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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-12-2012 CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MEETING AGENDA MOUNDS VIEW CITY HALL Monday, March 12, 2012 6:30 PM 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. ROLL CALL: President Flaherty, Vice President Stigney, Commissioner Hull, Commissioner Mueller, Commissioner Gunn 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA 4. PUBLIC INPUT: Citizens may speak to issues not on tonight’s agenda. Before speaking, please give your full name and address for the minutes. Also, please limit your comments to three minutes. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. November 22, 2010, EDA Minutes B. February 13, 2012, EDA Minutes 6. CONSENT AGENDA 7. EDA BUSINESS A. Resolution 12-EDA-269, Approving Application to Ramsey County for a Community Development Block Grant to Fund the Acquisition, Demolition and Replacement of Two Single-Family Blighted Vacant/Foreclosed Homes in Mounds View 8. REPORTS A. Update on EDC’s County Rd 10 Beautification Discussion - VERBAL REPORT 9. NEXT EDA MEETING: Monday, March 26, 2012 10. ADJOURNMENT PROCEEDINGS OF THE MOUNDS VIEW EDA 1 CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW 2 RAMSEY COUNTY, MINNESOTA 3 4 Regular Meeting 5 November 22, 2010 6 Mounds View City Hall 7 2401 Highway 10, Mounds View, MN 55112 8 6:00 P.M. 9 10 11 1. CALL MEETING TO ORDER 12 13 2. ROLL CALL: President Flaherty, Vice President Stigney, Commissioner Hull, 14 Commissioner Mueller, Commissioner Gunn, and Executive Director Ericson. 15 16 NOT PRESENT: None. 17 18 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA 19 20 MOTION/SECOND: Mueller/Hull. To Approve the November 22, 2010, agenda as presented. 21 22 Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 23 24 4. PUBLIC INPUT 25 26 None. 27 28 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 29 30 None. 31 32 6. CONSENT AGENDA 33 34 None. 35 36 7. EDA BUSINESS 37 38 A. Resolution 10-EDA-261, Approving Criteria for the Mounds View Home 39 Demolition Loan 40 41 Economic Development Specialist Steinmetz stated EDA was being asked to approve four 42 separate criteria for the Mounds View Home Improvement Program. She explained the loan 43 term had been revised per the EDA’s suggestion. Additional information was provided on the 44 Greater Metropolitan Housing Coalition (GMHC) and how this organization would assist the 45 Mounds View EDA November 22, 2010 Regular Meeting Page 2 City of Mounds View with the loan program. Staff recommended approval of the criteria 46 submitted for the Home Demolition Loan. 47 48 Commissioner Mueller questioned if the demolition loan had any income limitations. Economic 49 Development Specialist Steinmetz indicated there were no income limitations. The City would 50 like to see blighted properties demolished and redeveloped to assist with keeping property values 51 steady and/or rising. 52 53 Commissioner Mueller thanked staff for working through the criteria with the EDA as this 54 program would greatly benefit the City. 55 56 Vice President Stigney asked if there was a timeframe for demolition once a City loan was 57 approved. Commissioner Hull indicated there was a 120 day time limit for the demolition work 58 to be completed. 59 60 Economic Development Specialist Steinmetz indicated the Fire Department’s burn down 61 program would be available through the Demolition Loan Program and would decrease the 62 overall demolition expenses greatly. 63 64 Commissioner Mueller inquired if the City had an estimate of the expenses to administer these 65 loans. Economic Development Specialist Steinmetz explained this information was requested 66 from GMHC but has not been made available to date. The City does have an annual contract 67 with the GMHC and fees would be adjusted to stay within this contract. In addition, fees would 68 be lower than working with a bank and would be in alignment with fees charged to neighboring 69 cities. She indicated that the City was recommending that all GMHC fees be rolled into the 70 expense of the loan. 71 72 President Flaherty encouraged staff to speak with GMHC to resolve the fee situation to assure 73 that the program was able to launch in January. 74 75 MOTION/SECOND: Gunn/Mueller. To Waive the Reading and Adopt Resolution 10-EDA-76 261, Approving Criteria for the Mounds View Home Demolition Loan. 77 78 Ayes – 4 Nays – 1 (Hull) Motion carried. 