JOINT COMMITTEE ON REDEVELOPMENT OF ABANDONED AND FORECLOSED HOMES

200 E. Wells Street City of Milwaukee Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202 Meeting Minutes JOINT COMMITTEE ON REDEVELOPMENT OF ABANDONED AND FORECLOSED HOMES ALD. ROBERT BAUMAN, CHAIR Spencer Coggs, Mario Higgins, Ald. Khalif Rainey, Antonio Perez, Maria Prioletta, Ald. Russell Stamper, II, and Erica Lewandowski Staff Assistant: Linda Elmer, 286-2231 Fax: 286-3456, lelmer@milwaukee.gov Legislative Liaison: Aaron Cadle, 286-8666, acadle@milwaukee.gov Monday, May 4, 2020 10:00 AM City Hall, Room 301-B This is a virtual meeting. Those wishing to view the proceedings are able to do so via the City Channel - Channel 25 on Spectrum Cable - or on the Internet at http://city.milwaukee.gov/citychannel". Meeting convened: 10:02 A.M. Members present: Ald. Robert Bauman, Erica Lewandowski, Jim Klajbor, Maria Prioletta, Mario Higgins, Tony Perez. Members excuse: Ald. Stamper, Ald. Rainey 1. Review and approval of the March 2nd meeting minutes. Mr. Klajbor noted that he was listed twice as "present" for the attendance; Ms. Elmer will correct that. Mr. Klabjor moved to accept that minutes as amended, seconded by Mr. Higgins. There were no objections. 2. Communication from the Department of City Development on Housing Infrastructure Preservation Fund Activities. Mr. LaPierre said there weren't a lot of changes since the last report, but the department will now be doing more forgivable grants. Ms. Sherry Tussler will be undertaking a second project on St. Paul Ave., which will hopefully be closing next week. 3. Communication from the Department of City Development on the Lease-to-Own Program. The report is in the file and they are awaiting the next in-rem list. 4. Communication from the Department of City Development on the Strong Home Loan Program. Mr. Larry Kilmer said they have approved or closed 11 loans, totally just under $185,000. His report is in the file. They had attended 6 events in January and City of Milwaukee Page 1 JOINT COMMITTEE ON Meeting Minutes May 4, 2020 REDEVELOPMENT OF ABANDONED AND FORECLOSED HOMES February, promoting the programs. They are still taking and processing applications. They did create an addendum to their construction contract that notes that the homeowner and the contractor both want the work to proceed during this time. They are also doing virtual inspections for interior work if the property is occupied and in-person exterior inspections. The department did create a deferment process for loans for 90 days (no interest will accrue or penalties incurred). They haven't yet created the deferral documents, but are currently working on those. They had four homeowners contacting them asking if they had any changes to their programs. Mr. Kilmer will share the documents he uses for the inspections. 5. Communication from the Mayor's Office, Department of City Development, and the City Attorney's Office relating to activities, revenue and expenditures of the Strong Neighborhoods Plan. Mr. Sinram said there isn't a whole lot to note since the last meeting; some expenditures may be slowed down or delayed due to the coronavirus. 6. Communication from the Department of Neighborhood Services relating to the Compliance Loan Program. Mr. Tom Mishefske said the program continues to function with a handful of projects and it is primarily exterior work. The department continues to take applications and approve loans - year-to-date they have approved 37 loans and the average homeowner age is now 56 and the loans average $12,600. Their loan committee did meet virtually. Actual loan closings may be delayed as documents need to be signed. 7. Communication from the Department of Neighborhood Services relating to demolition and deconstruction. Mr. Tom Mishefske said a report is in the file; there are 500 records encompassing all types of structures with a breakdown by ownership (private or city-owned). Total, there are 303 buildings on the raze list. This year, 11 properties have been demolished; all mechanically. There are bid packages going out May 19, which have 52 properties. Mr. Chris Kraco said that the bidding phase will be begun the end of this month and the number of buildings is open-ended and based upon the contractor's abilities. 8. Communication from the City Attorney's Office regarding updates on neighborhood revitalization litigation. Mr. Adam Stephens said the three big updates are: Black Spruce (Northridge Mall), Choudry (discussing relating to how to wind up the receivership) and Rashaed (how to wind down the property management, which has been on-going for two years). As of this week, there are 28 properties left and Mr. Rashaed has until October to sell those properties or the city will begin in-rem procedures. Mr. Rashaed's portfolio originally contained 160 properties. Many of the properties hadn't been maintained and Ald. Bauman would like a list of those 28 properties; many of which he thinks are in his district. During this time, Mr. Rashaed does own these properties and orders can be issued against the owning LLC. These final properties are largely vacant and Ogden could not manage them as there is no income. Ald. Bauman fears that nothing will be done on these properties and Ms. Lewandowski said the city will be monitoring these properties and Atty. Stephens said the city is willing to go back into court if needed. City of Milwaukee Page 2 JOINT COMMITTEE ON Meeting Minutes May 4, 2020 REDEVELOPMENT OF ABANDONED AND FORECLOSED HOMES Ald. Bauman asked if the city pursued going after the equity in the home owned by Mr. Rashaed; Atty. Stephens said this property is under foreclosure. Atty. Stephens will check on this today with the county register of deeds. The department does have a document in the file listing more details of these cases and others. 9. Public Comment There was none. 10. Set next meeting date. Monday, June 15th at 10 a.m. Meeting adjourned: 10:29 A.M. Linda M. Elmer Staff Assistant This meeting can be viewed in its entirety through the City's Legislative Research Center at http://milwaukee.legistar.com/calendar. 191282 Communication relating to the 2020 activities of the Joint Committee on the Redevelopment of Abandoned and Foreclosed Homes. Sponsors: THE CHAIR City of Milwaukee Page 3