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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1979 02-13 HCMMINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE HOUSING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER IN THE COUNTY OF HENNEPIN AND THE STATE OF MINNESOTA REGULAR SESSION FEBRUARY 13, 1979 CITY HALL CALL TO ORDER The Brooklyn Center Housing Commission met in regular session and was called to order by Chairman Plummer at 7:44 p.m. ROLL CALL Chairman Plummer, Commissioners Duenow, Hastings, Turner and Haroldson. Also present were Councilmember Bill Fignar and Administrative Assistant Brad Hoffman. Commissioners Cilke, Williams and Weitzel were excused. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1 -9 -79 Motion by Commissioner Hastings and seconded by Commissioner Duenow to approve the minutes of the January 9, 1979 Housing Commission meeting. The motion passed unanimously. COMMISSIONER'S COMMENTS Chairman Plummer informed the Housing Commission that the City Council at their February 12 Council meeting had voted to participate in the Metro Council Large Family Housing Program and that the staff was writing a resolution to reflect that participation for the Council's approval. Commissioner Hastings spoke briefly about the League of Women Voters work with the housing issue in the metropolitan area She indicated that she has brought a booklet entitled "Focus on Housing" that had been developed by the. League of Women Voters for each of the Commissioners. HOUSING REHAB GRANT CRITERIA The Secretary introduced the next agenda item by stating that the discussion item was intended to review the ranking criteria for the community development housing rehab grants. He added that the rough draft criteria submitted to the Commission was reflective of the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency rehab grant criteria. He also stated that the difference between the MHFA grants and the community devel- opment grants dealt with income eligibility limits and with the assessment of the neighborhood impact. Under the MHFA rehab grant program, grants were directed towards those homes in neighborhoods considered to be more stable or newer because the grant would have more impact on the neighborhood. This is believed to be true because there are relatively few dollars in the MHFA Rehab Grant Program as opposed to the Community Development Program. Under the Community Development Program, just the opposite would be true. He stated that community development rehab grants would be directed towards neighborhoods having greater concentrations of homes in need of rehabilitation because there was significantly more monies available to impact that neighborhood. 2 -13 -79 -1- A lengthy discussion then ensued relative to the number of points awarded to a family dependent upon the number of individuals within the family. Chairman Plummer expressed a concern that large families should be awarded more points. The Secretary noted that it was not the intent of the ranking system to award grants based on family size but rather to make some determination as to the applicant's ability to pay for rehabilitation. Commissioner Haroldson offered combining the income of the applicant or the household income with family size to arrive at the average income per person within a household. Following a discussion of that concept, it was the consensus of the group that items one E nd two of the ranking criteria be combined to determine an average income per inc.ividual within a house- hold. A brief discussion then ensued relative to a determination of the assets of an applicant. The Secretary explained the assets considered would be in the form of bank deposits, stocks, bonds, securities, cars, boats, motors, campers and so forth. Commissioner Duenow indicated that she felt that the assets an individual holds in the home should be accounted for with this item. t brief discussion ensued relative to that point. The Secretary added that a determination of the assets of the applicant was an attempt to again determine their ability to provide their own rehabilitation work. He noted that while it would be true that many of the applicants would have significant assets if the value of the home was !included, it would not necessarily reflect their ability to perform the rehabilitatior.'.. The discussion then turned to the items of neighborhood imract and the age of the he s The Secretary �^f-.a 1 -L�.L. a1n.-�-.-.. 3a.- >a.._ -ir r.! -..1 towards t City LYV UJG. e l3 ecrei.ijr p1.c,14C:t.a b11U 1. !.Ll�: OV iLl:L11J war,: U11 �V 4vu 4V YY �31dJ f. �i li City's interest in the rehab grant program. He stated that the City's vested interest in the program was to maintain its housing stock as opposed to the creation of a new welfare program. He stated that these items on the ranking list should be most emphasized. He stated that perhaps the Commission would want to consider changing the points in these two areas. There was a consensus to that thought and it was agreed that these two items would be reworked to place more emphasis upon them. There was also a discussion relative to defininj of the neighborhoods as opposed to using categories of decline, declining, improved or stable neigh- borhoods. The Secretary indicated that he would redraft the, selection criteria for the next meeting for future discussions. Councilmember Fic,nar inquired if we shouldn't consider a minimum point figure in order to be eligible to receive a grant. A brief discussion then ensued relative to that thought and there was a consensus that that should be considered at the next meeting. OTHER BUSINESS Chairman Plummer indicated that she would like to again consider a housing certi- fication program. A brief discussion then ensued relative tcb the St. Louis Park program and the Minneapolis Truth -in- Housing Program. It Was agreed that we would try to obtain a speaker from the City of Minneapolis to discuss their Truth in- Housing Ordinance at the next Housing Commission meeting. 2 -13 -79 -2- A brief discussion ensued relative to the Kaleidoscope. Chairman Plummer noted that Kaleidoscope would be held April 22. She indicated that she would like to do something about a housing inspection program. Commissioner Haroldson in- dicated he thought that we should also distribute pamphlets and other bits of information about housing programs available to the public and programs with which the Commission has been associated. ADTOURNMENT Motion by Commissioner Haroldson and seconded by Commissioner Turner to adjourn the meeting. The motion was passed unanimously and the Housing Com- mission adjourned at 9:04 p.m. Chairman