Rehabilitation Review Committee

MINUTES OF THE REHAB REVIEW COMMITTEE MEETING AUGUST 18, 2010 8:45 AM Members Present: Chairman Rodney Bowie, Alderman Tucker Braddock, Joe East, Susan Goldman, Kevin Lin, and Jim Troeger Others Present: Denise Blake, Wayne Sharkey Chairman Rodney Bowie called the meeting to order at 8:48 AM. Motion was made by Rodney Bowie and seconded by Joe East to approve the minutes of 5/20/10. Motion carried unanimously. Old Business Wayne Sharkey had two issues regarding the Lead Program he wanted to discuss with the committee. First, since the lead program has just passed the one-year mark, HUD was recently at the office performing a monitoring. Wayne Sharkey stated that this is an ideal time to evaluate the program and make necessary changes. Currently, properties approved for lead funding receive $13,000. Multi-unit properties are well-funded by this standard, however, this amount has proven to be insufficient for single family properties. As long as programs are meeting their benchmarks, HUD allows recipients to set funding levels. Since the funding is available in the grant, Wayne Sharkey made a proposal to increase lead funding (for single family properties only) as follows: For properties receiving both Lead and Rehab funds, increase the lead award from $13,000 to $16,000; for properties receiving only Lead funds, increase the lead award from $13,000 to $20,000. A motion was made by Rodney Bowie and seconded by Tucker Braddock to accept the proposal for increase of lead award for single family structures. Motion carried unanimously. The second issue Wayne Sharkey wanted to discuss was homeowners acting as their own contractors. During a recent HUD audit, it was suggested that the Community Development department revise how it implements policies regarding homeowners doing their own work and under what circumstances they can solicit their own bids. Previously, in lieu of the CD office advertising for bids, homeowners had the option of soliciting three prices, bringing them to the office for this department to qualify them. HUD no longer wants the CD office to use this process at all. They want all bidding and solicitation of prices to be under the control of the City, stating that there is too much of a chance of price manipulation. Wayne Sharkey proposed to remove this practice entirely from the policies and procedures of both the Lead and Property Rehabilitation Programs. Rodney Bowie excused himself from the meeting at 9:08 a.m. New Business 1 Wayne Sharkey began a discussion regarding homeowners acting as their own contractors. This practice was also discussed during the HUD audit. Mr. Sharkey explained there are a couple of scenarios – a) An Investor/Owner who is a developer purchases a property, bids on (and wins) it, and renovates an otherwise uninhabitable structure that becomes suitable for occupancy. HUD encourages this; b) A homeowner acquires a Contractor’s License for the specific purpose of working on his/her own property. Wayne stated that this is where potential problems occur, and he is looking for a way to revise the specific guidance on homeowners doing their own work. Following a discussion, the new proposal is as follows: Homeowners wishing to perform their own work must demonstrate that they are primarily a contractor for a minimum of three (3) years (as evidenced by submission of tax returns), not that they acquired a contractor’s license for the sole purpose of performing their own work. Motion was made by Tucker Braddock and seconded by Joe East to approve the new language for policies and procedures. Motion carried unanimously. Wayne Sharkey briefly noted that the Community Development Office received a “green” designation and an overall performance rating of 97 out of 100 for its most recent quarterly report, indicating that the program is meeting and/or exceeding primary benchmarks for completion of lead hazard control work. Wayne Sharkey distributed a copy of a letter sent to Empire Management disallowing them to bid on future projects based on poor performance/noncompliance on a recent project. New Applications There were four new applications to be approved for the Lead Program. Property Rehabilitation applications are not currently being accepted, as the upcoming year’s funding has been committed. The new lead applications meet the eligibility requirements, including eligibility funding for lead and paid taxes. Wayne Sharkey also requested a blind motion to adjust the lead award amounts on the new approvals and any projects not yet closed out based on the additional funding voted on earlier in this meeting. Tucker Braddock requested a list of projects not currently closed out that will be affected by this increase. Denise Blake will compile this list for the next RRC meeting. Motion was made by Joe East and seconded by Jim Troeger to approve the list of new applications, and to revise the lead award amounts for current projects not yet closed out. Motion carried unanimously. Project # Inv./Own Occ # Units Max Lead Funding LP0946 Owner/Occupied 1 unit $20,000 2 LP0947 Owner/Occupied 1 unit $20,000 LP0948 Investor/Owner 4 units $52,000 LP0949 Owner/Occupied 1 unit $20,000 A motion was made by Jim Troeger and seconded by Joe East to adjourn. The motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 9:53 a.m. 3