Lodi Improvement Committee

LODI IMPROVEMENT COMMITTEE REGULAR MEETING MINUTES April 14, 2015 6:00 P.M. ROLL CALL BOARD STAFF PRESENT ABSENT Sunil Yadav (Chair) Maria Rosado Joseph Wood, CDD Curt Juran (Vice-Chair) Kari Chadwick CDD Fran Forkas I. MINUTES Neighborhood Services Manager Joseph Wood made a correction to the minutes regarding the year 2015-16 for the CDBG items. MOTION/VOTE: The Minutes for the March 10, 2015 Regular Meeting are available for approval. Motion made by Vice-Chair Juran, seconded by Member Forkas to approve the Minutes from the March 10, 2015 Regular meeting as amended above. The above motion carried by the following vote: Ayes: Chair Yadav, Vice-Chair Juran and Mr. Forkas Noes: None Absent: Ms. Rosado II. ANNOUNCEMENTS/PRESENTATIONS A. Neighborhood Services Manager Joseph Wood reported that the Homeless Solutions Committee has announced the Homelessness Summit to be held on April 16, 2015 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in Jackson Hall at the Lodi Grape Festival Grounds. The goal of the Summit is to gather solutions to Lodi’s growing homelessness population and develop a strategic plan to implement that can be supported by the Lodi community. Mr. Wood stated that at the Shirtsleeve meeting held on March 17th there were business owners from the downtown attending that were adamantly against the idea and were prepared to speak their mind. Between the PowerPoint presentation given by the Police Department, the discussion with the Salvation Armory and the Foundation discussion any issues were quickly defused. The business owners came away completely satisfied with the direction being taken. B. Mr. Wood reported the Lodi Junior Giants Program has opened registration for players and coaches for the 2015 Season. We expect to have 225 – 300 youth participating in the program this year, so it is imperative that we recruit significantly more volunteer coaches for the season. The season begins June 13 and concludes August 14th. Mr. Wood added that last year the organization started with 166 kids and this year with only being a month into registration there are already 125 kids registered and we are  Lodi Improvement Committee Regular Meeting Minutes Tuesday, April 14, 2015 Page 2 of 5 expecting to surpass last year’s number. There is a big need for coaches, so please put the word out. Mr. Juran asked if that request has been posted on the Jr. Giants Facebook page. Mr. Wood stated it had. Mr. Juran asked for him to repost, so he could share it. III. AGENDA ITEMS A. Election of Officers Mr. Wood gave a brief introduction and stated that the By-Laws specify that the elections of officers shall take place annually at the first meeting in April. Chair Yadav stated that he would like to have all of the Committee members present to elect officers. Mr. Juran asked if a motion needs to be made. Mr. Wood stated that it does. MOTION/VOTE: Chair Yadav made the motion to table the elections until the June meeting, Member Juran seconded the motion. The motion carried by the following vote: Ayes: Chair Yadav, Vice-Chair Juran and Mr. Forkas Noes: None Absent: Ms. Rosado B. Review of 2015/16 CDBG Annual Action Plan Mr. Wood reported that the City will receive $613,405 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding for the 2015/16 fiscal year. In order to be eligible to receive those funds, the City of Lodi must submit a Consolidated Plan to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) every five years, and is required to update that plan annually. The Consolidated Plan is an assessment and analysis of local conditions and issues related to housing, homelessness, community development, and economic development. Utilizing a comprehensive outreach and citizen participation process, the Consolidated Plan describes priority needs facing the community and develops strategies to address those needs. This 2015 Annual Action Plan is the second of five required annual updates to the 2014-2018 Consolidated Plan. Mr. Wood stated that the Committee Members have until the 23rd of April to submit comments. Member Forkas stated his appreciation for the document. Chair Yadav stated his appreciation for having the document ahead of the meeting for the purpose of review. Vice-Chair Juran stated that he would like to see any money left-over from the Hutchins Street Square project put toward the Cherokee Lane ADA Improvements. Lodi Improvement Committee Regular Meeting Minutes Tuesday, April 14, 2015 Page 3 of 5 Mr. Wood stated that this is the second installment for the Hutchins Street Square project. The entire project was going to require more money than could be funded in a single year, so it was spilt into two separate projects. Last