HomeMy WebLinkAboutHousing & Redevelopment Authority Minutes 01-27-2011APPROVED MINUTES
PLYMOUTH HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
JANUARY 27, 2011
PRESENT: Chairman Jeff Kulaszewicz, Commissioners Paul Caryotakis, David Miller and
Bob Stein
ABSENT: Commissioner Steve Ludovissie
STAFF PRESENT: Housing Program Manager Jim Barnes and Office Support Specialist
Laurie Lokken
OTHERS PRESENT: Councilmember Jim Willis, Grace Management Representative Jody
Boedigheimer and Ehlers & Associates Inc. Representative Jonathan North
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 18, 2010
B. Plymouth Towne Square. Accept November and December 2010 housing reports.
C. Vicksburg Crossing. Accept November and December 2010 housing reports.
MOTION by Commissioner Stein, seconded by Commissioner Caryotakis, to approve the
consent agenda. Vote. 4 Ayes. MOTION approved unanimously.
3. NEW BUSINESS
A. Vicksburg Crossing. November And December 2010 Marketing Reports.
Chairman Kulaszewicz introduced Grace Management Representative Jody Boedigheimer. She
stated that they are staying in the low 90% occupancy range. She said that December is
historically one of the quietest months that they have and that in comparison, December 2009
had two more inquiries and two more walk-ins than they did in December 2010 but that there
were nine vacancies in 2009 and five in 2010.
Commissioner Stein stated that it was interesting that none of the five vacancies are in Style E
units. Grace Management Representative Boedigheimer responded that there are two affordable,
lower -rate apartments available. She said that one is a handicap unit and the other unit is located
by the generator. She said that there are approximately 37 names on the waiting list and they
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have contacted just about all those on the list. She asked if a small article could be included in
the Plymouth News that the waiting lists are open at both buildings.
Grace Management Representative Boedigheimer added that they are experiencing the same
situation with two bedroom rentals at Plymouth Towne Square. She said that they have three,
two-bedroom units available at that building and two of those units are located over the garage
doors. She said that they have contacted most of the names on the two bedroom waiting list
there, too. She said that there are about 70 names on the one bedroom waiting list and about 80
names on the two bedroom waiting list. She said that they have not experienced any problems
with the one bedroom units so far.
Commissioner Stein asked how much the two bedroom rent is and what reasons are given for
turning down units when contacted from the waiting list. Grace Management Representative
Boedigheimer responded that the minimum rent is $500 or 37% of their adjusted income. She
added that there are various reasons given for turning down available units and that they are not
ready to move yet is the most common. She said that someone on the waiting list can turn down
available units three times and then their name would be moved to the bottom of their preference
category on the waiting list.
Grace Management Representative Boedigheimer stated that they have received three deposits
for nonspecific apartments but that the applicants want to stay on the waiting list until something
becomes available that meets their needs and circumstances. She said that it would be good to
fill that list, too.
Grace Management Representative Boedigheimer stated that she is looking at an open house
again. She said the Cinco de Mayo open house was so successful that they will probably repeat
it this year. She said that they receive enough daily and monthly phone calls and inquiries that if
they don't need to spend money on marketing, they aren't going to at this point.
B. Plymouth Towne Square. Approve Sale Of Refunding Bonds.
Chairman Kulaszewicz introduced Housing Program Manager Barnes who gave an overview of
the staff report.
Housing Program Manager Barnes introduced Jonathan North, representing Ehlers & Associates
Inc. Mr. North stated that despite some of the challenges in the market in the past two months,
the HRA did very well in the sale of their bonds. He said that this is refinancing of the Series
2003 bonds, which are another refunding bond for the original financing for the Plymouth
Towne Square project. He said that these are advance refunding bonds that are issued by the
HRA but ultimately carry the city's general obligation pledge. He said that it is important to
have a very strong credit to get good interest rates.
Mr. North presented a sale report summarizing the results of the sale of the bonds. He said there
were nine bids received and the winning bid was from Morgan Keegan out of Memphis,
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Tennessee. He said the difference between the low bid and the high bid was about $123,000. He
said the bonds will close on February 23, 2011. He said the good news is that by refunding these
bonds, the HRA saved a net present value of about 4% of the refunded principal. He said that
more specifically and important is that the future value benefit of this refunding was up over
156,000. He said that this refunding has enabled a range of $12,000 to $16,000 in annual
savings.
