Community Development Commission Meeting

UNAPPROVED MINUTES COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MEETING March 26, 2019, City Council Chambers 400 South Vine Street, Urbana, IL 61801 Public Hearing: Ms. Anne Heinze-Silvis called the public hearing to order at 6:03pm. The public hearing sought input for the Annual Action Plan, which is available for public comment March 22, 2019 through April 22, 2019. Seeing there were no comments, Ms. Heinze-Silvis closed the public hearing at 6:04pm. Call to Order: Ms. Heinze-Silvis called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m. Roll Call: Alyssa Jaje, Community Development Specialist, called the roll. A quorum was present. Commission Members Present: Ms. Heinze-Silvis, Michael Braun, Chris Diana, and Rev. Robert Freeman. Commission Members Excused/Absent: Jerry Moreland and Abdulhakeem Salaam Others Present: Sheila Dodd, Grants Management Division Manager; Alyssa Jaje, Community Development Specialist; and Danis Pelmore, Housing Inspector. Approval of Minutes: Commissioner Diana moved to approve the minutes of the February 26, 2019 Meeting. Commissioner Braun seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. Petitions and Communications: No additions to the agenda. Audience Participation: Ms. Heinze-Silvis stated that audience members could speak if they so wished, no one from the audience stepped forward. Staff Report: Sheila Dodd, Grants Management Division Manager, said staff is continuing to progress with the Consolidated Social Service Funding (CSSF) grant. Staff is working with Township and Maryalice Wu to define CSSF application process that is fair and open. Ms. Dodd stated that staff is working on the Annual Action Plan draft. It is currently Budget season. Staff is also looking through policies and procedures, as they are being trained on HOME and CDBG. Neighborhood Cleanup Day is scheduled for May 4, 2019. The location for households to drop off unwanted household items will be across the street from DART on Main Street in Urbana. There have been several request for emergency grants (EG) in the last few weeks—3 for sewers. 15 applications for ESG and Senior Repair have been submitted so far this year. Old Business: There were no items for this agenda. New Business: Draft Annual Action Plan The 30 day comment period for the Annual Action Plan opened Friday, March 22, 2019. It will close Monday, April 22, 2019. While HUD approved its final budget in February, the City has not yet received our final allocation. This is the fifth year of the Consolidated Plan. Around June/July staff will start working on the new Consolidated Plan. Ms. Silvis asked if commissioners would have to attend any neighborhood meetings for the Annual Action Plan. Ms. Dodd said meetings were already held, but she would love for Commissioners to attend meetings for Consolidated Plan. Amendment to Rosecrance Subrecipient Agreement Rosecrance received $38,000 last year, but need $20,000 more to finish out the program year. City of Champaign has HOME funds they can allocate to Rosecrance. Urbana, as the lead agency for HOME funds, is required to forward resolution to City Council to amend the Subrecipient agreement. Rev. Freeman moved to forward recommendations to City Council. Commissioner Braun seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. Bond Cap Allocation The CD Commission must make a recommendation to Urbana City Council regarding the use of the City’s 2019 private activity bond cap before May 1, 2019. For 2019, Illinois home rule units are allocated $105 per capita of private activity volume cap. Urbana’s unified allocation for 2018 is $4,408,845. Three requests from agencies to issue bonds: David Rasch, Managing Director of the Assist MCC Program for Stern Brothers & Co. for downpayment assistance; Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) to issue taxable and tax-exempt bonds for the purpose of developing, constructing, acquiring, improving properties or facilities for business entities locating, or expanding, within the State of Illinois; and EIEDA. Grants Management staff recommends dividing the allocation 50/50 between the two agencies that have had projects in Urbana recently (Stern Brothers & Co. and IHDA). Ms. Heinze-Silvis asked if there were any discussion on recommendation. Hearing no further discussion, Commissioner. Braun motioned to move the recommendation as stated in the memo to City Council. Rev. Freeman seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. 2 Staff Update on CSSF Applications Ms. Jaje said 48 agencies attended the two CSSF application workshops—held February 28 and March 7. A FAQ is sent out frequently to workshop attendees to ensure they submit successful applications. Ms. Jaje has met with three agencies for Technical Assistance and received several phone calls and emails from other agencies. Once applications are submitted by the April 8 deadline, staff will have a week to review before bringing recommendations to Council. Study Session: There were no items for this agenda. Adjournment: Seeing no further business, Ms. Heinze-Silvis adjourned the meeting at 6:18p.m. Recorded by Community Development Specialist 3