79 80 B. Resolution 10-EDA-262, Approving Criteria for the Mounds View General 81 Home Repair Loan 82 83 Economic Development Specialist Steinmetz reviewed the criteria for the General Home Repair 84 Loan. She explained loan amounts would range in value from $1,000 to $15,000 and had a term 85 of 10 years. Staff indicated language had been revised based on EDA comments and would be in 86 favor of allowing both interior and exterior home repairs within this loan, as both increased 87 Mounds View EDA November 22, 2010 Regular Meeting Page 3 property values. Staff recommended the EDA approve the General Home Repair Loan. 88 89 Vice President Stigney asked that the loan value amount be increased to $15,000 on the 90 resolution to coincide the staff recommendation. He requested that energy efficient windows and 91 glass only be approved through the loan program when they are related to the life and safety of 92 the homeowner for both interior and exterior improvements. 93 94 Commissioner Gunn indicated the eligible repairs discussed at the last meeting were energy 95 efficient and interior repairs when related to life and safety of the resident. She explained these 96 were separate issues. She did not want to see the program limited to only exterior repairs. 97 98 President Flaherty commented that interior repairs would add value only to the homeowner and 99 would not be adding value to the neighborhood. External repairs would improve surrounding 100 property values. He indicated the program was designed to improve curb appeal of the aging 101 housing stock throughout the City. 102 103 Executive Director Ericson indicated interior repairs were outlined specifically to assist with 104 increasing home values and sustainability. He recommended that a code enforcement violation 105 not be a mandate for this loan program. 106 107 Commissioner Mueller stated she would be in favor of striking the words after “interior repairs” 108 from the resolution. This would allow a homeowner to make much necessary upgrades when 109 needed. 110 111 Commissioner Hull agreed with this recommendation. 112 113 Vice President Stigney questioned if this loan had an asset limit. He indicated he would have a 114 hard time supporting this loan program as it does not encourage homeowners to look elsewhere 115 first. He also requested further information from staff on what “energy efficient” home repairs 116 would entail. 117 118 President Flaherty indicated he did not feel any income limitations should be set for this loan. 119 120 Vice President Stigney questioned why the City was getting into the banking business. 121 Economic Development Specialist Steinmetz stated these programs have been in existence for 122 years and the City was strictly revising the criteria at this time as additional funds were now 123 available for the loan programs. 124 125 President Flaherty did not oppose the program as written. Mr. Roberts suggested that siding be 126 added as an approved exterior improvement. He explained the thought was to have energy 127 efficiency improvements cover heating and cooling systems. 128 129 Mounds View EDA November 22, 2010 Regular Meeting Page 4 Commissioner Mueller questioned what year the median income statistics would be based on for 130 this program. Economic Development Specialist Steinmetz stated the statistics would be based 131 on the current year. 132 133 Commissioner Mueller requested this statement be revised to read, current year for the area. 134 135 Vice President Stigney questioned how many homes were still on a septic system. Executive 136 Director Ericson indicated there were four homes still on a septic system. He indicated failure of 137 a system would require the homeowner to hook up to the sanitary sewer system. 138 139 MOTION/SECOND: Mueller/Gunn. To Waive the Reading and Adopt Resolution 10-EDA-140 262, Approving Criteria for the Mounds View General Home Repair Loan with the following 141 amendments: the language regarding exterior repairs shall add a bullet to include siding 142 repair/replacement; the language regarding interior repairs will strike all words in gray; an 143 additional bullet will be added under interior repairs to read energy efficiency improvements, 144 heating and cooling systems, insulation; the third bullet shall read, failure of the electrical, 145 ventilation, plumbing and septic systems; each improvement project shall receive three bids; loan 146 amount shall go from $1,000-$10,000; and, the language regarding income limits shall read, 147 current year area median household income. 