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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHousing & Redevelopment Authority Minutes 07-24-2008MINUTES PLYMOUTH HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY July 24, 2008 PRESENT: Chairman Steve Ludovissie, Commissioners Paul Caryotakis, Penny Hatcher, Jeff Kulaszewicz, and Bob Stein ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: Housing Program Manager Jim Barnes and Office Support Representative Chele Kovacevick OTHERS PRESENT: Grace Management Representative Jodie Boedigheimer 1. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Ludovissie called the Plymouth Housing and Redevelopment Authority meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. Chairman Ludovissie addressed the letter submitted by the residents of Vicksburg Commons and requested it be added to the agenda as New Business item 3C. 2. CONSENT AGENDA A. Approve HRA Meeting Minutes from June 26, 2008. Commissioner Hatcher recommended that the minutes be adopted as amended. Seconded by Commissioner Kulaszewicz. Vote. 5 Ayes. MOTION approved unanimously. B. Plymouth Towne Square. Accept monthly housing reports. C. Vicksburg Crossing. Accept monthly housing reports. D. CDBG. Review Consolidated Annual Performance Evaluation Report (CAPER). MOTION was made by Commissioner Ludovissie, seconded by Commissioner Caryotakis to approve the consent agenda. Vote. 5 Ayes. MOTION approved unanimously. 3. NEW BUSINESS A. Vicksburg Crossing. Marketing update. Grace Management Representative Boedigheimer reported that the month of June was very quiet at the Vicksburg Crossing site but July has picked up as a result of the 55 Plus magazine insertion. However, many of the calls generated by the magazine insertion were in regard to Plymouth Housing and Redevelopment Authority July 24, 2008 Page 2 affordable units versus the market rate units. A birthday party was held at the property for this month's resident birthdays and its' reception was outstanding as residents came to the office and remarked how special the event was. A new tag line has been added to the Sun newspaper insertion which mentioned Plymouth's recent #1 rating by Money Ma azine. National Night Out will be a big event at the property and Grace Management's Sara Paquette will be re -contacting everyone who has made a rental deposit and all the prior contacts to introduce herself and to reenergize those contacts. Ms. Peterson is working two part -days to relieve Ms. Paquette of some responsibilities in order for her to do the follow-up work. Commissioner Kulaszewicz asked about the residents' reception of the public forum which was conducted as part of last months HRA meeting. Ms. Boedigheimer indicated that the residents would like to see a written response from the Board to the letter submitted by them at that forum. The community room policy has become a non -issue since it was mentioned initially. Chairman Ludovissie asked about the Fall schedule for open houses. Grace Management Representative Boedigheimer has not made any concrete plans as of yet but she and Ms. Paquette will be making plans soon A post office style box with brochures will be stationed in the lobby to display "sorry we missed you" notes for after hour visitors. Chairman Ludovissie commented on the power of momentum in any marketing effort. Grace Management Representative Boedigheimer said that Vicksburg Crossing marketing brochures have been distributed to nearby senior centers. The traditional senior fairs which were widespread just a few years ago have become almost non-existent according to Commissioner Hatcher. She also mentioned that the Plymouth Tuesday music events are being heavily attended by seniors, especially the jazz and blues venues. Housing Manager Barnes mentioned that careful consideration would have to be made before introducing a marketing event in conjunction with a City of Plymouth public event. Commissioner Hatcher suggested buying paid advertisement for Vicksburg Crossing inside the Dial -a -Ride Buses. Housing Program Manager Barnes said he would look into this option. Housing Program Manager Barnes asked if the signage at the Vicksburg Crossing site should be amended to read: Senior Community. Grace Management Representative Boedigheimer said she has looked into a couple of options for changing the sign. She stated that if we add new lettering to the sign it may not look professional. The other option would be to have a new sign created, but that would cost around $4,000-$5,000 dollars. Commissioner Caryotakis asked if local churches have been approached as a potential marketing outlet. Yes, per Grace Management Representative Boedigheimer, but because there are very few staff on site during the week, Grace Management's Ms. Paquette is beginning with phone calls to churches in order to pre - qualify opportunities prior to making site visits. She also mentioned that the current vacancy rate is down to only about 10 units. Commissioner Caryotakis asked if the slow lease -up being experienced is part of the exposure challenge or part of the slow economy in general. Grace Management Representative Boedigheimer speculated that 90% of the lease -up issues are tied to the sale of a backup single family home. Commissioner Caryotakis wondered if shorter term leases at the affordable rates would advance the goal of a full lease -up. Housing Manager Barnes said no, because once leased -up, those residents would not be motivated to move out and it would be difficult to return the units to market rate. Commissioner Caryotakis also asked if Vicksburg Crossing could be used as a conduit into Plymouth Towne Square occupancy. Chairman Ludovissie said that the building needs to maintain it's image as a solid market rate building to ensure its' future viability. In regard to using Vicksburg Crossing as a conduit into Plymouth Towne Square, Commissioner Hatcher remarked that the moving about strategy is not one recommended for