Mr. North added that there have been some recent regulatory and financial changes at the federal
level. He said there are some financial regulatory reforms that are trying to protect the best
interest of communities like Plymouth. He said that commissions, such as this, might be under
that regulating umbrella.
Chairman Kulaszewicz asked that he keep Housing Program Manager Barnes abreast of those
regulations.
MOTION by Chairman Kulaszewicz, seconded by Commissioner Stein, to approve the
resolution awarding the sale of $3,255,000 General Obligation Housing Refunding Bonds for
Plymouth Towne Square. Vote. 4 Ayes. MOTION approved unanimously.
C. First Time Homebuyer And Rehabilitation Program Changes.
Chairman Kulaszewicz introduced Housing Program Manager Barnes who gave an overview of
the staff report.
Commissioner Caryotakis stated that things would change pretty quickly if the market picked up
but right now all the appraisals we are seeing are probably quite low. Housing Program Manager
Barnes replied that was correct and added that over the past three years, we are seeing more
requests for waiving the Loan -to -Value of 100% coming from townhomes and condominiums as
that happens to be the market in our city that was hit the hardest.
Commissioner Stein asked if in this program, the value of property is the value after or before the
rehab is done. Housing Program Manager Barnes responded that the property value is the value
before the rehab is done. He said that there isn't a provision in this program or a requirement by
CBDG that requires us to go back and get an after -rehab value. He said that one could make an
argument that by doing this work we are actually increasing the value; however, a lot of the
rehab projects that we do are deferred maintenance (such as replacing a roof) that don't increase
the value.
Chairman Kulaszewicz stated that it was interesting that property values used for the city's tax
base are not significantly different than the actual selling price. Commissioner Stein added that
by law, you are supposed to assess within that range.
Commissioner Stein asked if these guides could be made available on the city's website.
Housing Program Manager Barnes replied that the guides are typically requested by lenders and
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occasionally by a participant or an applicant. He said that he would look into getting the HRA
policies and procedures added to the city's website.
Commissioner Caryotakis asked what the demand for loans has been. Housing Program
Manager Barnes responded that the First Time Homebuyer program does not see a lot of activity
at this time of year. He said that there are no federal programs or incentives going on right now
that would drive people into buying. He said our rehab program is very slow right now as well.
He said that we are working to try and get approval for the applicants that we do have. He said
that applicants have had various sources of income that are nontraditional so it is taking us a little
longer to go through their applications.
Housing Program Manager Barnes added that over the next year, we will be evaluating the
CBDG program as a whole and see if the owner -occupied rehab program is one to continue. He
said that the problem is that some years we might get 10 to 15 loans and then we get years, like
now, where we are struggling to get 4 to 5 loans done. He said that we will look at what other
cities are doing with their CBDG dollars.
Chairman Kulaszewicz asked what form of media is used to promote awareness of these
programs to the public. Housing Program Manager Barnes responded that information about our
programs are posted on the city website and once or twice a year we place an article in the
Plymouth News to remind the public that these programs are available to them and that there is
funding available. He said that there is awareness through word of mouth from other county and
state agencies and through the social service network with Interfaith and Prism. He said that
about once a year we get a letter out to churches to remind them about our programs. He added
that there is only $260,000 to $300,000 in CBDG funds and we would not want to create long
waiting lists.
Commissioner Caryotakis asked if demand would pick up as the weather warms up or if the
economy picks up. Housing Program Manager Barnes replied that it typically does pick up as
the spring nears. He said that we are one of five cities who participate in the remodeling fair in
Crystal in the spring. He said that in the past, we have combined with the Senate for Energy and
Environment in advertising their Fix -Up Fund, which is a state program that they administer, and
our programs.
MOTION by Commissioner Miller, seconded by Commissioner Caryotakis, to approve the
changes to the First Time Homebuyer Guidelines and to the Rehabilitation Program Guidelines.
Vote. 4 Ayes. MOTION approved unanimously.
4. ADJOURNMENT
MOTION by Chairman Kulaszewicz to adjourn the meeting at 7:36 p.m.