Real Estate Committee

CITY OF MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. Real Estate Committee – 2024 City Hall, One Roosevelt Square Mount Vernon, NY 10550 REAL ESTATE COMMITTEE Cathlin B. Gleason – City Council President Dr. Darren Morton – Chairman Stephanie Vanderpool – Co-Chair Antoinette Anderson - Secretary Meeting Minutes Friday, February 2, 2024, at 9:30am Mayor’s Conference Room – City Hall, 1 Roosevelt Square, Mt. Vernon, NY 1. Call of the Meeting: 9:46am 2. Roll Call Present: Comptroller Darren Morton, Council President Gleason, Assessor Stephanie Vanderpool Absent: None Additional Participants: Brian Johnson, Corporate Counsel 3. Guests: Bharat Singh 4. Election of 2024 Chair: Motion to appoint Dr. Darren Morton as Chair by Assessor Vanderpool. Seconded by Council President Gleason. The motion was unanimous. 5. Election of the 2024 Co-Chair: Motion to appoint Ms. Stephanie Vanderpool as Co-Chair by Council President Gleason. Seconded by Comptroller Morton. The motion was unanimous. 6. Appointment of Secretary: Motion to approve Ms. Antoinette Anderson as Secretary by Council President Gleason. Seconded by Assessor Vanderpool. The motion was unanimous. 7. Correspondence: a. Mr. Lionel Counsel – phone inquiry about status of the Best and Final process. He has submitted his offer on a property. Yves Seherer – phone inquiry about status of Best and Final process. He has offers on 147 S. 4th Avenue and 152 S. 4th Avenue. 8. To be discussed: Update on the Best and Final Offers provided by the Chair. He stated that the process was put on hold until “Putting our Assets to Work” initiative and onsite cohort meeting in Chicago is rescheduled and attended. As a reminder, he stated that the City entered a partnership with the government finance officers to undergo a comprehensive review of all properties owned by the city, including municipal, non-municipal properties and those acquired though foreclosure. The goal was to identify the value of the properties, create a GIS mapping and compile a  playbook of how the city can best utilize these properties. What other municipalities have done in these efforts will be considered. As of now, the field work has concluded, and the draft playbook has been reviewed and has a few open items. The goal is to best leverage the properties and to add a positive impact to the tax base for the city and community. This process also takes the city’s new comprehensive plan into consideration. In the meantime, the process for the offers on the Best and Final will remain on hold. The Chair stated that there are “hold-over” properties (properties with occupant in them) that are majority residential. There are two that are commercial properties with occupants. The properties have been appraised and either month-to-month leases will be offered, or the eviction process will begin. If leased, the occupant is required to have renters’ insurance and be able to pay utilities. One case involves Section 8. The responsibilities and risks involved in both processes are being reviewed. The upkeep of the properties was discussed: Under the previous Comptroller, no landscaping services, including the collection of rent has been done. This administration has had to recreate files by doing inventory of the properties, noting those that are vacant or with occupants and the overall condition of the structure. A list of the properties and the appraised value now exists. This information has been utilized to get us to this point. Once the “Putting Our Assets to Work” initiative is completed and it is recommended to resume the upkeep of the properties, an RFP process for those services will be put in place. 9. Comments/Open Floor: a. Bharat Singh, Mt. Vernon resident attended the meeting to understand the status of “Best and Final”. He has an offer on 328 S. First Avenue. 10. Old/New Business 11. The Co-Chair motion to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Council President. All Ayes, the meeting was adjourned at 10:05a NEXT MEETING: Friday, February 23, 2024