148 149 Vice President Stigney indicated he would not support this motion as there was no asset 150 limitation within the loan program. 151 152 President Flaherty explained he would support the amendments and noted the program would be 153 reviewed in a year, at which time the EDA would further analyze the program. 154 155 Ayes – 4 Nays – 1 (Stigney) Motion carried. 156 157 C. Resolution 10-EDA-263, Approving Criteria for the Mounds View Code 158 Enforcement Home Loan 159 160 Economic Development Specialist Steinmetz reviewed the criteria for the Code Enforcement 161 Home Loan Program. She explained this arose through recommendations made by Code 162 Enforcement Officer Jeremiah Anderson. The loan amounts would range from $1,000-7,000 163 with a 0% interest rate. The language revisions were reviewed with the EDA and staff 164 recommended approval. 165 166 Mr. Roberts suggested siding repair/replacement be added to this loan program and that three 167 bids be requested for each loan. 168 169 MOTION/SECOND: Gunn/Stigney. To Waive the Reading and Adopt Resolution 10-EDA-170 263, Approving Criteria for the Mounds View Code Enforcement Home Loan with the 171 Mounds View EDA November 22, 2010 Regular Meeting Page 5 recommendation stated above. 172 173 Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 174 175 D. Resolution 10-EDA-264, Approving Criteria for the Mounds View 176 Emergency Home Loan 177 178 Economic Development Specialist Steinmetz reviewed the Emergency Home Loan criteria with 179 the EDA. She indicated this loan varied because it was a 0% deferred loan. Emergency loans 180 would be limited by income. Only one bid was required through this loan due to the time 181 sensitive nature of the requests. Additional language revisions were discussed and staff 182 recommended approval. 183 184 MOTION/SECOND: Mueller/Gunn. To Waive the Reading and Adopt Resolution 10-EDA-185 264, Approving Criteria for the Mounds View Emergency Home Loan, inserting the word “year” 186 between current and median. 187 188 Vice President Stigney was in favor of the asset limits set within this loan program. 189 190 Commissioner Mueller thanked staff for including manufactured housing in this program. 191 192 Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 193 194 8. REPORTS 195 196 A. Discuss Replacement of the Remaining Welcome to the City of Mounds View 197 Signs 198 199 Executive Director Ericson stated the City had additional dollars available from Bethlehem 200 Baptist Church. The EDA could choose to allocate these funds to replace the remaining exterior 201 Welcome to Mounds View signs. The quote from Traffix Graphix was $2,400 to replace the 12 202 signs. 203 204 Commissioner Mueller indicated the expense was quite reasonable, being only $200 per sign. 205 Mr. Roberts explained the graphics would be consistent with the newly placed signs along 206 County Highway 10. 207 208 MOTION/SECOND: Gunn/Hull. To use the remaining funds from Bethlehem Baptist to 209 purchase 12 Welcome to Mounds View signs through Traffix Graphix for an expense not to 210 exceed $2,400. 211 212 Vice President Stigney indicated he would not support the motion as he did not have enough 213 Mounds View EDA November 22, 2010 Regular Meeting Page 6 information on the signs and the funds could be used elsewhere in the City. 214 215 President Flaherty agreed, stating the signs may not be the City’s most critical need. 216 217 Ayes – 3 Nays – 1 (Flaherty) Abstain – 1 (Stigney) Motion carried. 218 219 9. NEXT EDA MEETING: Monday, December 13, 2010, at 6:30 p.m. 220 221 10. ADJOURNMENT 222 223 President Flaherty adjourned the meeting at 7:08 p.m. 224 225 Respectfully submitted, 226 227 228 Recorded and transcribed by: 229 Heidi Guenther 230 TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. 