Land Bank Authority

Rome/Floyd Land Bank Authority Minutes Friday, October 6, 2023 8:30 AM Carnegie Building Training Room Present: Members: Harry Brock, David Clonts, LaDonna Collins, J.R. Davis, David Mathis, Rob Ware Staff: Amanda Carter, Logan Drake Others: Molly Majestic, Dylan Nelson, Julie Smith, Merdith Ulmer Guests: 1 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 September minutes. Rob Ware motioned to approve the minutes, seconded by J.R. Davis. Motion carried. Financial Report: The financial report was distributed for review and presented by Dylan Nelson from City Finance. He presented information on the following: active properties, the cash balance as of September 30th and the 2023 YTD property taxes collected. Property Updates: Land Bank Authority (LBA) Manager Amanda Carter provided property updates. Julie Smith from Trails for Recreation and Economic Development of Rome/Floyd County (TRED) helped provide updates concerning the future pocket park located at 216 E. 20th Street (J15X204). Staff recently met with neighborhood residents again. Residents appreciated the neighborhood kids will have a safe space to play. Hopefully the lot can be put in with the Rome-Floyd Parks and Recreation Agreement so they can maintain it. This project will serve as a model for other pocket parks in the community. Smith spoke with Landscape Structures and Playground Creations. Smith showed everyone concept art visualizing the park as more of a community space rather than a playground. Smith will meet with the City Arborist to confirm that the trees are healthy. TRED will be applying for a Community Foundation Grant, which will help the LBA as well. David Clonts will speak with a landscape designer he knows and get some quotes. Bicycle and crosswalk safety will be a priority. A fence will be put in. The Committee will speak with residents again and ask them to sign a letter of support. Updates will be given later. The LBA received a quote to clear the overgrown lot located at 411 Superba Avenue (K13X195). Purdy Land Pros (Purdy) said they could most likely finish the job in 8 hours at $170 an hour for a total of $1,360. Included in the price is grinding/clearing underbrush, taking debris to the landfill, and limbing the big pine up to 10 feet. Purdy also gave a quote to clear 604 Pennington Avenue (I14W563) in six hours at $170 an hour for a total of $1,020. The services will be the same except for limbing the pine. If more time is needed to finish either job, the total would increase. Both quotes have already been approved and work is scheduled to begin Saturday, October 7th. The survey for 0 Billy Pyle Road (H13Y678) was completed and LBA staff was notified on October 3rd. Staff will make a variance request at the Board of Adjustments meeting on Thursday, October 19th. Once approvals are received, the contract and transfer of deed will move forward. Some neighbors were originally concerned about what would happen to the lot when the for sale sign was first put out, but Staff explained the situation. To their knowledge, Staff has received no objections since the Church’s offer was accepted. The new home builds at 1 Orchid Place (J14O113) and 7 Forsyth Street (J13J165) continue to progress. Orchid’s cabinets, vanities, and lighting will be installed soon. Flooring is almost finished. While the groundwork at Forsyth continues to be a challenge, Pro-Active is working out the issues. Updates will be given later. Board members will visit the sites on the property bus tour. Last month, the Board approved putting 410 Hardy Avenue (I14W330) and 412 Hardy Avenue (I14W331) up for sale at $15,000 each. Both lots have clear title. They were posted on Facebook, but Staff has not received any inquires yet. The lots need to be cleaned up. Carter reached out to someone recommended by Davis for a quote. If the Board decides it is necessary in the future, Purdy Land Pros would clear the lot for $2,700. If no interest or applications are received within a reasonable amount of time, the LBA can revisit building on the lots. Updates will be given at the next meeting where discussion can continue. Floyd County will not be able to demo the burned-out home located at 303 E. 20th Street (J15X153). The City could demo the home for $10,000-$15,000 and would add it to their list. Quotes from private companies were much higher. The City will follow the same procedure it does for all demos. After discussion, the Board acted as follows: o Ware made a motion to approve the expenditure between $10,000 and $15,000 to demo the home, which was seconded by LaDonna Collins. Motion carried. Action Items: • 312 Kingston Avenue (J13I105) The Board reviewed an application submitted for the LBA-owned home/property located at 312 Kingston Avenue. The lot is 0.17 acres, zoned H-T-R and has a tax assessed value of $8,702. Joel and Leticia Banda made an offer of $30,000, which is the price the Board set. In their application, the couple provided a project proposal, financial overview, and timeline. Their financial institution provided a letter vouching for their ability to complete the project. Ultimately, their goal is to “restore and revitalize the property to its former glory” so that a family may purchase it. The Board felt like the couple met the set standards. After discussion, the Board acted as follows: o Mathis motioned to accept Joel and Leticia Banda’s offer of $30,000 and approve the sale of 312 Kingston Avenue, which was seconded by Clonts. Motion carried. • 14 Morningside Drive (J14L251) The Board reviewed an application submitted for the purchase of a Floyd County-owned, vacant lot located at 14 Morningside Drive. Michael Sankari with Bravo Global Investments, LLC made an offer of $2,000 for Parcel J14L251. His intention is to purchase the lot and build a single-family home to sell.  The 0.20-acre lot has a tax assessed value of $15,218 (land value is $5,642). The lot would likely be marketable. After discussion, the Board acted as follows: o Harry Brock motioned to deny the $2,000 offer from Bravo Global Investments, LLC, for parcel J14L251, request the lot be transferred from the county, clear the title, and set a market rate price or develop, which was seconded by Davis. Motion carried. • 303 E. 20th Street (J15X153) The 30-day waiting period after sending the letter has ended. The LBA never received a response back from Rome City Schools. After following the proper procedure, the Board needed to pass the “Resolution of the Rome-Floyd County Land Bank Board of Directors To Extinguish Certain Ad Valorem Property Taxes for 303 E. 20th Street, Rome, GA 30161.” Recording Secretary Logan Drake read the Resolution aloud. After discussion, the Board acted as follows: o Ware motion to pass the Resolution, which was seconded by Collins. Motion carried. Discussion Items: Discussion was had on the $35 application fee that most people mail in or drop off. Staff is, however, transitioning over to an online application process through the ePropertyPlus (ePP) inventory management software system. The fee was meant to discourage people from making frivolous applications. Instead of $35 or any fees up front, the application would stipulate a 10% fee if one’s offer were to be approved, which would go towards closing. The Board acted as follows: o Brock motioned to eliminate the $35 application fee and instead require 10% of the offer amount be paid in earnest money upon approval, which was seconded by Clonts. Motion carried. All applications will be updated. Carter and LBA Director Bekki Fox will attend the National Land Bank Network Summit in Cleveland, OH on October 16-17, 2023. The LBA bus tour originally scheduled for Wednesday, October 11th has been postponed. The bus needs to be repaired but should be ready by the end of the month. The next regular meeting was scheduled for Friday, November 3, 2023, at 8:30 AM. All agreed to postpone the bus tour to that timeslot instead. Specific details will be worked out closer to time. There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 9:33 AM. Respectfully submitted, Logan Drake Recording Secretary