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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - Community Development Advisory Commission - Meeting Date: 3/21/2024Glendale A R I Z O N A MINUTES COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE GLENDALE CIVIC CENTER SAPPHIRE ROOM 5760 W. GLENN DR. GLENDALE, ARIZONA 86301 MARCH 21, 2024 6:30 P.M. 1. CALL TO ORDER Vice -Chair Gallegos called the meeting to order at 6:21 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL Present: Moises Gallegos, Vice Chair Kelly Carbello, Committee Member David Giles, Committee Member Brandon Hiller, Committee Member Carlos Vargas, Committee Member Absent: Lisa Baker, Chair Kirstin Flores, Committee Member Oscar Gonzales, Committee Member Theodora Hackenberg, Committee Member Also Present: Matthew Hess, Community Revitalization Administrator Karen Mofford, Housing Administrator Trilese DiLeo, Grants Supervisor Yolanda Poole, Administrative Support Specialist 3. CITIZEN COMMENTS One public comment -about car towing was received via email. Mr. Hess stated he directed the member of the public to the correct department. 4. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES a. Motion by Committee Member Giles, second by Committee Member Carbello, to approve the February 15, 2024 minutes of the Community Development Advisory Committee meeting. The motion carried 5 — 0. 5. OLD BUSINESS None. 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Public Hearing #2 - 2024-25 Annual Action Plan and Substantial Plan Amendment Mr. Hess called the public hearing to order at 5:32 p.m. The public hearing was held prior to the start of the CDAC meeting. Mr. Hess stated the purpose of the hearing was to solicit public comment and discussion on the City of Glendale FY2024-25 HUD Annual Action Plan and to discuss proposed allocations and reallocations from prior years of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Home Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) and Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) funding from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Mr. Hess discussed that the City has not received final grant allocation from HUD for FY 2024-25. For planning and discussion purposes the City assumes the following level funding from FY 2023-24. CDBG: $2,354,682 HOME: $775,957 ESG: $208,142 Total: $3,338,781 In addition to new FY2024-25 funding, the City will also need to allocate program income to eligible activities. Currently, the City has a total of $939,048.80 in program income from the following sources: $49,572.37 - CDBG; $6,334.79 - HOME; $821,166.89 - NSP I; $61,974.75 - NSP III Mr. Hess stated the money must be spent to promote or advance the goals outlined ir. the 2020-24 Annual Action Plan (AAP); GOAL 1: Promote Access to Decent Affordable Housing GOAL 2: Increase Access to Homeless Services/ Housing GOAL 3: Increase Access to Public Services for Vulnerable Populations GOAL 4: Provide Educational Programs and Business Assistance GOAL 5: Enhance Livability of Neighborhoods GOAL 6: Affirmatively Further Fair Housing Regulations Mr. Hess also stated that under HUD regulations, it is a requirement of communities to complete these amendments under the following circumstances: . A community wants to add a new activity or delete an existing activity in its entirety; or . Funding for an existing activity is increased or decreased by 20% or more; or . If there are substantial changes to the purpose, scope or beneficiaries of an activity. Mr. Hess went on to discuss the goal of affordable housing as it relates to new rental development, Low -Income Housing Tax Credit Projects (LIHTC), and the recent successes in creating 1,400 units with a total private investment of over $500 million. The city's participation allows the developers to get the credits they need for those tax credits to leverage the private funding needed to add housing stock to help alleviate the current housing crisis. Committee Member Vargas inquired about the report's absence of home ownership as presented and asked if there were any initiatives in the current plan to support home ownership. Mr. Hess responded there were not any current initiatives included to promote home ownership. He stated the city is not obligated to provide a home ownership program. It is considered a potential activity within the goal, but ultimately, if the City determines the needs lie elsewhere, that goal is still acceptable. Committee Member Vargas inquired who was responsible for the decisions in the report; was it appointed or elected officials? Mr. Hess responded it is a combination of both staff and elected officials. He welcomed Mr. Vargas's feedback and input in consideration of the City providing a program for home ownership. Mr. Hess also noted any feedback received would be incorporated and discussed with the City Council. Vice -Chair Gallegos inquired if the lack of a home ownership program was from a lack of funding or what was the history of the decisions made to not have this program. Mr. Hess responded it changes from year to year depending on the state of the economy. He stated that in today's economy, the cost of single-family homes is so high that the amount of the subsidy would need to be 10's of thousands of dollars and the restrictions on income would preclude most people from qualifying for the program and far fewer people would benefit. Committee Member Vargas brought up the 300 partners mentioned in the program and referenced Habitat for Humanity and was