Land Bank Authority

Rome/Floyd Land Bank Authority Minutes Friday, January 5, 2024 8:30 AM Carnegie Building Training Room Present: Members: Harry Brock, David Clonts, LaDonna Collins, David Mathis, Lowery May, Rob Ware, J.R. Davis Staff: Amanda Carter, Logan Drake Others: Bruce Ivey, Dylan Nelson, Kevin Payne, Joe Smith, Meredith Ulmer Guests: 1 Welcome and Call to order: Chairman David Mathis called the meeting to order at 8:34 AM. A quorum was established. Nomination/Election of Chairman and Vice Chairman Since Mathis and Lowery May would not be reappointed until the following week by the County Commission, Mathis motioned to postpone nominating/electing a Chairman and Vice Chairman to the next meeting, which was seconded by May. Motion carried. Approval of Minutes: Mathis asked for any corrections to the November minutes. Rob Ware motioned to approve the minutes, which was seconded by LaDonna Collins. 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 December 31st and the 2023 YTD property taxes collected. Property Updates: Amanda Carter provided property updates. Before the end of the year, closings were completed on the following properties: 410/412 Hardy Avenue (I14W330 & I14W331), 0 Billy Pyle Road (H13Y678), 315 Howell Road (J14J206), 0 Payne Avenue (H13P200), and 0 Presley Street (H13I195). As previously approved, Staff and Jett Law Firm are working on clearing 151 Agnes Street (I15W175) and 14 Morningside Drive (J14L251). The first payment was made in the two-step clearing process. Updates will be given later. One individual has submitted an application for 607 Excelsior Street (I13K024) and another has expressed interest. The 0.16 acre lot has been owned by the Land Bank Authority (LBA) since 2017 and does not have clear title. The property is adjacent to Rome Automotive & Towing. It appears that some of the business’s cars are placed past the property line, but it will be inspected further. Staff have reached out to the adjacent property owner in the past to see if they would be interested in buying the property but never received a response. After discussion, Staff was authorized to contact the adjacent property owner again and let them know a for-sale sign will be put up. Progress has been made regarding the home builds at 7 Forsyth Street (J13J165) and 1 Orchid Place (J14O113). Carter provided details and photos for each. Updates will be given later. In November, the Housing Development Committee brainstormed funding potential projects, such as rental units or more single-family homes. An interest in acquiring property in West Rome was expressed. Building Inspection suggested looking into 32 Old Airport Road (H13W152) considering the owner might sell the property. The 2.1-acre lot has been cleaned up recently. Carter will reach out to the property owner to gauge their interest. A formal decision can be made later. As previously approved, the home at 303 E. 20th Street (J15X153) was demoed and the lot has been cleaned up. The LBA recently purchased 305 E. 20th Street (J15X152), 307 E. 20th Street (J15X151), and 309 E. 20th Street (J15X150). Carter stated she would reach back out to the property owners of 311 E. 20th Street (J15X149) to gauge their interest in selling. The homeless encampment, however, is still on the E. 20th Street properties even after demolition. The Police continue to have issues. Glen Rubin suggested a solution to this safety risk is to clear most of the brush and wooded area in the rear so there is nowhere to hide. The larger trees will not be cut down. Carter made a request to meet with Purdy Land Pros and get a price quote. o After discussion, Ware motioned to give Staff the authority to negotiate with Purdy Land Pros, up to a maximum of $2,500, in order to clear the brush/wooded area on properties, with the expectation that no large trees will be cut down and that any debris will be cleared off, which was seconded by Harry Brock. Motion carried. Executive Session Action Items: Brock motioned to close the meeting and enter into Executive Session, which was seconded by May. Motion carried. The guest exited the meeting but was told they would be brought back in once the meeting was opened again. The following items were presented to the Board. After discussion, Ware motioned to enter regular session again, which was seconded by Collins. Motion carried. The guest did not return. No votes were taken in Executive Session. The outcomes are listed as follows: • Heard Street Applications The Board reviewed three applications submitted by Shanice Wiggins Goodrich for the purchase of County-owned lots located on Heard Street. She made the following offers: $2,818 for 0 Heard Street (J13O264), $1,312.50 for 19 Heard Street (J13O265), and $1,935 for 0 Heard Street (J13O266). For Parcel J13O264, she plans to maintain the property so she can potentially use it to help the community in the future. Parcels J13O265 and J13O266 have significant sentimental value to Goodrich considering they used to be owned by family members. Goodrich is aware that the properties do not have clear title but Carter will discuss it with her again just to be sure she understands the process. After discussion, the Board acted as follows: o Brock motioned to approve Shanice Wiggins Goodrich’s offers, pending a discussion with Goodrich reminding her of the title issues