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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1993 03-16 HCM MINUTES 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 MARCH 16, 1993 CITY HALL CALL TO ORDER The Brooklyn Center Housing Commission was called to order by Chairman Nicholas Eoloff at 7:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Chairman Nicholas Eoloff, Commissioners John Kalligher, Bob Torres, Ernie Erickson, Kathleen Carmody and Todd Cannon. Also present were Council Liaison Barbara Kalligher and Community Development Specialist Tom Bublitz. Commissioners Jon Perkins, Neal Nelson and Pamela Frantum were absent and excused from the meeting. APPROVAL OF AGENDA There was a motion by Commissioner Erickson and seconded by Commissioner Torres to approve the March 16, 1993 agenda. The motion passed. S APPROVAL OF MINUTES FEBRUARY 16, 1993 Councilmember Kalligher stated she would like to amend the minutes by pointing out that the reason she was not in attendance at the last Housing Commission meeting was that she was attending a Council meeting that evening. There was a motion by Commissioner Erickson and seconded by Commissioner Torres to approve the February 16, 1993 Housing Commission minutes, as amended. The motion passed. Chairman Eoloff welcomed Kathleen Carmody and Todd Cannon as new members to the Housing Commission and requested the Community Development Specialist to update the Housing Commission on past and present housing activities in the City. STAFF UPDATE ON HOUSING ACTIVITIES The Community Development Specialist reported that the City, through the EDA, has acquired two apartment complexes in the City. One is the group of vacant and boarded up fourplexes along Humboldt Avenue, and the other is an 18 -unit complex called Willow River Apartments located on the east side of Highway 252 at the intersection of 65th and Highway 252. He explained the fourplexes are scheduled for demolition this spring, and the site will be cleared for future redevelopment, which is at this time unknown as to the type of redevelopment which will occur. With regard to the 3 -16 -93 1 i� 18 -unit building, he explained this was one of the biggest problem apartment complexes in the City in terms of police calls and problems with tenants and building maintenance. He explained the EDA staff has been in the process of gaining control of the building and its tenants and is in the process of evicting several existing tenants. He explained that in addition to the recent City acquisitions, Westminster Housing Corporation, a nonprofit corporation located in St. Paul, is currently negotiating for the acquisition of The Ponds rental properties. He explained there are over 100 rental units in The Ponds development, and that Westminster has been awarded $700,000 from the Federal Home Program for 1993 to put towards the acquisition of these properties. The Community Development Specialist reported on the City's participation in the Minnesota City Participation Program, which is a first -time home buyer program sponsored by the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency (MHFA). He explained the City of Brooklyn Center has exceeded its original allocation with regard to mortgage funds under this program. This means that the City was able to generate more mortgages under the first -time home buyer program for 1992 than it had originally planned. He explained this was an extremely successful program in the City, and the EDA is looking forward to another first -time home buyer program for 1993. The Community Development Specialist explained the Scattered Site Acquisition Program is ongoing in the City, and currently the City has five (5) lots available for redevelopment, along with another six (6) lots turned back to the City from the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The EDA averages between 2 to 3 homes per year in its acquisition program for blighted properties. With regard to the home rehabilitation deferred loan program, he pointed out there is currently a waiting list for this program of between 60 and 65 applicants. Additionally, the Household Outside Maintenance for the Elderly (H.O.M.E.) program provides assistance with minor exterior maintenance items for senior citizens and disabled persons. A new program the City will be conducting on a pilot project basis this year is the Rental to Owner program. The Community Development Specialist explained this program provides grant funds to assist potential qualified buyers to purchase existing single family rental and nonhomestead property and convert it to owner- occupied property. He also pointed out the Realtors Day event, which will be taking place on May 5, 1993, will be an effort to familiarize local realtors with City services and programs, along with school 3 -16 -93 2 A district services and programs. One of the goals of the program is to provide realtors with consumer oriented information that will make their job of selling homes in Brooklyn Center easier. Chairman Eoloff added that other activities of the Housing Commission over the past year included a review of Point Of Sale and Truth In Housing ordinances, along with continued review of the City's housing maintenance code efforts. He pointed out the Housing Commission has recommended against proceeding with the adoption of any Truth In Housing or Point Of Sale type ordinances, and