Housing & Community Development Committee

HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE October 12, 2020 MINUTES CALL TO ORDER A meeting of the Clarksville Housing and Community Development Committee was called to order by Councilwoman Stacey Streetman on Monday, October 12, 2020, at 4:00 p.m. in the City Hall Conference Room, 1 Public Square, Clarksville, Tennessee. This meeting was conducted via Google Meets. ATTENDANCE The following members were connected to the meet: PARTICIPATING: Jeff Burkhart, Stacey Streetman, and Travis Holleman Dennis Newburn, Tammy Kilgore, Lisa Walker, Deborah Johnson and Sirena Watkins were physically present as well. APPROVAL OF ELECTRONIC MEETING Councilman Holleman made a motion for the approval of the electronic meeting due to current COVID-19 concerns. Councilman Burkhart seconded the motion which passed unanimously. ADOPTION OF MINUTES Councilman Burkhart made a motion for the approval for the past minutes (June 8th and September 14th). Councilman Holleman seconded the motion which passed unanimously. NEW BUSINESS Dennis Newburn, Director Housing and Community Development, gave a summary on the review process that has been going on for the services and activities that the Housing and Community Development office is currently engaged in. The hope going forward is to continue doing the work this department has done in the past and build upon and continue providing service to the low-income citizens of Clarksville. The Mayor has tasked our office with a variety of different things, some of which are familiar to the City and some which are not. A few things the office is doing, that perhaps are a little different than in previous years, is ways to use CDBG and HOME funds in a way to receive the maximum amount of usage. The office will be looking at different approaches for new projects with the idea that certain areas of the community will be established where funds would have the best and most immediate impact. In other areas of the community, for example the Red River area, the Frosty Morn stack has been demolished. Our office is in the process of trying to identify other activities for the Frosty Morn property that would complement the work that will go on at the Vulcan site next door. Affordable housing, market rate housing and commercial facilities are among some of the things our office is currently looking at. Our office is currently looking closely at how things can be done differently both in the use of CDBG and HOME funds as well as other HUD funds that may be available to the City that have never been pursued before. With regards to new programs and the COVID issue, we have been fortunate during this unfortunate time to receive HUD funds that can be used to help fight COVID-19. Staff Reports: Homeless Services Mr. Newburn addressed homelessness. In the last couple of months our office has been actively looking at ways to maximize the availability of facilities as well as programs and services for those that are homeless or near homeless. Martias Kendrick, Project Coordinator, actually manages this part of the program. Our office is currently in the process of determining inventory of the number of beds that are available to the homeless. At the on-set of the Covid-19 virus, many organizations in the community that actually provided housing are no longer doing so. The capacity of house the homeless in Clarksville has been greatly diminished as a result of this. Our office is looking at the inventory that is available to figure out the best way to proceed when the temperature gets below 32 degrees. Our office also needs to figure out a way to increase the supply of affordable housing particularly transitional housing opportunities. Most of the housing efforts as it relates to homeless are short term but there is not a lot of focus on transitional housing opportunities which would be the bridge to homeownership. There will be a more extensive discussion at the November Council Committee meeting about homelessness and some of the partners that we now have. Neighborhood Planning Mr. Newburn explained that our office is looking at the idea of targeting certain neighborhoods for assistance. The practice over the past few years would be called peace-mill development. This concept worked out very well for a homeowner that had their house rehabilitated, but if there are other areas around the community that remain defected or blighted, the rehabilitation doesn’t do much for the neighborhood. Our office is now focusing on concentrated development and is in the process of actually surveying neighborhoods for possible identification and use. Lisa Walker, Project Manager, is heading up this project. Mrs. Walker explained that our office is in the process of completing a 90-day revitalization plan. We are doing an assessment of different census tracts and the block groups within each census tract. Each Housing and Community Development staff member was assigned two block groups within a census tract to access what the needs may be in those areas. Each staff member was tasked to observe the area, collect the demographics in that area, propose a vision of what they felt the neighborhood should