City Council

MANISTEE CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2017 – 6:00 P.M. - COUNCIL CHAMBERS (Immediately preceding the special work session.) I. Call to Order. a.) PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. b.) ROLL CALL. II. Citizen Comments on Agenda Related Items. III. New Business. a.) PUBLIC HEARING ON THE APPLICATION FOR A $1,000,000 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FOR THE FORMER NORTH CHANNEL OUTLET PROPERTY. The City of Manistee is applying for a $1,000,000 Community Development Block Grant to help fund the restoration of the former North Channel Outlet building. The grant will be used for blight elimination and historical restoration. A public hearing is required to allow the public to provide input into the proposed grant application. At this time Council could take action to hold a public hearing on the proposed Community Development Block Grant application. No action is anticipated on this item. b.) CONSIDERATION OF A FOIA COST ESTIMATE APPEAL, JAMES PRATT. James Pratt submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the City. An estimate of the costs for complying with the request was developed. Mr. Pratt feels the cost estimate is excessive and is now appealing the cost estimate to City Council. At this time Council could take action to approve the revised cost estimate associated with Mr. Pratt’s FOIA request, in response to his appeal. SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA – JANUARY 24, 2017 PAGE 1 IV. Concerns and Comments. a.) CITIZEN COMMENT. This is an opportunity for citizens to comment on municipal services, activities or areas of City involvement. Citizens in attendance shall be recognized by the Mayor for comments (limited to five minutes). Letters submitted to Council will not be publicly read. b.) OFFICIALS AND STAFF. c.) COUNCILMEMBERS. V. Adjourn. TNT:cl COUNCIL AGENDA ATTACHMENTS: 1. CDBG Application 2. CDBG Community Development Plan 3. FOIA Cost Estimate Appeal SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA – JANUARY 24, 2017 PAGE 2  PROJECT BUDGET MICHIGAN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM Private Budget: North Channel Investors LLC Project Address: 86 Washington Street, Manistee, MI 49660 Project Funding Sources (identify all other funding sources). Activities CDBG UGLG Private TOTAL Building - Renovations/Leasehold $625,500 $1,376,000 $ 2,001,500 Building - New Construction $0 $0 $ - Demolitions $0 $80,000 $ 80,000 LBP/ACM Abatement $22,000 $53,000 $ 75,000 Personal Property Acquisition/Installation $0 $0 $ - Private Soft Costs $0 $ - Real Property Acquisition $0 $0 $ - Residential Building - Renovations/Leasehold $0 $0 $ - Site Improvements/Remediation $50,000 $156,250 $ 206,250 On-the-Job Training $0 $0 $ - Vendor Training $0 $0 $ - Architecture/Engineering $76,725 $182,000 $ 258,725 Permits, Testing, General Conditions, Contractor Fee $69,750 $249,072 $ 318,822 Construction Contingency $126,025 $315,019 $ 441,044 TOTALS $970,000 $0 $2,411,341 $0 $0 $ 3,381,341 NCO CDBG Application Budget 01-18-17  City of Manistee (UGLG) Community Development Plan All UGLGs applying for funds under the CDBG Program are required to identify their community development and housing needs in accordance with the provisions set forth in Title 1 of the federal Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as amended. In order to comply with requirements outlined in federal legislation, it is not necessary for an UGLG to prepare an elaborate community development plan. It is expected that most UGLGs can satisfy this requirement in a two to three-page narrative summary plan. The adopted plan must include: 1. A statement assessing the needs and problems of the UGLG, including the needs of low and moderate income persons. In all applications, the assessment must address both overall community development and housing needs regardless of the category under which funding is requested. The City of Manistee’s housing needs were included in a County-wide housing study performed by Networks Northwest and incorporated in the City’s Master Plan as Section 2.5.1 – Residential Land Use and Rental Housing. This section of the Master Plan is included following Item 5 below. 2. A summary of possible long-term activities (two years or more) to address the identified needs and problems. The City will be evaluating the housing study prepared by Networks Northwest (see item #1 above) to identify the housing needs component applicable to the City. The City will then develop strategies to meet such housing needs. Concurrently, the Downtown Development Authority is reviewing available underutilized housing stock and developable vacant spaces on upstairs floors of existing historic buildings for the purpose of pursuing funding for rehabilitation/redevelopment of such vacant spaces into residential units. The Council Strategic Plan includes a section on Housing that also supports continued and ongoing development of a data driven housing strategy. 3. A summary of contemplated short-term activities (one to two years) to address the identified needs and problems. While it is not the intent to cover the housing needs of the entire County, the rehabilitation of the former North Channel property will immediately make available needed residential units in the City and its Downtown commercial district. The City is also a Redevelopment Ready certified community which will assist the City when entities looking to develop housing are considering the community. 4. A description of the effect the proposed CDBG project will have on the UGLG. The proposed rehabilitation of the former North Channel property will result in the creation of 14 new rental residential units at market and workforce rates, targeting housing needs within the City, especially in the Downtown area. The development will also incorporate a brewery and restaurant on the first floor which will provide an additional and much-needed dining alternative in the Downtown. 