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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHousing Cmsn - 05/07/08PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM TO: RACHELLE KLASSEN, CITY CLERK FROM: PATTY LEON, RECORDING SECRETARY DATE: JUNE 12, 2008 SUBJECT: HOUSING COMMISSION MINUTES Attached is the following Housing Commission Meeting Minutes approved at the Housing Commission meeting held June 11, 2008: ➢ May 7, 2008 Please submit to the Housing Authority Board. Thank you. cc: Carlos L. Ortega, Executive Director rpeeIveACile- BY HOUSG AUTH ON `:9.113, -G S VERIFIED BY: 12,1) Original on file with City Clerk's Office CITY OF PALM DESERT HOUSING COMMISSION MINUTES May 7, 2008 I. CALL TO ORDER Leo Sullivan, Housing Commission Chair, convened the meeting at 3:30 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Present: Members Absent: Donna Lewis Natalie Russo Leo Sullivan Jane Turner Also Present: Verna Smith Richard S. Kelly, Councilmember Liaison Justin McCarthy, ACM for Redevelopment Dave Yrigoyen, Director of Redevelopment/Housing Janet Moore, Director of Housing Martin Alvarez, Redevelopment Manager James Conway, Project Coordinator Jessica Gonzales, Management Analyst Patty Leon, Recording Secretary Guest(s): Teresa Vakili, RPM Company Ron Tucker, Potential Housing Commissioner HI. I. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS IV. CONSENT CALENDAR A. MINUTES of the Regular Housing Commission meeting of April 9, 2008. With a Motion made by Commissioner Turner and seconded by Commissioner Lewis the minutes of April 9, 2008 were unanimously approved. Housing Commission Minutes May 7, 2008 V. REPORTS AND REMARKS A. COMMISSION REPORTS Leo Sullivan reported that Commissioner Linda Ward passed away last month. Janet Moore stated that a memorial stone will be placed in the Rose Garden located at the Civic Center Park in memory of Linda Ward. Staff will notify the Commission of the actual wording on the stone as well as the placement date. Mrs. Moore announced that two meetings have been scheduled for the Housing Adhoc Sub -Committee: May 28th at 1:00 pm and June 24th at 2:00 pm. A Motion was made by Commissioner Lewis and seconded by Commissioner Turner to appoint the alternative Commissioner Jane Turner as the replacement for Linda Ward on the Adhoc Sub -Committee. For informational purposes, Mrs. Moore stated that the Adhoc Sub -committee consists of two members of the City Council, two members of the Housing Commission, and several City staff members. The purpose of the adhoc sub- committee is to discuss development and/or planning stages of housing projects. She noted that the sub -committee is currently discussing Country Village Apartments. B. SUMMARY OF CITY COUNCIL AND REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY AGENDA ITEMS RELATED TO HOUSING, AND SUMMARY OF CITY COUNCIL, HOUSING AUTHORITY, AND REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY ACTIONS The summary was reviewed by the Commission. C. RPM MONTHLY STATUS REPORTS The Commission reviewed the Monthly Status Report for March. Leo Sullivan questioned the six vacancies at Taos Palms. Teresa Vakili stated that two families were transferred to Palm Village Apartments by request and the rest moved out on their own, which provided the opportunity to renovate those units. Monies were set aside to allow for these renovations as part of the mid -year budget adjustments. Mr. Sullivan asked about Laguna Palms occupancy date. Mrs. Vakili responded that tenants will be able to move in this upcoming weekend. 2 Housing Commission Minutes May 7, 2008 James Conway provided a brief explanation on the construction renovations at Taos Palms. He stated that the property is one of the older properties and in much need of attention. Two units were carefully inspected to determine the structural integrity, drywall conditions, plumbing, electrical as well as environmental tests and termite inspections. Staff is looking at plans to bring the units to current standards with the monies that were set aside for this project. Janet Moore stated that from the day the property was acquired, one of the buildings that houses part of those six units has consistently had a pest control problem. Several treatments were performed and were not successful. She noted that for this reason the units were not re -rented, given the impending repairs. Natalie Russo referenced Desert Pointe's report and asked if the eviction listed was unusual. Mrs. Vakili stated that evictions are unusual but do take place. She mentioned that the eviction shown on the report was due to non-payment of rent. She also noted that the process leading to an eviction can take up to 21/2 months. D. REPORT #1 - MONTHLY OCCUPANCY AND AVERAGE RENT STATEMENT The Commission reviewed the Monthly Occupancy and Average Rent Statement for March. Jane Turner referenced Sagecrest's report and asked if the tenants have been certified onto the program. Teresa Vakili stated that at this point there has not been any tenants that qualify for the program. She noted that the property is currently 50% occupied. E. REPORT #2 — MONTHLY NET OPERATING INCOME STATEMENTS The Commission reviewed the Monthly Net Operating Income Statements for March. Leo Sullivan asked for clarification on the income category very low. Janet Moore stated that the area median for a family of four is $62,000 at 100%. From 0 to 50% is considered very low, 50 to 80% is low, and 80 to 120% is moderate. She stated that our rent structure starts at 20% and above since 3 Housing Commission Minutes May 7, 2008 most people below 20% typically cannot afford to even pay the utilities and are in need of fully subsidized housing. She noted that the responsibility of the Agency is to provide affordable housing and not no -cost housing at this time. F HOUSING AUTHORITY PROPERTIES UPDATE The update on the Housing Authority properties was reviewed by the Commission. James Conway summarized the report. Leo Sullivan inquired on the date Neighbors' Apartments was built and noted the replacement of cabinetry. Mr. Conway replied that the property is approximately 30 years old. Jane Turner referenced California Villas' sampling of asbestos to the remaining 25 units and asked if the other units had been tested. Mr. Conway stated that part of the improvements of Phase B is to renovate the interior of the remaining 25 units which requires asbestos testing before starting the work. He noted that all of the other units were tested for