Housing & Redevelopment Authority in and for the City of Roseville Minutes Tuesday, June at 7:00 p.m.

Transcription

1 1. Call to Order Housing & Redevelopment Authority in and for the City of Roseville Minutes Tuesday, June at 7:00 p.m. Chair Majerus called the regular meeting for June 19, 2007 of the Housing & Redevelopment Authority in and for the City of Roseville to order at 7:00 p.m. in Roseville City Hall, Council Chambers. 2. Roll Call: Present: Sue Elkins, Jeanne Kelsey, Bill Majerus, Jen Jackson Millasovich, Dean Maschka Absent: Tammy Pust, Bill Masche Staff Present: Executive Director Cathy Bennett, Community Development Director John Stark, Administrative Coordinator Kara Hoier 3. Approval of Minutes: Motion: Member Millasovich moved, seconded by Member Elkins, to approve the minutes of the May 15, 2007 meeting. 4. Announcements, Agenda Adjustments, Correspondence, and Comments 5. Community/Citizen Comments 6. Consent Agenda: a. Approval of transfer of funds for financial fee per approved contract with the City of Roseville for June 2007 b. Approval of transfer of funds for administrative fee per approved contract for June 2007 c. Acceptance of 1 st Quarterly Report 2007 Motion: Chair Majerus moved, seconded by Member Elkins, to approve the consent agenda as presented. Executive Director Bennett noted that the decrease in consulting costs for 1 st quarter of 2007 as compared to 1 st quarter of 2006 is the result of having more administrative assistance from the HRA Administrative Coordinator.

2 8. Action Items: a. Consider Proposals for Preparation of HRA 5-Year Financial Plan. Chair Majerus explained that he brought this item forward to encourage the Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) to create a financial plan before bringing a levy proposal to the City Council in the fall. Chair Majerus stressed the importance of reassessing current programming to better serve HRA goals during the budget process. Ms. Bennett noted that a 5- year financial plan allows the HRA to project their budget needs over time and therefore stabilize annual levy requests. Member Kelsey inquired if the HRA would take action on this item at the meeting. Chair Majerus indicated his willingness to either take action at the current meeting or table the item for the next meeting, depending upon the direction of the discussion. Ms. Bennett noted that if the HRA chose to prepare a financial plan this year, it would need to act in a timely fashion as the HRA budget would most likely be presented to the City Council at their August meeting. Member Kelsey inquired about the proposal process. Ms. Bennett noted that she asked the Roseville Finance Director for suggestions for financial planners. Ms. Bennett also noted that HRA attorney declined to submit a proposal. Member Kelsey expressed concern over preparing a financial plan before the new HRA staff position has been filled. Community Development Director Stark provided an update on the hiring status of the new HRA staff member noting that City Council had approved the position at their June 18 meeting. Mr. Stark indicated that the next step would be for the city to post the position and move through the hiring process. According to Human Resources Manager Dona Bacon, the process would take 5-6 weeks at a minimum. Member Kelsey suggested preparing the financial plan in 2008 versus 2007 to allow the new HRA staff member to be involved in the process. Member Maschka agreed, noting that the HRA should reassess current programming, including considering green policies and programming, before engaging in the budget process. Member Elkins concurred. Member Maschka suggested asking the City Council for a preliminary levy in September noting that it could be adjusted in December once the board had a better idea of the relationship between current programming and budget needs. Member Kelsey noted that the HRA could still have a meeting to reassess current programming yet this year. Member Maschka agreed. Motion: Chair Majerus made the motion to table this item indefinitely, seconded by Member Maschka.

