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EDC Minutes April 20, 2018 Page 2 of 5 multi-family dwellings and the program is currently helping the Boulevard Apartments in Mounds View. The funds can also be used for tax forfeited properties. Chair Freichels asked about the definition of low to moderate income. Egan informed the Commission that it mean up to 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI). For a single person this is about $40,000. Commissioner Muckala asked about the County’s fiscal year. Egan responded by saying it is July 1–June 30. Muckala asked if next year’s programs will have the same level of funding as this year. Egan said the CGBG fund will have about $1.5 mill for next year. About $500,000 comes from businesses and developers. Freichels asked about deadlines. Egan said March is normally the deadline but the County will consider projects all year round. Breske asked about the business loans. Egan said they are tied to job creation. Freichels asked about Rice Creek Commons and how the funding programs would be affected by the project. Egan said the Rice Creek development has a separate set of funding that won’t affect Mounds View. Many of the programs don’t qualify if they are for new construction. Muckala asked if all the programs were loans. Egan said all but the soils remediation are loan programs. Beeman asked about multi-family programs. Egan said most property owners are not interested because of the restrictions and the vacancy rate is so low they don’t have to apply to the programs. Egan informed the Commission that Mounds View has used a program in the past for lighting and other safety features and the owner worked with the Police Department to identify high risk areas etc. The County is working with Minnesota Housing & Finance Agency (MHFA) to come up with a housing program for multi-family owners. The County also has cooperated with larger non-profit organizations to help purchase older homes, fix them up, and keep the rents low. Breske said the owners may be interested in tax incentives. Egan said they are talking with Minnesota Housing to design a program that would address this. Farmer asked if Cities have identified specific buildings and worked with the owner to get financing to fix up the property. Egan said this has happened in the past. Beeman asked about the PACE program. Egan said it is a program that property owners can update their homes through energy efficiency and they pay back the loan through property assessments. She is not aware if anyone in Mounds View has used it. Beeman asked about a County EDA levy. Egan said it is on hold and the County Board may be considering this in the future. Ramsey County is the only county in the area that doesn’t have one. Review Residential Housing Issues-Building Code Official Presentation Jacob Martin, Building Code Official presented pictures of multi-family structures in Mounds View and asked the Commission what types of issues they are seeing. Martin mentioned that the architecture and style is outdated and that may be the reason why the buildings stick out. Martin said most of the buildings are well maintained but look outdated. They may need some minor painting and landscaping to dress up the properties. Freichels asked what can be done. Martin said painting and maybe the City could develop a plan with the owners to address specific issues each year. Egan said in the past, the County has worked with Mounds View property owners to address landscaping projects. Breske said when he looked at the buildings around the city he came to the same conclusion that the buildings look outdated but they are safe. Farmer agreed that it is mostly the architecture and many of the older single-family homes have the same issues. Perhaps landscaping of homes would help improve the properties.