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HomeMy Public PortalAboutA 2013-03-20 - CDBG AGENDA SPECIAL MEETING COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT ADVISORY BOARD COMMISSION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013 6:00 P.M. LYNWOOD CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS 11330 BULLIS ROAD, LYNWOOD, CA 90262 Evelia Hernandez, Chairperson Iris Pygatt, Vice Chairperson Yolanda Rodriguez, Commissioner Patricia Carr, Commissioner Dion Cornelious, Commissioner OPENING CEREMONIES: RECEIVE * A. CALL TO ORDER MAR 13 2013 B. FLAG SALUTE CITY OF LYNWOOD 41 CLERKS OFFICE C. ROLL CALL D. CERTIFICATION OF AGENDA POSTING • E. PUBLIC ORALS: (ITEMS ON AGENDA ONLY) F. NEW BUSINESS 1. Public Works Presentation — FY 2013 Sidewalk 2. HUD FY 2013 Funding Recommendation Review and Discussion G. STAFF ORALS H. BOARD ORALS I. ADJOURNMENT DATE: March 12, 2013 TO: Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Commission FROM: Sarah M. Withers, Community Development Director BY: Annette Potts, Deputy Director of Admin. Services SUBJECT: FISCAL YEAR 2013 FUND RECOMMENDATIONS On March 6, 2013, the CDBG Commission held a meeting to review proposals and discuss funding recommendations for fiscal year 2013 CDBG and HOME Program funds. As a result of the meeting the following recommendations were made: FY 2013 FY 2013 CDBG Administration (20%) . Request Recommendation NOTES CDBG Administration 206,000 206,000 Fair Housing Foundation 18,000 8,500 Fair Housing of Orange 15,500 0 Section 108 Pymt. 632,980 632,980 Code Enforcement 450,000 181,360 Sidewalk Improvements 100,000 0 Pavement Improvements 250,000 71,360 Crossing Guards • 100,000 0 Seniors 221,329 40,000 Natatorium 117,251 0 1,067,840 The City has not yet received its FY 2013 allocation amounts, however as a result of our mid-year fund review and the close out of various CDBG funded activities with remaining balances, we were able to estimate that by June 30th the City will have an additional $125,000 in carryover funds and $36,000 in program income for a total of $161,000 available to fund community conservation activities, as highlighted above. Therefore we are requesting that you reconsider your recommendations in order to take into consideration the additional funding. Once final recommendations are made, staff will advertise for a 30 day review period (March 22, 2013 — April 22, 2013), the draft FY 2013 Consolidated Annual Plan which will include your funding recommendations. A public hearing will be held on April 3, 2013, for you and the public to review and comment on the draft and on May 7, 2013, the draft FY 2013 Consolidated Annual Plan will be submitted to City Council for final approval. Thank you for your cooperation. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT ADVISORY BOARD COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2013 6:00 P.M. CALL TO ORDER: CDBG Commission Chairperson Evelia Hernandez called the meeting to order at 6:10 p.m. on the above captioned date and lead the Commission in the Pledge of Allegiance. All in attendance participated. ROLL CALL: Present: Evelia Hernandez, Chairperson; Dion Cornelious, Commissioner Yolanda Rodriguez, Commissioner; and Patricia Carr, Commissioner Absent: Iris Pygatt, Commissioner Also in attendance was Annette Potts, Deputy Director of Administrative Service, CDBG Commission Liaison. CERTIFICATION OF AGENDA POSTING: Staff stated that the Agenda was posted per the Brown Act. NEW BUSINESS: Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Fiscal Year 2013 Funding Proposal Review and Recommendations Annette Potts gave a brief overview of the meeting's purpose, which was to review funding proposals submitted for fiscal year 2013 CDBG and HOME program funds and to make funding recommendations to Lynwood City Council. Ms. Potts informed the Commission that the City's expects a 5% reduction to its current grant allocation and that adjustments will be made to their funding recommendations once HUD has released FY 2013 fund allocation numbers. The CDBG Commission proceeded to review individual activities as listed in the packet provided by staff, beginning with Program Administration. Ms. Potts explained that the City can only spend 20% of its allocation for program administration and that as part of program administration the City is required to provide a fair housing component designed to further fair housing objectives for all persons, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status or handicap; and providing fair housing enforcement, education and outreach activities to the Lynwood community. The Commission reviewed the three proposals listed in the administration category and after a brief discussion the CDBG Commission moved and approved not to fund the Fair Housing Council of Orange County. Further review resulted in the CDBG Commission recommending unanimously to fund CDBG Program Administration in the amount requested and the Fair Housing Foundation to receive the balance of funds available in this category, as follows: CDBG Administration: $206,000 Fair Housing Foundation $ 7,500 Fair Housing Council of Orange: -0- The next category for review was Community Conservation. Ms. Potts explained that funds were limited in this category, however that the Commission can use funds from the Public Service category for activities listed in this category. The Commission asked if funds in community conservation category could be moved to public services. Ms. Potts answered no, that public service funds were limited to 15% of