3 9. Information Reports & Other Business (Verbal Reports by Staff and Board Members): a. Discuss HRA Loan Program Eligibility Summary. Ms. Bennett presented an updated summary of Housing Programs. Member Kelsey wondered if any of the loan programs could be combined. Ms Bennett replied that the Housing Resource Center doesn t present the programs that way; however she was unaware of a clause that explicitly prevented the combination of loan programs. Member Kelsey wondered if any of the HRA loan programs could overlap with county and state loan programs. Ms. Bennett suggested contacting the Housing Resource Center to determine if residents are being apprised of multiple programs that would apply to their situation. Ms Bennett noted that the state fix-up loan interest rate fluctuates and suggested that the HRA consider tying their loan program interest rates to the prime rate (or a couple of points below prime). Ms. Bennett also noted that there are currently no assessed value or income limitations for the Owner Occupied Loan program. Ms. Bennett referred to the discussion at the previous HRA meeting about the creation of income and/or assessed value limitations for the Owner Occupied Loan program. To assist the HRA in this decision, Ms. Bennett provided a handout showing the number of homes that could be captured at various assessed value limitations. Member Kelsey asked for clarification of the current housing programs (HRA, county and state) that impose an assessed value limitation (HRA Family Affordable Loan, Ramsey County Rehab Loan and Minnesota Housing Finance Agency Fix-up Loan). Ms. Bennett encouraged board members to contact her before the next meeting if they desired additional information about current housing programs. Chair Majerus directed Ms. Bennett to examine the housing goals stated in the Imagine Roseville 2025 document to determine how they align with current HRA housing programs and bring recommendations to the next HRA meeting on July 17, Chair Majerus indicated that a study session to further discuss programming and related budget issues would be scheduled at the July 17 meeting. b. Discuss Chapter of City Code Member Maschka explained that the issue of code enforcement came up at the June 18 City Council meeting. Member Maschka opined that the current code enforcement process may not follow the provisions of the ordinance. Chair Majerus wondered if the HRA should have a role in code enforcement. Member Maschka expressed his opinion that the HRA should have a role in code enforcement, comparing it to the relationship between the Planning Commission and City Council. Community Development Director Stark noted that the code is written in such a way that leaves it open to interpretation. Mr. Stark noted that staff would like to discuss the interpretation with the City Council at a study session to seek Council s direction regarding enforcement of the code. Mr. Stark also referred to a discussion with the city attorney concerning a code enforcement process flowchart, submitted to the HRA by Roseville resident John Kysylyczyn. Mr. Stark indicated that the city attorney came to the conclusion that the HRA, as a legal entity separate from the City of Roseville, currently has no role in enforcing city codes unless delegated that role by the City Council. Ms. Bennett explained that this issue came about as a part of recommendations made by the Citizen s Advisory Group on Rental Housing. John Kysylyczyn of 3083 Victoria Street expressed his concerns about staff interpretation of the code.

4 Chair Majerus thanked Mr. Kysylyczyn for his comments and indicated that the HRA will move to seek better clarity on this issue. c. Discuss Housing Improvement Area - Westwood Village I Ms. Bennett explained that the City Council has extended the timeframe to consider the Housing Improvement Area for Westwood Village I at their June 11 meeting so that more information could be gathered. Ms. Bennett noted that Member Elkins, Mr. Stark and Sue Shea of Westwood Village I had met with representatives from Bremer Bank to discuss financing options. Mr. Stark explained that the City Council has concerns about extending their reserves for programming. Mr. Stark noted that a possible financing option was discussed with Bremer Bank in which the bank would provide capital to the city for the Housing Improvement Area (HIA) loan while the city would pledge its obligation to Bremer Bank to pay the debt service on the loan. That debt service would be paid by assessments levied against Westwood Village I. Mr. Stark noted that Roseville Finance Director Chris Miller preferred a private program specifically geared to homeowners associations that did not involve the city in any way. Mr. Stark advised that he was doubtful Bremer Bank offered such a program. In the absence of such a program, staff was willing to continue to discuss and pursue this option. Chair Majerus inquired about the potential for additional condominium and townhome associations to seek similar funding. Mr. Stark indicated that there have been discussions with City Manager Bill Malinen and Finance Director Chris Miller about creating eligibility criteria such as an age threshold for condominium and townhome complexes that might seek similar funding in the future. Mr. Stark noted that he and Finance Director Chris Miller have also discussed the concept of arbitrage which would allow the city to charge a higher interest rate to the association to cover some of the city s administrative costs involved with the loan. Chair Majerus inquired as to the timeline of this process. Member Elkins replied that the next step would be to meet again with Bremer Bank and include Finance Director Chris Miller in the discussion. Member Maschka expressed his opinion that this was an ideal public/private financing solution for this situation. Mr. Stark also brought up the possibility of holding early payoffs in reserve to further reduce the city s exposure to risk. Member Kelsey inquired as to the possibility of other banks providing this type of loan. Mr. Stark advised that if the city pursued this option, it would most likely open this up to all banks and lending institutions in a competitive bid situation. Member Kelsey opined that discussions should continue with banks in the private sector to ensure that all private financing avenues have been exhausted. Chair Majerus asked that Finance Director Chris Miller continue to explore the public/private financing solution and that an update be provided to the board at its June 17 meeting. Westwood Village I resident Sue Shea spoke before the board to address the difficulty Westwood Village I has encountered in securing private financing due to the lack of long term loans available to the association. Ms. Shea advised that private short term loans are prohibitive to many Westwood Village I residents because they cannot afford the higher payment schedule. Ms. Shea also addressed the concerns expressed by members of the board that residents are fully aware of the repayment schedule (yes). Ms. Shea indicated that 85% of Westwood Village I residents support seeking HIA funding. Ms. Shea expressed her eagerness to partner with the city to facilitate a loan to make necessary and critical improvements to Westwood Village I. Member Kelsey advised Ms. Shea that the City Council, not the HRA, has final approval in this matter. Ms. Shea acknowledged her understanding of the approval process but pointed out the

5 role the HRA plays in recommending action to the City Council. Member Kelsey remarked on the need for patience in the process as this is the first HIA application that has come before the HRA. d. Board & Staff Reports Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 8:08 p.m. Next Regular Meeting: July , City Council Chambers at 7:00 p.m.