concerned that proposals are being floated for housing without adequate consideration of parking. He was concerned that a city the size of Glendale does not have a proposal or plan to assist with home ownership. Mr. Hess agreed that home ownership is a wonderful way to create wealth and stability in low-income communities. He stated that the housing crisis is so dire that the best way to leverage community funds is through rental units. Mr. Hess addressed the parking concern and said developers are required to abide by the city guidelines and ordinances. Mr. Hess stated that the Housing Voucher program has an element of home ownership and it does exist in the housing choice voucher program. Mr. Hess noted that the Annual Action Plan (AAP) is in draft form and just because a home ownership plan is not included in the draft does not mean it's not important to the community. The document is meant to be an all-inclusive description of the possible needs. It does not obligate the City to allocate money, but prevents the need to have to go back and ask for an amendment to the Consolidated Plan. Committee Member Carbello asked for home ownership to stay on the table in the goals and somewhere in the plan. Mr. Hess suggested that something could be agendized or have a future discussion to discuss the potential to increase home ownership in the City. Mr. Hess discussed the reallocation of prior year funds. Committee Member Carbello stated that she would not support the funds being used for case management for Glendale Works because she feels it is not a jobs program. Mr. Hess clarified the money for case management would be used to fund Glendale Works Coordinators. Committee Member Carbello stated that the program was worthy, but she was concerned that the services overlapped with the Glendale Works program. She added she would be happy to see a jobs program in place of the Glendale Works program. She is concerned it does not provide a permanent job or job skills. Mr. Hess mentioned a workforce program funded by Phoenix Rescue Mission and he would be happy to provide more information about that program at the next meeting. He also mentioned an additional benefit of Glendale Works is that they clean up city properties, including public housing, the landfill, parks and rights of way. Mr. Hess mentioned all the comments and suggestions would be recorded, considered and put into the draft plan and presented to the council for their decision in April. Mr. Hess closed the public hearing at 6:20 p.m. b. Public Hearing: 2024 Annual Housing Plan, Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Administrative Plan, Admissions and Continued Occupancy Policy (ACOP) Changes, and the Capital Fund Five -Year Plan Ms. Mofford gave a presentation on the FY2023-24 Annual Housing Plan, Housing Administration and ACOP Changes and Capital Fund Five -Year Plan. Committee Member Gallegos inquired about general-purpose funding versus HUD funding. Ms. Mofford clarified that HUD provides all the funding for the City of Glendale public housing. Committee Member Vargas inquired about the $20,000 cost for landscaping services and whether the city used a contract. Ms. Mofford confirmed it was a city contract. Committee Member Carbello inquired about the $385,000 cost of repaving parking lots. Ms. Mofford explained that it had been 10-12 years since the parking lots had been repaved and restriped and it was a needed expenditure. Committee Member Gallegos inquired about the cost of maintaining City Housing due to the age of the units and the attrition rate. Ms. Mofford responded that the City of Glendale has 155 units, the attrition rate is about 10%, and the waiting list could last 3-4 years. Ms. Mofford discussed the possibility of HUD repositioning the existing City of Glendale public housing and explained that it's in the 5-year plan, which enables the exploration of new sites and ideas. Committee Member Carbello followed up with whether the current City of Glendale public housing could become a historic designation. Ms.Mofford said it had not been discussed, but it could be a possibility. Ms. Carbello suggested that the city should seek the communities' input when the repositioning reaches the planning stages. Ms. Mofford stated there would be plenty of opportunities for the community to provide feedback. Committee Member Vargas also stated he was in favor of exploring the historical value of the Glendale Homes. Ms. Mofford closed the public hearing at 7:01 p.m. 7. DIRECTOR'S REPORT Mr. Hess announced that Denise Kazmierczak, the city's meeting transcriptionist, had passed away. He stated that Denise had worked with the CDAC for several years and that her presence would be missed. 8. COMMITTEE MEMBER COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS Committee Member Vargas wanted the minutes to reflect his request for information from the September 21, 2023 CDAC meeting had not been answered. 9. NEXT MEETING The next regular meeting of the Community Development Advisory Committee will be held on April 18th at 5:30 p.m. in the Sapphire Room at the Glendale Civic Center, located at 5750 W. Glenn Dr., Glendale, Arizona, 85301. 10. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Committee Member Carbello, second by Committee Member Hiller, to adjourn the meeting at 7:03 p.m. Motion carried 5-0. The Community Development Advisory Committee meeting minutes of March 21, 2024, were submitted and approved on the 18th day of April 2024 1&�' n� ��e� Yolanda Poole Administrative Support Specialist