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Plan Commission Minutes 1 April 5, 2016
PLAN COMMISSION MINUTES
April 5, 2016
PRESENT: Ed Bowen, Jeffrey Thoms, Thomas Fojtik, Steve Cummings, Kathleen Propp, Gary
Gray, Donna Lohry, Karl Nollenberger
EXCUSED: David Borsuk, John Hinz, Robert Vajgrt
STAFF: Darryn Burich, Director of Planning Services; David Buck, Principal Planner;
Darlene Brandt, Grants Coordinator; Deborah Foland, Recording Secretary
Chairperson Fojtik called the meeting to order at 4:00 pm. Roll call was taken and a quorum
declared present.
The minutes of March 15, 2016 were approved as presented. (Nollenberger/Cummings)
I. REVIEW 2016 ANNUAL ACTION PLAN, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM
Staff requests review and acceptance of the 2016 Annual Action Plan for the Community
Development Block Grant Program.
The purpose of this review is for the Plan Commission to make a determination of consistency that
the proposed programs and activities in the 2016 Annual Action Plan is consistent with the City’s
2005-2025 Comprehensive Plan, official maps, or other planned activities of the City.
Ms. Brandt presented the item and explained the objectives of the program and stated that the City
has been an entitlement community in the US Department of Housing and Urban Development
CDBG program since 1976. She further stated that the projects funded by this program must meet
one of the following objectives; benefit to low and moderate income persons (LMI), aid in the
prevention of slum and blight, or urgent need such as disasters and emergencies. The City’s
allocation for 2016 is $752,818 which is broken down into four categories and she explained the
projects that would fall under each category. The allocation of funds would be $195,000 for central
city redevelopment, $202,818 for owner occupied housing rehabilitation, $141,000 for
neighborhood initiatives, $110,000 for public services, and $104,000 for administration and
planning. She reviewed photos of completed projects that were funded from these various
categories in the past year and the agencies that receive funding through the public services
consortium and the breakdown of funding for administration which is to provide staff salaries and
training as well as funding for the Fair Housing Center of Northeastern Wisconsin. She further
stated that after review by the Plan Commission to make a determination of consistency with the
Comprehensive Plan and approval by the Common Council, the Action Plan would be submitted to
HUD for approval.
Mr. Thoms questioned if it was mandated to allocate funds to all of these categories or if the City
can opt to change the allocations as the City receives less funding than it did in the past.
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Plan Commission Minutes 2 April 5, 2016
Ms. Brandt responded that there are certain caps on how much can be allocated to each category
and the City cannot exceed these percentages in some programs.
Mr. Thoms commented that he would like to see funding reallocated from the Central City projects
to the housing related programs.
Ms. Brandt indicated that in 2015 the City received $270,000 in program income from the housing
rehabilitation program as previous loans were satisfied and that it is difficult to spend all of the
funds in a timely manner if too much is allocated to that program.
Mr. Burich added that the Central City category was not required to be funded however a minimum
of 70% of the funding is required to benefit LMI families and the housing and public services
categories meet these needs and the central city redevelopment projects are opportunity based and
easier to expend. The funds allocated to these programs must be spent in a one year period or the
funding will be lost.
Mr. Thoms stated that it seems more logical to apply the funds to programs that offer the most
benefit to the LMI households such as the housing programs as the funding continues to be
decreased each year and he felt the funds allocated to central city redevelopment had less benefit to
LMI and the need continues to grow for assistance.
Mr. Burich commented that the $195,000 allocated to central city redevelopment will cover the
costs of removal of blighted properties which benefits the community by improving the affected
LMI neighborhood in which the property is located.
Ms. Propp stated that she felt the removal of slum and blighted properties was a huge benefit to the
community as a whole.
Ms. Brandt discussed some of the circumstances where this funding has been utilized and the
improvements that are realized by the neighborhoods where these properties are located as
deteriorated or abandoned homes negatively affect adjacent properties.
Ms. Lohry discussed the Winnebago County Human Services board meeting she attended recently
and that due to lack of funding the facility utilized for disabled citizens to gather for social type
activities was lost. She discussed the possibility of utilizing this funding source to create a new
location for a social gathering facility for the mentally handicapped residents of the community as
she felt this was an important facet to have available. She suggested a central city location that
could be acquired for this purpose.
Ms. Brandt indicated that the city participates in the Housing Coalition meetings where these types
of activities or objectives are discussed.
Mr. Buck added that the City has assisted with funding this type of program in the past.
Mr. Gray stated that he agrees with Mr. Thoms regarding the allocation of funds and that at the last
Common Council meeting the purchase of a home on Bowen Street was approved and questioned
which category the funding would be taken from.
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Plan Commission Minutes 3 April 5, 2016
Ms. Brandt responded that this was the first project done of this type and that it would be taken out
of the allocation for housing rehabilitation and it would be rehabilitated and sold to a LMI
household.
Mr. Gray then questioned what the Housing Coalition was and what was its function.
Ms. Brandt replied that the Housing Coalition was a variety of organizations and entities that
provide services to LMI clients that deal with reference points for situations such as homelessness,
financial issues and mental illness.
Mr. Gray inquired if the City has focused funding on particular areas containing LMI households of
the city in the past.
Mr. Burich responded that it has been addressed under the context of the Comprehensive Plan
which has designated priority areas for LMI issues and discussed the Near East Neighborhood plan
which was a focused area of the city in past years for rehabilitation efforts.
Mr. Gray commented that he does not think that the City promotes the housing assistance program
as well as it could. He also stated that there was a reference somewhere in the Action Plan
document that the income over the next three to four years would be 2.8 million dollars and
questioned if this was an estimate or actual figure.
Ms. Brandt responded that it was an estimate of block grant fund allocations for the next five years
and is based on an average of funds received.
Mr. Gray then questioned if the public services consortium allocation was greater than it was last
year.
Ms. Brandt replied that this category was allocated $85,000 last year and was increased to $110,000
this year due to the increase in program income from the housing rehabilitation program. The
funding for public services will provide income for agencies that work with LMI clients and is still
within the 15% cap.
Mr. Gray inquired how many applications were received for the public services funding allocation.
Ms. Brandt responded that 10 applications were received this year.
Mr. Thoms questioned how much funding was being requested.
Ms. Brandt replied that $149,000 was requested this year.
Mr. Cummings stated that the house on Bowen Street that was purchased was acquired for $20,000
and after approximately $80,000 of rehabilitation costs, the property could be sold for an estimated
$120,000-$125,000 resulting in a profit to the City.
Mr. Nollenberger commented that he desired to clarify that the Plan Commission was responsible to
determine if the Action Plan was consistent with the City’s Comprehensive Plan and not to approve
how the money is allocated to specific objectives.
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Plan Commission Minutes 4 April 5, 2016
Motion by Propp to approve the 2016 Annual Action Plan for the Community Development
Block Grant Program.
Seconded by Lohry. Motion carried 8-0.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at approximately 4:28 pm. (Gray/Propp)
Respectfully submitted,
Darryn Burich
Director of Planning Services