner Stein, to approve amending the Smoking Policy for Plymouth Towne Square and Vicksburg Crossing as follows: 1. Effective immediately, there is no smoking within the building for new residents. 2. Current residents may continue to smoke in their units until April 30, 2010. Beginning May 1, 2010, there will be no smoking anywhere inside the building. This encompasses individual units and all common areas, including the garage. 3. Current and new residents may continue to smoke outside of the building on our property until December 31, 2010, as long as they are at least 25 feet from any entrance to the building. Beginning January 1, 2011 the entire property, both inside the building and outside the building, will be smoke free. Vote. 4 Ayes (Chair Kulaszewicz abstained). MOTION approved unanimously. 4. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Commissioner Stein, seconded by Commissioner Miller, to adjourn the meeting at 8:50 p.m. Vote. 5 Ayes. MOTION approved unanimously.