Community Development Commission Meeting

UNAPPROVED MINUTES COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MEETING February 25, 2020 City Council Chambers 400 South Vine Street, Urbana, IL 61801 Public Hearing: I. With a quorum present, Commissioner Diana called the public hearing to order at 6:04pm. Commissioner Diana opened the hearing and stated the purpose of the hearing—to make an amendment to the City of Urbana 2015-2016, 2016-2017, and 2017-2018 Annual Action Plan budgets. The proposed changes will allow the City of reallocate unexpended funds to Community Improvement Projects. II. Public Input i. Tom Hodson, Board Director of the Homestead Corporation, asked that Homestead be kept in mind when allocating grant funds to subrecipients. Mr. Hodson also asked for more clarification as to why Homestead stopped receiving grant funds in recent years. ii. Robin Arbitor, community member, listed several key services in Urbana she liked. These included the proximity and function of the Township; Salt and Light as a resource in southeast Urbana; Urbana Schools; revitalization projects in the downtown and Philo Road districts; the Urbana Free Library; and Homestead as an affordable housing option. She would like to see improvements when it comes to transportation, especially paratransit. Sidewalks are not always easy to navigate for those with limited mobility. Furthermore, youth programming needs to reach beyond the youth, and there should be more community participation from families as a whole and adult individuals. Ms. Arbitor emphasized the role the built environment has on the quality of life for residents. iii. Ms. Dodd asked the presenters if their comments could be used for the second public hearing, instead. These comments would be better used for making future plans with new grant funds. III. Adjournment Seeing no further comments or questions, Commissioner Diana closed the public hearing at 6:24pm. Public Hearing: I. With a quorum present, Commissioner Diana called the public hearing to order at 6:25pm. Commissioner Diana opened the hearing and stated the purpose of the hearing—accepting public input and comments regarding the proposed City of Urbana and Urbana HOME Consortium FY 2020-2024 Consolidated Plan and FY2020-2021 Annual Action Plan. II. Public Input (See above public hearing) III. Seeing no further comments or questions, Commissioner Diana closed the public hearing at 6:26pm. Call to Order and Roll Call: The meeting was called to order at 6:26pm. Commission Members Present: Michael Braun, Chris Diana, Robert Freeman, Patricia Jones, and Darius White Commission Members Excused/Absent: Anne Heinze-Silvis and Abdulhakeem Salaam Others Present: Sheila Dodd, Grants Management Manager; Alyssa Jaje, Community Development Specialist; Robyn Arbiter, community member; Jim Mueller, Habitat for Humanity; and Tom Hodson, Homestead Corporation. Approval of Minutes: The January 28, 2020 minutes were presented for approval. Commissioner Freeman motioned to approve the minutes as written and Commissioner Braun seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. Additions to the Agenda: There were no additions to the agenda. Public Input: There was no public input. Presentations: a) Staff report: Staff has been working diligently since July to gather input for the FY2020- 2024 Consolidated Plan and the FY2020-2021 Annual Action Plan. A draft of the two plans will be available for public comment starting in the beginning of March. A neighborhood cleanup day is slated for May. Staff has continued working on monitoring and timeliness for HOME and CDBG. The Blight Reduction Program is coming to a close, therefore, vacant lots are beginning to experience development. Unfinished Business: a) Amendment to the City of Urbana FY2014-2018 Annual Action Plans was presented, in which funds would be reallocated to use towards public improvement projects. Commissioner Braun motioned to recommend to City Council for approval and Commission Jones seconded. b) Education was set as the funding priority for utilizing $5,000 of CDBG funds for the Consolidated Social Service Fund grant. Commissioner Jones made a motion to approve this priority. Commissioner White seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. 2 New Business: a) Draft of the City of Urbana and Urbana HOME Consortium FY 2020-2024 Consolidated Plan would be made available March 2, 2020 for public review. Commissioners are encouraged to read the draft Plan and submit feedback. Staff also presented public input results and outlined the steps taken to obtain public feedback. b) Resolution approving the transfer of Volume Cap in connection with private activity bond issues, single-family mortgage revenue bonds, and related matters was presented. Commissioner Jones made a motion to approve the resolution and Commission Freeman seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. c) An ordinance authorizing the purchase of certain real estate (1107 N. Gregory Street) was presented. Commissioner Jones motioned to approve the ordinance. Commissioner Freeman seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. d) Review of bylaws as part of annual requirements. Language was presented to make a change to the bylaws to allow for electronic attendance. At the next meeting, commissioners can make a decision on whether or not to change the bylaws to allow for electronic attendance. Adjournment: Seeing no further business, Commissioner Diana adjourned the meeting at 7:06 p.m. Recorded by Alyssa Jaje Community Development Specialist 3