seniors as a group. Plymouth Housing and Redevelopment Authority July 24, 2008 Page 3 Grace Management Representative Boedigheimer mentioned that she and Ms. Paquette are considering some sort of promotion in conjunction with the State Fair, perhaps free tickets to the Fair. Commissioner Kulaszewicz mentioned that according to housing analysts, the senior housing sector is overbuilt. Trillium Woods and the Erickson project are both senior -centered units with very different markets. One is high-end and the other has on-site services attached. Commissioner Hatcher mentioned that she has observed many one -level non -senior market units largely occupied by seniors. B. Plymouth Towne Square. Review request to waive waiting list policy. Chairman Ludovissie asked Housing Manager Barnes to explain the waiver request. Housing Program Manager Barnes explained that currently a request has been made to staff to consider awarding the next available unit to a family facing foreclosure on their home. The unit was previously awarded to the next person on the waiting list who unfortunately could not move into the two bedroom unit because of the death of their spouse. He remarked that if the board felt that this is an issue that should be addressed that a policy should be created to address these situations rather than acting on a case-by-case basis. Commissioner Hatcher asked what the time frame looks like once a waiting list candidate is notified of an available unit. Housing Program Manager Barnes replied that 30-60 days is the usual time frame to move into another unit once notice has been given at their current address. Chairman Ludovissie questioned what the working definition is of "homeless" and how do you fairly assess it. Housing Program Manager Barnes explained that Plymouth's preference system has been regarded as somewhat controversial since it makes a distinction between residents and non-residents. Chairman Ludovissie mentioned that the goal of the preference was to not draw any money outside of the city in order to take care of their own residents. Housing Program Manager mentioned the scenario of a five year wait by an applicant and suddenly a foreclosure name would pop to the top of the list, ahead of the person who had waited a substantial amount of time. The average wait time on the list is about three years per Housing Program Manager Barnes. Commissioner Hatcher asked if there isn't another resource for this family besides Plymouth Towne Square. Commissioner Caryotakis mentioned that a glut in foreclosures would put all those folks to the top of the list. Chairman Ludovissie said the policies need to be straight forward and very clear, especially because of the direct connection to HUD regulatory powers, and is concerned that the Board address this issue even handed and equitably. Commissioner Caryotakis asked if the new 3.5 billion bill currently before Congress will in anyway benefit the City of Plymouth. Probably not, according to Housing Program Manager Barnes who stated that according to the City of Plymouth Assessors Office, Plymouth has not been hit as hard as some other communities. Chairman Ludovissie asked if the board is willing to discuss and potentially amend our Administrative Plan at this time. A motion was made by Chairman Ludovissie, seconded by Commissioner Caryotakis to not make any changes to the waiting list procedure. Vote. 5 Ayes. MOTION approved unanimously. Plymouth Housing and Redevelopment Authority July 24, 2008 Page 4 C. Response to Vicksburg Crossings Residents Letter Housing Program Manager Barnes summarized the mortgage and chain -of -command questions which had been raised at the public forum. The profit motive question was also addressed at that meeting. The minutes could be distributed to the residents as a means of clarification. Grace Management Representative Boedigheimer remarked that it was more the tone rather than the content of the community room policy letter that the residents objected to. Some residents stated that their access to the patio was being restricted when the community room was being used for a private function. The policy for private use of the room is to reserve the space and place a $100 deposit, which is used to ensure cleaning and to cover any damages. Usually the reservations are being done on less than a week's notice and perhaps at a frequency of only one time per month. Housing Program Manager Barnes will review and address the letter. The concerns about changing the acoustics in the community room as well as the windy nature of the patio would have to be addressed as funds become available. Perhaps a large arborvitae could be planted on the non -trail side (not generator side) in order to create a natural wind barrier. There are some non -discretionary (drainage/erosion) issues that need to be addressed first. The concerns about the dead plants will be handled by the Forestry department who will submit a bid to the board. The trail side shrubs will not be replaced based on the recommendation of the City Forester. Items number one and three are concerns of the same resident as she is trying to maintain clean walls and is finding the flat finish to be not as washable as other finishes. Commissioner Stein noted that the building was constructed according to commonly accepted building practices and with industry standard materials. Item number four is to be considered at a later time. Item number six in regard to volunteerism is terrific and would be very much appreciated. Ms. Peterson or Ms. Paquette would be the contact to make arrangements. The power sweeping of the garage is done twice a year and is an expensive process. The request for auto -debiting for rent payments is not available right now because Grace Management's financial system is not equipped for that option. 4. ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn by Commissioner Hatcher, seconded by Commissioner Kulaszewicz. The meeting was adjourned at 8:08 p.m.