Land Bank Authority

Rome/Floyd Land Bank Authority Minutes Friday, November 4, 2022 8:30 AM Carnegie Building Training Room Committee Members Present: Others: Harry Brock Dylan Nelson - City - Accountant- Internal Assets /Internal Auditor J.R. Davis Meredith Ulmer - City - Assistant City Manager LaDonna Collins Kevin Payne - County - Tax Commissioner David Mathis Bruce Ivey - County - Transportation & Utilities Division Rob Ware David Clonts Staff: Bekki Fox - City - Community Development - Director Amanda Carter - City - Community Development - Rome/Floyd Land Bank Authority Manager Logan Drake - City - Community Development - Administrative Program Assistant Welcome and Call to order: Chairman David Mathis called the meeting to order at 8:34 AM. A quorum was established. Approval of Minutes: Mathis asked for any corrections to the October minutes. J.R. Davis motioned to approve the minutes, which was seconded by Rob Ware. Motion carried. Financial Report: Meredith Ulmer introduced Dylan Nelson, who has become the City of Rome Finance Department’s Fixed Assets Accountant/Internal Auditor. Nelson will now be attending Rome Floyd Land Bank Authority (LBA) meetings regularly instead of Cindy Reed, who recently found employment outside of Rome/Floyd County. The financial report was distributed for review. Nelson presented the report, which included the cash balance as of October 31st and 2018-2022 YTD property taxes collected. LBA Committee Updates: Carter provided copies of the October 2022 LBA Monthly Report which includes the most recent updates from the four LBA Committees. Discussion was had regarding Committee recommendations and decisions. Finance Committee Updates: Carter stated that the Finance Committee did not meet the month prior. Executive Committee Updates: The Executive Committee met on October 26, 2022, where formal LBA bylaws were discussed, drafted, and reviewed. Carter previously emailed the draft for the Board to review. Those in attendance were given physical copies. Discussion was had in particular on portions highlighted in yellow, which signified changes previously made by the Executive Committee. Ware brought attention to Subsection iii of Section B in Article III regarding the removal of a Director from the Board. The wording in question was “or without” in “a director may be removed from the Board by a two thirds (2/3) majority vote of the Board, such vote to be held at a meeting of the Board…with or without cause or reason agreed upon by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the Board at any time.” After discussion, it was agreed upon that “or without” will be struck through while the rest of the wording will remain intact. The draft will be updated to reflect the requirement of a documented reason as to why the vote took place. After discussing the rest of the highlighted portions and other areas of concern, the draft was approved. The final document will be provided before the December Board Meeting where a vote to approve the bylaws will take place. Housing Development Committee Updates: The Housing Development Committee meeting took place on November 1, 2022. A draft Donation Agreement was reviewed and sent over to Attorney William Richardson for final edits. Once finished, the Board will receive a copy. The Committee discussed the potential donation of a parcel located at 303 E. 20th Street. The home on the property is burnt out and has several violations. The owner stated that the home is tied up in a bankruptcy, but he is actively pursuing the option of releasing it. He is interested in donating the property and the Committee believes it would be a quality parcel for the LBA to have. There is also a formal recommendation to the Board for staff to reach out to adjacent property owners on E. 20th Street to assemble lots for future projects. Accepting the property would be contingent upon having clear title and being released from the bankruptcy court. Fox reminded everyone that this would be the first property taken in by the LBA that is tax delinquent. The Board will have to both pass a resolution to send to the Tax Commissioner asking that those taxes be extinguished. The Rome City School Board will be notified that this is taking place. If the School Board does not respond within 30 days, the taxes will be extinguished. Once the home located on the property is demolished, the LBA could then decide what type of redevelopment project to engage in. After discussion, the Board acted as follows: • Ware made a motion to accept the donation of the property located at 303 E. 20th Street contingent upon the satisfactory resolution of issues regarding taxes and bankruptcy along with the proper notification to the Rome City School Board, which was seconded by David Clonts. Motion carried. Carter moved on to discussing the acquisition of the property located at 312 Kingston Avenue. The Board previously authorized staff to negotiate a price of $10-20k with the owner’s attorney. Attorney Richardson is currently working on a contract of $20k and a title search for the property. Updates will be given later. Carter discussed RFP updates regarding the properties located at 1 Orchid Place and 7 Forsyth Street. The RFP has been sent out, but staff has not received any responses back. If they do not receive anything back before the November 7th deadline, the situation will be reevaluated, such as sending the RFP back out. A notice letter draft for contacting neighborhood residents has been created. The letter would act as a standard when reaching out to adjacent property owners. Program/Partnership Committee Updates: LaDonna Collins led the discussion regarding the Program/Partnership Development Committee, which last met on November 1st. They discussed the Committee Interest Form which provides the information needed to find additional people to serve on this Committee. A list of potential individuals has been comprised but can be discussed on a later date. Fox stated that some of the Committee members recently went to Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC) to discuss a potential partnership with the LBA. The idea was to partner through programs dealing with the home building process, such as construction, project management, landscaping, plumbing, HVAC, etc. While GNTC was very much interested, the challenge would be whether or not the LBA’s homes line up with their curriculum’s timing. If that idea cannot be carried out, discussion was had on other options. Staff will also contact the technical high schools in town. Updates will be given later. Fox informed everyone that progress is being made with forming a partnership with Habitat for Humanity (Habitat). Discussion on potential ideas, such as donating property to Habitat so they can continue to build homes for people, will continue. Updates will be given later. Authority Updates: Amanda Carter presented property updates. The Bilbrey’s have signed a contract for parcels I16X038 and I16X039 located at properties both called 0 Smith Avenue. A closing date will be scheduled soon. The contract to purchase parcel H19129 located at 0 Miller Mountain Road has been sent to the Howell’s attorney with a closing date to be scheduled soon. Mary Hightower and Sigmund White will soon sign for the parcels J13W277 and J13W283 located at properties named 0 St. Mary’s Avenue. Updates will be given later. Other Business: The next regular meeting is scheduled for Friday, December 2, 2022, at 8:30 AM. Breakfast will be provided. Both the Housing Development and Program/Partnership Development Committees will meet Tuesday, November 29, 2022, with the time TBD. Adjourn: There being no further business to discuss, Brock made a motion to adjourn the meeting, which was seconded by Clonts. The meeting was adjourned at 9:10 AM. Respectfully submitted, Logan Drake Recording Secretary