231 Item No: 05A Meeting Date: March 12, 2012 Type of Business: EDA Administrator Review : ____ City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: Desaree Crane, Assistant City Administrator Item Title/Subject: November 22, 2010, EDA Minutes During a records audit, it was discovered that the November 22, 2010, EDA Minutes were not approved by the EDA. Please review the attached Minutes. When approved, Staff will place the attached Minutes on the City’s website and file as required. Respectfully submitted, _________________________ Desaree Crane PROCEEDINGS OF THE MOUNDS VIEW EDA 1 CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW 2 RAMSEY COUNTY, MINNESOTA 3 4 Regular Meeting 5 February 13, 2012 6 Mounds View City Hall 7 2401 Highway 10, Mounds View, MN 55112 8 6:02 P.M. 9 10 11 1. CALL MEETING TO ORDER 12 13 2. ROLL CALL: President Flaherty, Vice President Stigney, Commissioner Hull, 14 Commissioner Mueller, Commissioner Gunn, and Executive Director Ericson. 15 16 NOT PRESENT: None. 17 18 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA 19 20 MOTION/SECOND: Gunn/Mueller. To Approve the February 13, 2012, Agenda as presented. 21 22 Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 23 24 4. PUBLIC INPUT 25 26 None. 27 28 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 29 30 A. January 9, 2012, EDA Minutes. 31 32 MOTION/SECOND: Mueller/Hull. To Approve the January 9, 2012, Minutes as presented. 33 34 Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 35 36 6. CONSENT AGENDA 37 38 None. 39 40 7. EDA BUSINESS 41 42 A. Presentation from the St. Paul Area Association of Realtors Regarding 43 Housing Trends in Mounds View – Speaker: Richard Tucker, Association 44 President 45 Mounds View EDA February 13, 2012 Regular Meeting Page 2 46 Economic Development Specialist Steinmetz stated Richard Tucker was before the Council this 47 evening to present information to the EDA on the trends regarding Mounds View real estate. 48 49 Richard Tucker, President of the St. Paul Area Association of Realtors, thanked the EDA for 50 their time this evening. He reviewed what realtors are seeing in the market at this time with 51 regard to sales, inventory and median sales price. Past housing sales numbers for the entire 52 metro area were reviewed in detail. 53 54 Mr. Tucker commented the key to a recovery would be to reduce the inventory or number of 55 houses for sale. The metro area median home prices were reviewed. He explained Mounds 56 View had 92 closed home sales in 2009, 77 in 2010, and 98 in 2011. The housing inventory for 57 the City has been reduced throughout the City, which will improve the overall housing market. 58 Mr. Tucker then reviewed the price range of the homes that sold over the past three years. 59 60 Mr. Tucker indicated short sales and foreclosures were a reality of home sales in Mounds View 61 in the last three years. The foreclosure allowed for the property to be removed from the housing 62 inventory and that an investment was being made back into the community. 63 64 President Flaherty commented very few homes were foreclosed over the $220,000 price range. 65 Mr. Tucker stated in this market there was only one home foreclosed over the $220,000 price 66 range. He commented the bulk of the foreclosures were in the lower price range for a variety of 67 reasons. 68 69 Mr. Tucker stated the median home price was reduced in the City of Mounds View from 70 $162,000 to $135,000, which is where the majority of the sales activity has been for the past two 71 years. However, unit sales were increasing while the inventory was decreasing. These were both 72 very positive steps. He noted home values will begin to increase as demand puts pressure on a 73 scarce supply of homes. Consumer confidence will continue to be critical with regard to home 74 sales and home values. 75 76 Vice President Stigney indicated he was aware of a home in foreclosure and questioned why this 77 process was taking almost two years. Mr. Tucker explained each bank had different policies. He 78 stated many banks were not interested in taking on additional inventory at this time as they had 79 too many properties to manage. 80 81 Vice President Stigney requested the definition of a “short sale”. Mr. Tucker indicated short 82 sales allowed homeowners to sell a home at market value, often times for less than the loan 83 value. The loan was then paid off at market value and not the full value of the loan. While the 84 banks are taking a loss, they benefited from the fact that the homeowner did not enter the 85 foreclosure process. 