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I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 I I 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes January 28, 2014 Page 3 concentration. She stated other benefits include reduced congestion around schools and the potential to reduce transportation costs as well. She stated the SRTS program aims to reduce the barriers that prevent kids from walking to school and their model focuses on engineering, education, enforcement, and encouragement. She also discussed the role of schools and the community in promoting physical activity and how the SRTS program is a model for success. Mayor Faust stated that the City and the City Council are committed to the SRI'S program and expressed the City Council's thanks for the SRTS grant. 13. Greater Metropolitan Housing Corporation (GMHC)!Aging in Place. Suzanne Snyder, GMHC, presenting. Mayor Faust introduced Suzanne Snyder hom the Greater Metropolitan I-lousing Corporation. Ms. Snyder explained that GMHC has partnered with Access Solutions to provide the I-lome/or a Li/etime: Aging in Plaee project, which is funded by a grant from the Minnesota Department of I-Iuman Services. She stated the program provides information and outreach to consumers about Aging in Place to help older adults continue to live independently for as long as possible and aims to enhance the qualify of life for older adults by providing home safety assessments as well as information and resources on additional services that promote aging in place, and assistance identifying and securing funding to implement aging in place modifications. She stated the program also provides education about universal design and aging in place through outreach at a variety of settings and provides educational materials to industry professionals. She explained that any St. Anthony resident age 65 or older who own their home are eligible for the program and they receive a free home assessment and written recommendation, a $500 grant to use for home modifications, and assistance with implementing any home modifications. She stated they have identified 21 homes to participate in the project and there are four slots available for grant participants. She reported there will be a community education session on February 4th at 10:30 a.m. to provide information about the project. She stated that residents interested in learning more about participating in the grant program should contact Alyssa at (612) 238-5429. Mayor Faust stated that residents can also call City Hall with any questions. Ms. Snyder then provided an update regarding GMI-IC's Housing Resource Center program and explained that GMI-IC offers a Revolving Loan Fund that provides home improvement loans up to $ I 0,000 at 3% interest and is available to any St. Anthony homeowner and there are no income restrictions. She stated they also offer a rebate program where homeowners can get a 10%,12%, or 15% rebate of the total cost of improvements up to $3,000 per household. She stated that over the course of this program there have been a total of 87 rebates with a total investment in home improvements of $793,000, adding that for every dollar the City has put into the rebate program, there have been $10.70 in improvements made. She stated GMI-IC also offers a home improvement loan up to $50,000 at 5.99% interest with an income limit up to $96,500. She indicated that during 2013, GMHC served a total of 46 households, provided financing to three households, and provided information and referrals to 36 residents. She stated they are continuing these programs in 2014 and their spring seminar is scheduled for May 14th Mayor Faust thanked Ms. Snyder for the update. 3