year the south side was done and the leftover funds from that were re-assigned to the second stage, or the north side area. Chair Yadav stated that he has been receiving many positive comments regarding the work that has already been done on Cherokee Lane. Mr. Wood stated that there were two separate concepts brought up to the City Council; one is a Revitalization Strategy area, which will look at creating a target area and developing specific goals and objectives that we want to accomplish to relieve the issues of poverty and distress and to have a Community Based Development Organization (CBDO) designated to carry out some of the public services needed to reach those objectives set out for that area. California Human Development being the likely candidate for that CBDO. Once the plan has been development it will be taken to HUD for their approval. The benefit for this is that the moneys spent under this plan in this area will not have to go against the public service cap. Mr. Juran asked for clarification regarding Graffiti Abatement being part of the Public Services. Mr. Wood stated that it is a part of that cap. The second item was creating a partnership with Habitat for Humanity which would give us access to $1 million to fund an acquisition, rehabbing and resale program to help provide affordable housing. Mr. Juran asked for clarification that the idea is to put the moneys back into the program once the home has been resold. Mr. Wood stated that is correct. There would also be a portion set aside for paying back the loan. Vice-Chair Juran asked if there is a blighted home can it be taken under eminent domain, rehabbed and then put back into the program. Mr. Wood stated not through this program. A forced abatement is a code enforcement action and is difficult to do. Mr. Wood stated that the Lodi Improvement Committee can play a large role in helping with the establishment of the goals and objectives and assist in the oversight of the program. Vice-Chair Juran motioned to draft a letter for the Lodi Improvement Committee to support the NRSA, Member Forkas seconded the motion. The motion carried by the following vote: Ayes: Chair Yadav, Vice-Chair Juran and Mr. Forkas Noes: None Absent: Ms. Rosado C. Follow up on Issues From Previous Meetings Follow up on Goals for 2015/16  Address Main Street Issues Lodi Improvement Committee Regular Meeting Minutes Tuesday, April 14, 2015 Page 4 of 5 o Had a coordinating meeting with Deputy City Attorney John Fukasawa and Fire Marshal Gene Stoddart to review data provided by LPD. It appears that the Golden Era Hotel, 18 S. Main Street is the source of problems on that block. The two other residence hotels have the owner’s living on-site so they keep a better lid on what goes on there. o Rather than developing a Neighborhood Improvement Strategy for that entire area, we will be looking to focus attention on the owners of the Golden Era and lay out a specific plan for them to follow in order to address the nuisance issues along that block. Mr. Wood stated that the City Manager is in full support of meeting with the owner. Chair Yadav stated that he believes that the process is taking too long to get it under control and there is a problem with the fact that there isn’t an onsite manager. Vice-Chair Juran asked if that was the hotel where the alarms were turned off. Mr. Wood stated that the property was having a problem with the alarms and someone called in to state that they needed to put the alarm on test to avoid the false alarms that can become very costly.  Cherokee Lane o $75,000 allocated to first phase of ADA improvements along Cherokee Lane.  Habitat for Humanity o Meeting with Habitat for Humanity on April 24th to start fine tuning the program that we intend to fund through the Section 108 Loan Guarantee Program. Vice Chair Juran asked where the meeting will be taking place. Mr. Wood stated that it will be in the Community Development conference room.  Monitoring Alley Improvements o Waiting on word from Public Works as to what alley they will be working on next. Member Forkas asked if this is going to be done in conjunction with the water meter program. Mr. Wood stated that they are not.  Eastside Afterschool Programs and Activities o Junior Giants Program – Registration has begun. Fundraising efforts are underway.  Community Improvement Award/Community Service Award  Gang Problem o Our Youth Outreach Worker Ruben Guardiola has completed the transition from part-time to full-time. o Lodi Unified has committed to funding one-half of his salary and has commented that they would be willing to fund one-half of a second position. Staff is still uncertain whether Lodi City Council will make that move to grow the program.