86 87 Mounds View EDA February 13, 2012 Regular Meeting Page 3 Executive Director Ericson asked if the reduction in home inventory was reducing the time of 88 homes on the market. Mr. Tucker stated there was a correlation depending on the set price and 89 condition of the home. He indicated the metro area was seeing a reduction in the days on the 90 market for homes. 91 92 Commissioner Mueller commented one-third of the City’s homes were built before 1975. She 93 questioned how residents could best prepare their home for a successful sale, given the state of 94 the housing market. Mr. Tucker explained there was a fair amount of competition in this area 95 and first impressions were crucial. He encouraged homeowners to review mechanicals and apply 96 fresh paint. The home needs to show well and be priced appropriately. 97 98 Commissioner Mueller questioned the qualifications for first time homebuyers. Mr. Tucker 99 stated there were a number of programs available, even one through the City of Mounds View. 100 He encouraged first time homebuyers to speak with a reputable qualified lender and find an agent 101 that knows the market. 102 103 President Flaherty questioned how pending assessments get missed at home closings. Mr. 104 Tucker stated realtors may miss these if the liens are not properly recorded. However, when 105 closings are completed at a title company, this should not occur. He explained that gap coverage 106 should address this concern and a resident could speak with the title company if there was a 107 discrepancy. 108 109 President Flaherty encouraged new homebuyers to speak with City Hall if interested in a property 110 to address pending assessment issues. Mr. Tucker agreed this was a great step stating a great 111 deal of information was available on the internet as well. 112 113 President Flaherty was pleased with the numbers and how they were trending for the City of 114 Mounds View. 115 116 Economic Development Specialist Steinmetz questioned the percentage of realtors that were 117 familiar with the Mounds View housing market. Mr. Tucker stated out of the 1,500 members 118 approximately 300-500 realtors would be familiar with the City of Mounds View. 119 120 Commissioner Mueller questioned how real estate sales have changed over the past 20 years. 121 Mr. Tucker indicated there have been tremendous changes. He stated he has been in real estate 122 since 1978. The pace of change has accelerated as information was more readily available to 123 homebuyers. The realtors no longer controlled all of the information. Realtors now assisted 124 homebuyers navigate the entire home buying process. 125 126 Mr. Tucker stated the success of the school district greatly impacted housing sales. He 127 encouraged the City to continue to improve its schools and classrooms. He understood that 128 Mounds View had a great school system. 129 Mounds View EDA February 13, 2012 Regular Meeting Page 4 130 President Flaherty thanked Mr. Tucker for the information presented this evening. He indicated 131 the City was extremely concerned with protecting its housing stock while welcoming new 132 residents to the community. 133 134 8. REPORTS 135 136 None. 137 138 9. NEXT EDA MEETING: Monday, February 27, 2012, at 6:30 p.m. 139 140 10. ADJOURNMENT 141 142 President Flaherty adjourned the meeting at 6:43 p.m. 143 144 Respectfully submitted, 145 146 147 Recorded and transcribed by: 148 Heidi Guenther 149 TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. 150 Item No: 7A Meeting Date: March 12, 2012 Type of Business: EDA Administrator Review: ____ City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Economic Development Authority From: Heidi Steinmetz, Economic Development Specialist Item Title/Subject: Resolution 12-EDA-269, Approving Application to Ramsey County for a Community Development Block Grant to Fund the Acquisition, Demolition and Replacement of Two Single- Family Blighted Vacant/Foreclosed Homes in Mounds View Introduction Ramsey County is now accepting applications for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for 2012. Funds would be available after July 1, 2012. Beginning in 1974, the CDBG program is one of the longest-running programs of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The program funds local community development activities such as affordable housing, anti-poverty programs, and infrastructure development. Over a 1, 2, or 3-year period, as selected by the grantee, not less