5. A plan for minimizing the displacement of persons as a result of grant assisted activities and to assist persons actually displaced by such activities. Prior to being vacated, the building to be rehabilitated was used for a single commercial purpose. The building did not contain residential units, therefore, no persons will be displaced as a result of its rehabilitation. Excerpt from City of Manistee Master Plan 2016 2.5.1 Residential Land Use and Rental Housing In 2003 the City instituted a rental registration program that requires all residential rentals within the City to be registered and inspected on a three-year-cycle. This program establishes minimum standards for dwellings offered for rent or lease, authorizes inspection of such dwelling, and assigns certain responsibilities and duties of landlords and occupants essential to make each dwelling safe, sanitary and fit for human habitation. Staff reviewed the Rental Registration list to establish where single family, two family and multi-family rentals were located to better understand the housing market in the Community. This includes residential units that are located in or as a part of a mixed use with commercial use. Rental Unit Type Number of Parcels Available Units Single-Family 283 284 Duplexes 121 242 Multi-Family 49 277 Housing Commission 8 167 Totals 460 970 Table 2.6: Rental Housing Networks Northwest, the regional planning agency for the 10 County region of Northwest Michigan underwent a large process delving into many facets of planning for our region. This “Framework for Our Future” contained many categories including a housing analysis at the individual County level in the “Manistee County Housing Inventory, 2014”. This analysis can be found at http://www.networksnorthwest.org/userfiles/filemanager/2708/. The analysis provides insight into the current status of housing and rental housing in Manistee County and the needs which will be demanded in the future. A very brief synopsis of the analysis identifies: • Housing affordability impacts home occupation for low income house-holds. Manistee County has a shortage of 300 owner-occupied homes for households earning less than $50,000 per year. • Rentals in Manistee County are unaffordable for an average renter and extremely low-income households (those earning $20,000 or less per year) • Population growth is less than the growth in households for Manistee County. This displays a decrease in household size, but an increase in household need. This impacts available household size as smaller households don’t necessarily have the need for a large single-family home and the increased costs associated with a larger home. • Energy and Transportation costs impact rental affordability. Regional trends indicate that an average household spends over half of their income on housing and transportation. This can lead to crisis situations for households. • While about 860 Manistee County rental households are single-person households, only about 500 rental units are 1 bedroom units or smaller. There is a high demand for these units and many households are unable to access them. This pushes individuals into rental units which are larger and more expensive. • Single-unit rental housing options must most often be located in areas with sufficient infrastructure to allow for higher density apartment complexes, leading Cities and Villages to often provide for housing options due to available infrastructure for such developments. • Population growth has been concentrated in age groups over age 45 within both the City and County. As the population ages, housing needs are likely to change toward a demand for assisted living, adult foster care or other options for in-home support services, as well as for smaller living spaces for shrinking household size for this demographic. The data, although provided at the County level provides insight into housing in the City of Manistee. There is a necessity for single unit rentals as well as a increasing need for housing for the aging population in the City and County. There is also a need for options for smaller single-family homes than what is typically available on the market in our area. It is known that the largest availability of single unit rentals can be found in apartment complexes within the City, or immediately adjacent to the City These complexes offer lower income households options for rental. The aging population and a shift in housing needs towards assisted living centers for the elderly portion of the population should be taken seriously. Data identifies the need for this housing type, and input from the public has identified concern for this age cohort and facilities which cater directly to this aging population. Further options for single- family housing size should be reviewed, as regulatory requirements may prevent more modest sized single-family homes from being placed in specific zoning districts. The City of Manistee contains a substantial percentage of the population of Manistee County, but Filer Charter Township to the South and Manistee Township to the North have high density populations which immediately abut the City. Housing considerations for single-unit rentals for lower income population as well as housing for the aging population is a discussion that should occur amongst these municipalities. Working together to plan for housing needs across municipal boundaries is a sound idea that is necessary with this issue of greater than local concern. A planning process which will seek to answer and plan for housing needs in our area is desired and actions are being taken to pursue such a process for our area. It is recommended that the City participate and work through a planning process for housing with other local municipalities in Manistee County.