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, June 15, 2020 10:00 AM City Hall, Room 301-A 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: 10:05 A.M. Members present: Ald. Rainey, Erica Lewandowski, Ald. Bauman, Tony Perez, Maria Prioletta Members excused: Jim Klajbor, Mario Higgins, Ald. Stamper 1. Review and approval of the May 4th minutes. Ms. Lewandowski moved, seconded by Ald. Rainey, for approval of the minutes. There were no objections. 2. Communication from the Department of City Development on Housing Infrastructure Preservation Fund Activities. No new activity to report. 3. Communication from the Department of City Development on the Lease-to-Own Program. Amy Turim, Dept. of City Development, said there were 72 total closings and they are waiting for the new list of foreclosures, which is coming on July 7th with a total of 211 properties, which shall decrease over time. The lease to own program is becoming more inclusive. Ms. Turim said the lease-to-own program keeps property that is assessed at less than $50,000 off the market for two years to let the tenant work on eventual ownership. For higher-value properties, there is a separate lease to own program that doesn't include selling the property for $1. 4. Communication from the Department of City Development on the Strong Home Loan Program. City of Milwaukee Page 1 JOINT COMMITTEE ON Meeting Minutes June 15, 2020 REDEVELOPMENT OF ABANDONED AND FORECLOSED HOMES 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. Ald. Bauman said there is approximately 1/3 of the usual sales occurring, although some of them are higher-value properties. Only 858 properties remain in the city's inventory, which is the lowest amount in the past 10 years;140 of these are commercial properties and half of the remaining properties are demolition candidates. The city hasn't had new inventory coming in for quite a while, The MERI program has been going quite well, said Ms. Prioletta with development agreements coming in and sources of financing for developers are being identified. The developers, even with COVID occurring, are quite enthusiastic about the program. In regards to the Strong Neighborhood plan, Ald. Bauman asked if there was a plan to reduce spending. Mr. Sinram said spending is on track and both the Mayor's Office and the Budget Office strongly support this program. Despite furloughs and limited hours, the DCD staff is still able to function well, but more staff will be needed once the foreclosure list is released. 6. Communication from the Department of Neighborhood Services relating to the Compliance Loan Program. Mr. Tom Mishefske said 38 loans were approved, encumbering $490,000, about 65% of the funding. The loans are $15,000 or less, with an average of $12,701 with an average income of around $30,000 and an average of having owned for 16 years. The department is doing closings virtually. 7. Communication from the Department of Neighborhood Services relating to demolition and deconstruction. There are 398 properties waiting to be razed, with 168 of those being privately owned. Not all properties have been prioritized yet; priorities are set as internal inspections are done. Friday is the due date for proposals for deconstruction with $1.2 million originally set aside. Two buildings have been deconstructed by the original contractor. A potential contractor may also be interested in using the city ward yard, as the original contractor had. To date, 86 parcels are under contract for mechanical demolition and 20 in the process. There is one large commercial building in Ald. Rainey's district that needs to be bid out yet. 8. Communication from the City Attorney's Office regarding updates on neighborhood revitalization litigation. Asst. City Attorney Adam Stephens had no updates; the courts are slowly re-opening. Municipal Court won't be up until July. Ms. Lewandowski said DNS received a notice that Municipal Court won't re-open until at least July 3rd (that date has been pushed back repeatedly). DNS is not able to schedule cases in Municipal Court. 9. Public Comment No members of the public present. City of Milwaukee Page 2 JOINT COMMITTEE ON Meeting Minutes June 15, 2020 REDEVELOPMENT OF ABANDONED AND FORECLOSED HOMES 10. Set next meeting date. July 13th at 10 a.m. 191282 Communication relating to the 2020 activities of the Joint Committee on the Redevelopment of Abandoned and Foreclosed Homes. Sponsors: THE CHAIR Meeting adjourned: 10:33 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. City of Milwaukee Page 3