than 70 percent of CDBG funds must be used for activities that benefit low-and-moderate-income persons. Each activity must meet one of the following national objectives for the program: benefit low-and moderate-income persons, prevention or elimination of slums or blight, or address community development needs having a particular urgency because existing conditions pose a serious and immediate threat to the health or welfare of the community for which other funding is not available. Background It has been several years since the City of Mounds View has applied for and received CDBG funding. The City has used CDBG funds in the past on the Manufactured Home Park Program and the Housing Replacement Program. A Habitat for Humanity home was constructed in 1999 with CDBG funds as part of the Housing Replacement Program. Similar to cities throughout the Nation, the recessed housing market has impacted Mounds View’s housing stock. In January 2012, there were 115 foreclosed homes in Mounds View (source: Mounds View Housing Inspection/Code Enforcement). Of those 115 homes, 43 are vacant. Of those vacant/foreclosed homes, Mounds View City staff believes that there are several homes that should be demolished, rather than renovated. This is because the cost to renovate these homes would exceed the cost to rebuild. 3/12/2012 EDA Meeting Item 7A – CDBG Application Page 2 of 2 Discussion In order to improve the City of Mounds View’s housing stock and provide affordable housing for low-to-moderate income families in Mounds View, City staff is proposing to apply to Ramsey County for CDBG funds to acquire two single-family properties; then demolish the structures. If the City is awarded the CDBG funds, City staff is proposing to donate the vacant lots to Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, so that Habitat could build new homes through their Homeownership Program. Recommendation Staff recommends the EDA approve the attached Resolution12-EDA-269, Approving Application to Ramsey County for a Community Development Block Grant to Fund the Acquisition, Demolition and Replacement of Two Single-Family Blighted Vacant/Foreclosed Homes in Mounds View. Respectfully submitted, Heidi Steinmetz, Economic Development Specialist EDA RESOLUTION 12-EDA-269 CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW COUNTY OF RAMSEY STATE OF MINNESOTA RESOLUTION APPROVING APPLICATION TO RAMSEY COUNTY FOR A COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT TO FUND THE ACQUISITION, DEMOLITION AND REPLACEMENT OF TWO SINGLE-FAMILY BLIGHTED VACANT/FORECLOSED HOMES IN MOUNDS VIEW WHEREAS, the Mounds View Economic Development Authority (EDA) has Housing and Redevelopment Authority powers provided in Minnesota Statutes, Sections 469.001 to 469.047; and, WHEREAS, the purposes of Sections 469.001 to 469.047 are: (1) to provide a sufficient supply of adequate, safe, and sanitary dwellings in order to protect the health, safety, morals, and welfare of the citizens of this state; (2) to clear and redevelop blighted areas; (3) to perform those duties according to comprehensive plans; (4) to remedy the shortage of housing for low and moderate income residents, and to redevelop blighted areas, in situations in which private enterprise would not act without government participation or subsidies; and (5) in cities of the first class, to provide housing for persons of all incomes; and, WHEREAS, limited funds are available to clear and redevelop blighted residential areas in Mounds View, Minnesota; and, WHEREAS, there exists a need in Mounds View, to redevelop its housing stock in situations in which private enterprise would not act without government participation or subsidies; and, WHEREAS, a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) would provide necessary funding for acquisition, demolition and replacement costs of blighted vacant/foreclosed homes in Mounds View. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Mounds View Economic Development Authority hereby recommends the application to Ramsey County for a Community Development Block Grant for $250,000 to fund the acquisition, demolition and replacement of two-single-family blighted vacant/foreclosed homes in Mounds View. Adopted this 12th day of March, 2012. _____________________________ Joe Flaherty, President ATTEST: _____________________________ James Ericson, Executive Director (seal)