again, subject to conveyance from Floyd County, which was seconded by Clonts. Motion carried. • 1 Orchid Place (J14O113)  The Housing Development Committee recently discussed the financials for the home build process at 1 Orchid Place (J14O113), which was sent to the Board for review. Every charge, including the permit, from the beginning up to that point was reviewed. The final number will be presented once the build is complete. The total cost to date was $123,422. The Board discussed the listing sale price, closing costs and realtor fee. The LBA can add the home to the MLS themselves for around $400. Carter reviewed staff listing price suggestions between $189,000 and $195,000. Certain percentages that would go to the Grant Program, LBA operation, and Housing Development were reviewed. The Board collectively agreed to contribute 20% of profit to the Beautification Grant, 30% of profit to LBA Operation, and the final 50% to Housing Development. May made the statement these percentages could easily be adjusted at a later date if necessary. Clonts and Brock stated other similar new builds have sold between $200,000 - $235,000 in the area. Brock suggested to round the number up as to be included in price searches online. After discussion, the Board acted as follows: o J.R. Davis motioned to set the listing price at $200,00 with the LBA paying closing costs, confirm the realtor fee of $2,500, approve a $400 MLS fee, and approve the allocation percentages of profit above, which was seconded by Clonts. Motion carried. • ProActive Contractors The Housing Development Committee recently discussed the next two home builds, which will be located at 411 Superba Avenue (K13X195) and 604 Pennington Avenue (I14W563). Like with 1 Orchid Place, both would be structured as cost plus 5%. The Committee felt that it would be acceptable to sign a contract with ProActive Contractors for those two additional builds. A strict timeline would be included. After discussion, the Board acted as follows: o Collins motioned to agree to the contract with ProActive Contractors for two additional builds for cost plus 5% and to implement a six-month timeline to complete both builds, which was seconded by May. Motion carried. Action Item- Neighborhood Beautification Grant Application and Revision: The Housing Development Committee recently reviewed potential exterior projects for the Neighborhood Beautification Grant near 1 Orchid Place. Elijah Collins, homeowner of 421 E. 20th Street, approached Staff regarding home repairs. He requested a quote for all new windows, new gutters, along with small repairs to the siding. Affordable Restoration visited the home and gave a price quote of $18,092.91 total (Gutters $5,428, Windows $12,122, and Siding repairs $543). Due to the high number, the Committee agreed that the application/guidelines need to include caps to be fair across the board. The Housing Development Committee suggested the LBA Program/Partnership Development Committee revise the application form to incorporate caps. LaDonna Collins, who is on the Program/Partnership Committee, presented the revisions which stated the Authority would award grants based on available funding and could award up to $10,000 for roof repairs and up to $7,500 for all other exterior projects. The Board discussed the cap amounts in detail. After discussion, the Board acted as follows: o Collins moved to approve Mr. Collins’ grant application for the portion involving gutter/soffit repair and complete the work for $5,428.02 as laid out in the quote, which was seconded by May. Motion carried. o Ware motioned to alter the wording of the Grant Application/Guidelines Selection Process paragraph by changing “adjacent” to “in proximity” and change the cap amount to “up to $10,000 for any approved exterior project,” which was seconded by May. Motion carried. Discussion Items: Staff will move forward with renting a storage unit through Mathis Super Storage. The unit will not be climate- controlled. Prices are $60 for a 5’x5’ and $80 for a 10’x10’. Both options will be explored. The location on John Davenport Drive in the City was chosen so contractors can easily access any needed materials. An opportunity to work with Georgia Tech’s School of City & Regional Planning that helps out the LBA was discussed. Cooper Brock reached out to both the School and the LBA. He suggested Rome as a prime location for a potential planning studio that the School could utilize. He told the School how the LBA is hoping to use some land they own to implement pocket neighborhoods and other improvements. The idea is that the studio would look at design-based solutions that have worked in other settings, compare them to Rome’s current ordinances, and see what may be hindering said development patterns. The idea will be discussed further on another date. Carter and Bekki Fox recently attended the Georgia Association of Land Bank Authorities Summit held in Macon, GA where they both spoke on a panel. The trip was a success. Adjourn: The regular meeting scheduled for February will instead be a two-hour planning session. Carter will email details and a date selection survey will be sent as members had a conflict with the first Friday in February. There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 10:14 AM. Respectfully submitted, Logan Drake Recording Secretary