Housing Commission

8/12/2019 - Minutes I. Call to Order Members Present: Anna Wageling, Robert Millar, Leslie Black-Plumeau, Jessica Bridge City Staff Present: Heather Carrington Guests Present: Mayor Kristine Lott Call to Order by: Robert Millar Minutes Recorded by: Anna Wageling II. Public Comment None III. Approve Previous Meeting Minutes Meeting minutes from the May 28th and June 24th meeting were approved. IV. Department and City Updates The City Council and Leadership Team have been having ongoing discussions about realigning the work of the Commissions to reflect the Strategic Vision areas. While the Housing Commission will not need realignment because it currently reflects a Strategic Vision area, City Council has also recommended that each Commission should establish an annual work plan. These work plans should directly connect the work of the Commissions with implementation of the Winooski Master Plan goals. Lastly, the City is soliciting volunteers to fill any Commission vacancies. Staff has been directed to review appointee terms and seek new volunteers as needed. The next two agenda items address these efforts. V. Commission Appointee Terms and Reappointment Discussion Presentation: Heather Discussion: All A list of Housing Commission appointments and terms was shared by staff. Currently, only one appointment is unexpired. Commissioners were asked to indicate whether they would like to be reappointed for a second term, which would run for two years from the expiration date of their previous term. Leslie, Robert, and Anna all indicated their willingness to be reappointed. Jessica’s term is unexpired and runs through 2020. VI. Housing Commission FY2020 Work Plan Presentation: Heather Discussion: All Decision: Approve Work Plan Motion by: Jessica Second: Leslie Staff met with Mayor Lott and Housing Commission Chair Robert Millar to discuss the proposed FY2020 work plan last week. A draft work plan was presented to the Commission and approved with minor timeline adjustments. VII. Housing Trust Fund Working Session In order to help visualize the flow of funds from the HTF, and the pace at which it will revolve to make funds available for future projects some preliminary financial modeling was prepared for the previous meeting. After reviewing the initial model, the Commission requested that staff prepare several alternative models for review. Four potential models were provided. Model 1 - The Housing Commission has discussed awarding half of the funds for homeownership and half for rentals. The table below illustrates that division and the number of housing units that could benefit from the initial round of awards as currently envisioned, and a sample spreadsheet of potential loans and the annual payments was included in your packets for the June meeting. Based on the HTF policy as currently structured, the initial round of awards could support creation or rehabilitation of approximately 21 housing units, both rentals and homeownership. The fund would be slowly replenished with the incoming payments and interest on the loans over time. At the June 2019  In order to help visualize the flow of funds from the HTF, and the pace at which it will revolve to make funds available for future projects some preliminary financial modeling was prepared for the previous meeting. After reviewing the initial model, the Commission requested that staff prepare several alternative models for review. Four potential models were provided. Model 1 - The Housing Commission has discussed awarding half of the funds for homeownership and half for rentals. The table below illustrates that division and the number of housing units that could benefit from the initial round of awards as currently envisioned, and a sample spreadsheet of potential loans and the annual payments was included in your packets for the June meeting. Based on the HTF policy as currently structured, the initial round of awards could support creation or rehabilitation of approximately 21 housing units, both rentals and homeownership. The fund would be slowly replenished with the incoming payments and interest on the loans over time. At the June 2019 meeting, the Housing Commission requested a model showing the impact of shifting the policy to reflect a maximum per unit loan of $10,000 rather than the initially proposed $15,000, and a per project maximum of $100,000 rather than the initial proposal of $150,000. Model 2 reflects those changes. This model retains an even distribution between homeownership and rental funds and prioritizes the creation of new affordable housing units. Model 3 eliminates the division between homeownership and rental projects, instead focusing on the division of funds between the three program types. The CoRe program can be used for either creation of homeownership units, new rentals, or rehabilitation of existing units. In this model half of the funds are available for the CoRe program, with the other half divided between HIP and DPA. This model results in the highest number of units impacted with the initial funds. Model 4 also divides the funds by program rather than rental vs. homeownership, with an emphasis on serving an equal number of units with each program. The highest dollar amount is located in the HIP program. HIP loans have a shorter loan term (8 years has been proposed), thus the funds will tend to revolve more quickly to be invested in new projects. This model prioritizes improvement of existing housing in Winooski, rather than creation of new housing. The Housing Commission voted to propose Model 4 as the approach to the Housing Trust Fund, to be re-evaluated in light of the performance metrics at one year intervals. VIII. Adjourn Motion by: Leslie Second: Jessica Time: 6:48 PM