Community Development Commission Meeting

UNAPPROVED MINUTES COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MEETING April 28, 2020, virtually via Zoom City of Urbana, 400 South Vine Street, Urbana, IL 61801 Call to Order and Roll Call: Chairperson Heinze-Silvis called the meeting to order at 6:03pm. Commission Members Present: Anne Heinze-Silvis, 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; Lisa Wilson, East Central Illinois Refugee Mutual Assistance Center. Approval of Minutes: The February 25, 2020 minutes were presented for approval. Commissioner Jones motioned to approve the minutes as written and Commissioner Diana seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. Additions to the Agenda: There were no additions to the agenda. Public Input: Lisa Wilson from the East Central Illinois Refugee Mutual Assistance Center (ECIRMAC) wanted to thank the City and Cunningham Township for their support. ECIRMAC has also been able to get clients groceries through Salt and Light during COVID-19. 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. The Consolidated Plan and Annual Action Plan will be moving to Council in May for approval and then to HUD. Staff has been working at home since March 23, 2020. The City will be receiving CDBG- CV funds from HUD for COVID-19 relief efforts. More discussion on this in new business. Unfinished Business: a) Review of bylaws as part of annual requirements. Language was presented to make a change to the bylaws to allow for electronic attendance. Commissioner Freeman motioned to approve the added language to the bylaws. Commission Braun seconded. The motion carried unanimously. New Business: The City of Urbana will receive approximately $294,000 in CDBG-CV funds to address emerging needs resulting from the impact of COVID-19. HUD has not published final rules yet. The HOME Consortium will not receive additional HOME funds for COVID-19, however HUD has issued final rules for entities receiving this funding. Sheila has been meeting regularly with the Village of Rantoul, the City of Champaign, Regional Planning, and social service agencies to discuss how funding will be used in the County. As of now, rent assistance and small business assistance have been identified as the biggest needs in the community. The FY19-20 Annual Action Plan will need to be amended to account for these additional CDBG funds. Adjournment: Seeing no further business, Chairperson Heinze-Silvis adjourned the meeting at 6:25 p.m. Recorded by Alyssa Jaje Community Development Specialist 2