Land Bank Authority

Rome/Floyd Land Bank Authority Minutes Friday, October 1, 2021 8:30 AM Carnegie Training Room Committee Members Present: Others: Harry Brock Cindy Reed - City - Accountant, Grants/Internal Auditor Rob Ware Toni Rhinehart - City - Director of Finance Roger Smith Meredith Ulmer - City - Assistant City Manager Lowery May- Remote Kevin Payne - County - Tax Commissioner Bruce Ivey – County – Special Projects Manager Staff: Bekki Fox - City - Community Development Director Suzanne Parris - City - Community Development Grant and Housing Administrator Welcome and Call to order: Roger Smith called the meeting to order at 8:33 AM. A quorum was established. Approval of Minutes: Smith asked for any corrections to the minutes from the meeting of September 10, 2021. Not hearing any corrections or omissions, the minutes were approved by common consent. Authority Updates: Fox provided an update on the property located at 1407 Maple Ave. The property owner has decided not to donate the property and prefers the City to demolish the property and record a lien against it for the total cost. This was the property discussed at the last meeting that was going through a code enforcement proceeding at Environmental Court. Donation to the Land Bank was one option being considered. There were additional discussions about pending property closings. Three transactions are scheduled for closing next week; however, Star Time Technologies has not moved forward with signing contracts for the last four properties they were approved to purchase, and those closings are also pending. The board requested that staff attempt to contact Star Time again and if there was no response, place the properties back on the available property marketing list. American Rescue Plan Funds Discussion: Fox provided a letter for discussion regarding the funding request to the City of Rome and Floyd County for American Rescue Plan Act funds. The request from each the City and County was for 1 million dollars. Fox also reminded the board of the 250,000 requested from the GA Association of Land Bank Authorities (GALBA) through the State of GA’s ARPA funding. After a lengthy discussion, Fox was asked to add some local statistics to the letter which incorporates the Land Banks success since 2017. Roger Smith made a motion to move forward with the letter, to include the suggested local stats, and was seconded by Lowrey May. Motion carried. Harry Brock expressed further concerns about the large amount of funds being requested with so many strings attached and unknown requirements at this time. Fox assured the board that these funds were allowable through the regulations set forth and this was a once in a lifetime opportunity for the Land Bank to achieve its ongoing mission for our community and to possibly become self-sustainable. Lowrey May suggested there be a work plan session scheduled to establish more specific goals. Staff will work towards a planning session in 2022. Financial Report: The Financial report was distributed for review. Discussion was made about the active properties and balances as of September. Property Purchase Request: Fox presented the applications for property acquisition through the Land Bank Authority. The applications were discussed, and the outcome is listed as follows: • 712 East Boundary Street (J14O314) The Board reviewed a second request submitted for the purchase of a parcel on 712 East Boundary Street. After the previous offer fell through, staff contacted other local developers to seek interest. No one at this time has submitted an offer. Mary Thompson increased her offer to $2,000.00 for parcel J14O314. Discussion was made. The Board acted as follows: o Rob Ware made a motion to deny the $2,000.00 offer presented from Mary Thompson for parcel J14O314, to hold for future development, and requested staff to forward this parcel to the attorney to clear title, which was seconded by Harry Brock. Motion carried. Other Business: Fox stated that she received a request from Georgia Power for an easement on a lot in South Rome. Discussion was made about the right to an easement on a defeasible title. Fox will keep the board updated as further information is available. Fox stated the next scheduled meeting will be held on Friday, November 5, 2021, at 8:30 am. Adjourn: There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:42 A.M. Respectfully submitted, Suzanne Parris Recording Secretary