the City's allocation. Ms. Potts explained the Section 108 Loan obligation to the Commission, that the purpose of the loan was to subsidize the construction of Plaza Mexico and the intent was to repay the loan with tax increment money received as a result of that construction. As part of the loan terms, the City pledged its CDBG funds to repay the Section 108 Loan, in the case there were no other funds were available for repayment. However, due to the State takeaways, the dissolution of Redevelopment Agencies, etc., there are no tax increment funds to make payment for this loan, therefore the City is obligated to make the payment with CDBG funds, as pledged. A discussion took place regarding the lack of tax revenue received from Plaza Mexico. The Commission agreed that the City should be more forceful in regulating businesses at the Plaza Mexico site. After further discussion, the CDBG Commission moved unanimously to approve funds in the amount of $632,980 for the Section 108 Loan repayment in order to meet the City fiscal year 2013 obligation. After the funding of the Section Loan, there was approximately $71,360 reminding to address funding requests for Code Enforcement, Pavement Improvements and Sidewalk Improvements. Ms. Potts reminded the Commission that funds can be moved from the public service category to address community conservation. Needs. Commissioner Cornelious made a motion to divide the remaining funds among pavement improvement and sidewalk improvements. No one seconded this motion. Commissioner Can said that funds would be wasted on these activities because the funds would not be enough to fund the total projects, so public works would probably only design the project with CDBG funds and not be able to complete construction unless other funds were available. Ms. Carr asked if Public Works received funding from other sources, staff replied yes. Commissioner Carr conveyed that City Council would probably want funds to go to Code Enforcement, as is evidenced in the past. Commissioner Rodriguez agreed, she had attended the City Council meeting the night before, whereas discussion took place regarding garage conversions, lack of code enforcement personnel, etc. However, Ms. Gonzales agreed that there is a need for sidewalk improvements and that the City has a big liability in not repairing damaged sidewalks. Commissioner Cornelious noted that Code Enforcement received revenue and should be self sufficient, able to support their operation. Ms. Potts mentioned that if the CDBG Commission does not providing funding for Code Enforcement, it could result in the reduction of staff and services. After further discussion, Commissioner Cornelious amended his motion to approve the payment of the Section 108 Loan in the amount of $632,980 and the remaining balance of $71,360 be provided for sidewalk improvements. The CDBG Commission decided not to fund Code enforcement and pavement improvements due to lack of available funds. All CDBG Commissioner agreed unanimously to fund programs in this category as follows: Section 108 Loan Repayment: $632,980 Sidewalk Improvement: $ 71,360 Code Enforcement: -0- Pavement Improvement: -0- The next category for review was public services. Proposals reviewed were for Lynwood Crossing Guards; Lynwood Seniors and Natatorium. Commissioner Cornelious expressed how important the crossing guard program is to Lynwood youth. The Commission discussed that fact that the School District should be responsible for the crossing guards. Staff explained that the City had tried on many occasions to get the school district involved with crossing guard activities and costs; however the school district has not cooperated. The Commission discussed that the Senior program received funding from several sources for different activities and food programs. The Commission asked if the Natatorium proposal was for salaries and benefits, which was confirmed by staff. After further discussion Commissioner Cornelious moved to fund the Crossing Guards in the amount of $100,000 and the Senior Citizen Program the balance of funds available. No funding was recommended for the Natatorium. All CDBG Commissioners agreed unanimously to the funding recommendation as follows: Lynwood Crossing Guards: $100,000 Lynwood Senior Citizens: 60,000 Lynwood Natatorium: -0- The final category for review was the HOME program. Ms. Potts explained that only 10% of the HOME allocation could be used for program administration and a minimum of 15% of the allocation must be used for Community Development Housing Organizations (CHDOs). A discussion took place regarding the length of time it takes to process a home improvement grant. Commissioner Hernandez mentioned a person that waited a year, however because it was a $10,000 grant, was worth the wait. Ms. Potts explained that the program's wait may be due to the fact that the HOME allocation has continued to reduce, and the City no longer has housing funds or set-aside funds to properly support housing administration and staffing. After a brief discuss the CDBG Commission unanimously agreed to fund the HOME program as follows: HOME Administration: $ 30,090 HOME CHDO activities: $ 45,135 HOME rehabilitation: $225,679 STAFF ORALS: Ms. Potts informed the Commission that staff is going to prepare the City of Lynwood's FY 2013 Consolidated Annual Action Plan and will be presenting the draft ConPlan to them in a public hearing, for public review and input. BOARD ORALS: None Adjournment: The CDBG Commission adjourned at 7:15 p.m. CDBG Chairperson Date Lynwood Staff Date