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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 Approved Plymouth Housing and Redevelopment Authority January 27, 2011 Page 2 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, Approved Plymouth Housing and Redevelopment Authority January 27, 2011 Page 3 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 Approved Plymouth Housing and Redevelopment Authority January 27, 2011 Page 4 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.