look like, what the deficiencies are or resources that may be lacking. They needed to explain how other city departments could help support their vision and how the neighborhoods could get involved in those areas. The staff is using a chart to determine the best fit for those areas which include stable, intermediate, reinvestment and disinvested. A Stable or healthy neighborhood is one in which basic City services are adequate to maintain a high quality of life. In these neighborhoods, housing and infrastructure conditions are sound, property ownership is stable and investments are steady. There are no significant threats to public safety and citizens participate actively in neighborhood or community issues. In these areas, residents have the ability to maintain their neighborhood in a healthy state, with little or no need for outside assistance. An Intermediate neighborhood is an area where City attention may be needed in some aspect to maintain neighborhood stability and prevent future deterioration. These neighborhoods may need some slight increases in City maintenance and service needs, which should be expected as a normal result of neighborhood aging. As with stable neighborhoods, housing and infrastructure conditions are essentially sound, with minor deterioration limited to spot locations. Residents are likely to reinvest in their neighborhood and participate actively in issues that affect them. Reinvestment neighborhoods are at a crossroads. They require an increased level of City involvement to maintain and/or restore a high quality of life. In these neighborhoods, deteriorated infrastructure cannot be addressed through regular City maintenance programs and the housing stock may need significant rehabilitation. These neighborhoods may also experience increased incidents of crime or other public safety problems. Population trends may include a decline in owner-occupancy and decreasing household incomes. This could make it more difficult for residents to invest in their neighborhood or to be active in problem- solving efforts. A Disinvested neighborhood requires a significant level of City intervention to address neighborhood problems to restore a positive quality of life. In many cases, basic services cannot keep up with needs, and parts of the area require major reinvestment to prevent further decline. Property maintenance is a significant problem and major infrastructure improvements may be necessary. Levels of private reinvestment are low, and residents may face significant obstacles when trying to address neighborhood problems on their own. The staff is currently taking pictures and writing up reports to submit for evaluation. Mrs. Walker and Mr. Newburn will review the proposals to determine which will be the best fit for the plan. Our office is in the first stages of collecting the data. Mr. Newburn explained the 2021-2022 program period. There is an extensive application process which then goes to the City Council for a resolution asking the Mayor to be able to file an application with HUD. Our office is getting ready to start the process again. There are many organizations in this community that could possibly qualify for funding if they were aware that it existed. There is another group of organizations that have tried to participate in our programs and for a variety of reasons, either not understanding the process or not qualifying. Our office is going to spend more time providing technical assistance to organizations on the front end so they are fully aware of the rules of the programs. Our office’s job is to provide technical assistance so organizations have a better understating of the process. We will be including that as a pre- application process and the application process will begin after that.  2021 WBE Conference Mrs. Walker stated our office planning to do a luncheon in 2021 by providing speakers and vendors for Minority and Women Owned Businesses. We are focusing on bringing thus to the forefront in our community since this is an area that is lacking. Mrs. Walker stated she would like meet with Councilwoman Streetman and a representative from Montgomery County as well to come up with a plan. Councilwoman Streetman stated she would love to participate. Consolidated Plan Tammy Kilgore, Grants Analyst, gave a brief summary about the 5-year consolidated plan. The Consolidated Plan identifies what the community needs are. For CDBG funds this year, the City received $1,021,544. For HOME funds this year, the City received $489,225. The current use of CDBG funds are used for capital projects and public services. The 2020-2024 5-year strategic plan is establishing goals and priorities for addressing needs identified and allocating resources which include housing, homeless, public service, public facilities, and infrastructure. Finance Deborah Johnson, Finance Director, explained she is currently learning HUD rules, working on reconciling accounts, getting things cleaned up and working on the Fiscal Year audit. ADJOURNMENT There being no questions or comments, Councilman Burkhart made a motion that the meeting be adjourned. The motion was seconded by Councilman Holleman. The meeting was adjourned at 4:27 p.m.