asbestos. Ms. Turner referenced Catalina Gardens' rewiring of cable and asked if it is referring to television cable. Mr. Conway stated that the cable is the electrical wire that supports the carport lighting. He stated that the wires were buried without proper conduit which may cause a short when disturbed. At this time, staff is asking for proposals but may look at different options for lighting. Ms. Turner referenced One Quail Place and asked if the repairs on the carports listed are referring to the recently renovated carports. Mr. Conway replied yes and explained that the reroofing project of the carports addressed only the fascia, new rock and sheathing and not necessarily the beams or posts. The cost to replace and maintain the posts and beams has been added to the maintenance budget for One Quail Place. He added that this might be a recurring maintenance to the beams and columns. Ms. Turner also questioned the damaged bridges and sidewalks at One Quail Place and asked if they had recently been refurbished. 4 Housing Commission Minutes May 7, 2008 Mr. Conway stated that the bridges have been replaced. However, the roots of the existing trees have lifted part of the concrete on some of the bridges and sidewalks and will need replacing or repairing. With regard to the trees, the tree removal project coordinated by Spencer Knight allows for 12 tree removals for this property. At this time, discussion ensued with a possible housing tour in the fall. Donna Lewis and Ron Tucker both mentioned that they have only seen two properties. Justin McCarthy advised them that a personal tour can be arranged, at their request, to visit the properties. A tentative date of October for a Housing tour was agreed upon. G. HOUSING AUTHORITY BUDGET CLARIFICATION A memo regarding the Housing Authority Budget clarification was provided by Veronica Tapia. As a request made from the last meeting with regard to the Housing Authority 2008-09 budgets, Janet Moore stated that the summary clarifies the "Other Rental Income". She explained how RPM Company separates Rental Income and Other Rental Income as two line items while the Authority's budget does not. She also stated that after further review of the budgets, staff also indentified a link that had been broken and was corrected as well. VI. NEW BUSINESS VII. CONTINUED BUSINESS VIII. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS A. HOUSING AUTHORITY NEWSLETTER Newsletters were provided to the Commission for May. B. AGENCY HOME IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM UPDATE An update on the Home Improvement Program (HIP) Commission for review. James Conway referenced the report and reported 22 various stages. He provided a brief explanation of was provided to the applicants that are in an emergency grant 5 Housing Commission Minutes May 7, 2008 applicant that resides at one of the mobilehome parks. He noted that of the 22 applications 7 are from mobilehome parks. Justin McCarthy stated that the applications received from mobilehome parks represents the amendment to the program that was approved recently. Janet Moore reported on the issues related to the current economy with regard to the Home Improvement Program. She stated that sometimes the homes listed on the report might seem stagnant due to the homeowners backing out from signing contracts with contractors. Homeowners have mentioned that they are afraid to encumber their home or mobile home with additional debt due to the worries that the economy is going to turn around and their houses might not be worth what they were in the last few years. She noted that applicants are very pleased with the program but are a little doubtful about the economy. Jane Turner mentioned an item on the City Council agenda with regard to a property sale at Desert Rose and asked if it was a foreclosure sale. Mrs. Moore stated that Desert Rose has had approximately 95 resales out of the original 161 houses. She noted that the Desert Rose property listed on the agenda is not a foreclosure but a request to acquire the property in the event that the Agency's resale rights control expires. The Agency is given 60 days to purchase the property in the event a qualified buyer is not identified. Upon question, she mentioned that there are two properties for sale at Desert Rose. One of the homes has a resale price of $118,000 and other home is listed at $138,000. Both homes were classified as a 9 or a 10 in terms of the property's condition from the agent that represents the identified buyers. Upon question on Habitat for Humanity's vacant lot located on El Cortez, Mrs. Moore stated that Habitat is in the process of contracting with a contractor to move forward with the project. Natalie Russo asked if there was an evaluation or appraisal done to the properties requesting grants or funds from the Home Improvement Program. James Conway stated that loan information is requested as part of the application. Janet Moore stated that the program states that at the time the application is in process for HIP Assistance, the property cannot be encumbered in excess of eighty percent (80%) of its current fair market value, which is determined by comparable sales data using the Multiple Listing Services (MLS). She stated that if the homeowner requests to have an appraisal done, they are made 6 Housing Commission Minutes May 7, 2008 aware that they will have to pay for the cost. She noted that by using the MLS comparables it also saves the owner $350 for an appraisal. Leo Sullivan stated that given the circumstances of the market it might be worth our while to get appraisals done since he felt that the MLS is too far behind. Mrs. Moore stated that she was aware of that and explained that in most cases the loans to value are nowhere close to 80% so this does not happen very often. She did provide an example of a recent property where the market value using MLS exceeds the current encumbrances by $75,000, in which case there was no method available that could value the home to meet the program guidelines. She noted that in the event there is any possibility that we could meet the guidelines, we would definitely suggest it to the owner. Mrs. Russo mentioned that there should be an outreach to the local banks with regard to the Home Improvement Program. IX. NEXT MEETING DATE — June 11, 2008 ADJOURNMENT With members of the Housing Commission concurrence Leo Sullivan, Housing Commission Chair, adjourned the meeting at 4:07 p.m. pl �4.ttlon Patty Leon, cording Secretary 7