feels comfortable with the ordinances that are currently in place to assure housing maintenance. Chairman Eoloff requested Commissioner Torres to review the activities of the Earle Brown Neighborhood Housing Advisory Committee, and pointed out that Commissioner Torres and Frantum were members of the Earle Brown Committee, as well as Housing Commission members. Commissioner Torres reported that the activities of the Earle Brown Committee included producing a quarterly newsletter, participating in the Metro Paint- A -Thon, an in -depth review and discussion of the City's housing maintenance code efforts, and recently the committee has been involved in coordinating the public input for a potential neighborhood street improvement program in the southeast neighborhood. He pointed out that at the last Earle Brown Committee meeting, the committee recommended that the Council authorize a public hearing on the street improvement project for the southeast neighborhood. Chairman Eoloff stated that he hoped this review of current and past Housing Commission activities has helped the new commission members. Commissioner Erickson also urged the new members to read the Maxfield Housing Study, which recommends street improvements, including curb and gutter, for the southeast neighborhood and gives a good feel for the entire community with regard to housing. STAFF REPORT ON SHINGLE CREEK TOWERS The Community Development Specialist reported that he had been requested by the Housing Commission to begin reviewing the status of Shingle Creek Towers. He explained the reason for investigating this matter is that currently Shingle Creek Towers is a subsidized building and that many of these types of subsidized buildings across the country are now reaching the end of their subsidy. Shingle Creek Towers is a 236 building, which means that this is the number for the HUD subsidy for the program. 236 is a rent limitation program where rents are limited for a twenty year period so that people of low and moderate income can afford the rents. The Community Development Specialist explained that 236 programs generally had a twenty year mortgage which limited the rent for this period and that according to the initial agreement and mortgage, owners of these properties could prepay their mortgages 3 -16 -93 3 w at some point in time during the course of the mortgage and by doing that could free up the property to become a market rate property. He pointed out Congress has passed an emergency law placing a moratorium on prepaying these types of mortgages. There is currently a lawsuit challenging this moratorium. In order to prepay on the mortgage, the owner of the property obtains an appraisal on the property and HUD also obtains an appraisal on the property. The actual payoff is based on these two appraisals of the buildings on a per unit basis. Currently in the metro area, the average appraisal to prepay on these types of subsidized units is $60,000 per unit. However, due to the moratorium there are currently no buildings that are experiencing prepayment. According to information obtained from Publicorp, Inc., the firm that assisted the City in developing its Housing Implementation Plan, Shingle Creek Towers will is eligible to prepay no sooner than July 24, 1994. In addition to the moratorium, the federal government is encouraging the subsidized projects to remain subsidized by providing incentives, such as if the owner accepts the rent limitations on a building to rent to persons of eighty percent (80 median income or lower, the owner can get a project -based Section 8 provision for the entire building. A project -based Section 8 certification means that every unit in the building will be eligible to receive Section 8 rent assistance. However, when people leave the units, the Section 8 subsidy does not-leave with them but remains with the unit. According to the personnel at Publicorp, there is presently little or no danger of the building being prepaid. The Community Development Specialist explained that he would continue to monitor the situation at Shingle Creek Towers, and would try and obtain more specific information as to the future intent of the owner of the building. DISCUSSION: SURVEY OF CITY RESIDENTS MOVING IN AND MOVING OUT OF, THE CITY The Community Development Specialist explained he had obtained a copy of the City of Brooklyn Park resident survey, which was used to survey residents moving out of the City of Brooklyn Park and their reasons for doing so. Committee members reviewed the Brooklyn Park resident survey and generally agreed that most of the questions would be usable in developing a similar survey for the City of Brooklyn Center. One specific item that the committee members suggested be deleted is the question on family income and it was suggested a question on occupation be substituted for income. The commission directed the Community Development Specialist to prepare a draft of a survey for Brooklyn Center residents leaving 3 -16 -93 4 the City and also to use the Brooklyn Park survey to format a survey for persons moving into the City of Brooklyn Center for the next Housing Commission meeting. ADJOURNMENT There was a motion by Commissioner Erickson and seconded by Commissioner Torres to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed. The Brooklyn Center Housing Commission adjourned at 8:10 p.m. Chairperson 3 -16 -93 5