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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHousing Cmsn - 04/07/10PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM TO: RACHELLE KLASSEN, CITY CLERK FROM: PATTY LEON, RECORDING_SECRETAR DATE: MAY 13, 2010 SUBJECT: HOUSING COMMISSION MINUTES Attached is the following Housing Commission Meeting Minutes approved at the regular Housing Commission meeting held May 12, 2010: April 7, 2010 Please submit to the Housing Authority Board. Thank you. iace.l 1)(T, BY HOUSG AUTH ON VERIFIED BY: cc John M. Wohlmuth, Executive Director Original on file with City CITY OF PALM DESERT AJOURNED REGULAR HOUSING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES APRIL 7, 2010 I. CALL TO ORDER Natalie Russo, Housing Commission Chair, convened the meeting at 3:00 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Present: Members Absent: Gene Colombini Verna Smith Donna Lewis Natalie Russo Wade Tucker Jane Turner Also Present: Justin McCarthy, ACM for Redevelopment Jessica Gonzales, Management Analyst James Conway, Project Coordinator Patty Leon, Recording Secretary Guest(s): Teresa Vakili, RPM Company Cathy Walker, Senior Management Analyst III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS IV. CONSENT CALENDAR A. MINUTES of the Regular Housing Commission meeting of March 10, 2010. With a Motion made by Commissioner Tucker and seconded by Commissioner Lewis the minutes of March 10, 2010 were unanimously approved. 1 Housing Commission Minutes V. REPORTS AND REMARKS A. COMMISSION REPORTS APRIL 7, 2010 B. SUMMARY OF CITY COUNCIL, REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AND HOUSING AUTHORITY AGENDA ITEMS AND ACTIONS Jessica Gonzales summarized the memo provided to the Commission. C. MONTHLY OCCUPANCY STATUS REPORT RPM WEEKLY ACTIVITY STATISTICS The Commission reviewed the Monthly Occupancy Status Report and Weekly Activity Statistics for February. Teresa Vakili provided a summary of the report stating that 3 of the 6 senior communities are 100% occupied with only two available. Multi -family apartments have 2% availability; 9 units are from the Taos Palms renovation project. Natalie Russo stated that February seemed like a slow month in terms of the number of traffic qualified. Ms. Vakili stated that November thru February is typically slow; people start looking for availability again at the end of the school year. Wade Tucker inquired if the two tenants at Sagecrest Apartments had relocated. Ms. Vakili stated that the existing tenants were given a 90-day notice. Upon question, Ms. Vakili reported that the income limits have not been provided by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and are expected this month. Natalie Russo referenced the report and asked on the tenants that moved out without proper notice. Ms. Vakili stated that typically tenants provide a 30-day notice; however some tenants that either lost their jobs move without notice and/or move with family members due to health reasons. The $300 security deposit is used for the condition of the unit upon move -out. 2 Housing Commission Minutes APRIL 7, 2010 D. REPORT #1 - MONTHLY OCCUPANCY AND AVERAGE RENT STATEMENT The Commission reviewed the Monthly Occupancy and Average Rent Statement for February. E. REPORT #2 — MONTHLY NET OPERATING INCOME STATEMENTS The Commission reviewed the Monthly Net Operating Income Statements for February. Wade Tucker inquired on the income categories for the very low, low and moderate percentages and asked to meet with an RPM representative to explain the report. Teresa Vakili stated that the percentages shown on the report are based on the income limits provided by HCD. Rents are set at 5% increments depending on income. She noted that the report shows the number of tenants at each income level. She offered to meet with Mr. Tucker to further explain the report. F. HOUSING AUTHORITY PROPERTIES UPDATE The update on the Housing Authority properties was reviewed by the Commission. James Conway summarized the report. A grammatical correction was noted on page 2 of the report to the word handicap. Gene Colombini inquired on the high number of service requests at One Quail Place. Teresa Vakili stated that most service calls at One Quail Place are mainly to switch AC units from heat to cold and are typically done twice a year due to season changes; filters are replaced at that time as well. Mr. Conway stated that One Quail Place is one of the largest properties. Besides switching the AC units, most service calls are minor such as garbage disposals not working and are addressed fairly quickly by the onsite maintenance staff. 3 Housing Commission Minutes APRIL 7, 2010 Mr. Colombini asked if the exterior features of the units were conditioned to include roof drains, asphalts, etc. Mr. Conway replied that those items are addressed as part of the capital projects. He noted that roof drains are cleaned before rain, roofing and pool repairs are completed before summer, as well as asphalts are done early. VI. NEW BUSINESS A. HOUSING COMMISSION CHANGE OF MEETING TIME The Commission reviewed the memo provided by Janet Moore regarding the request to change the meeting times from 3:30 pm to 3:00 p.m. Wade Tucker asked if there was a reason to change the time permanently. Natalie Russo stated that this request was made by Mr. Richard Kelly but would be the discretion of the Commission if the time change works for all members. Jane Turner stated that she was not interested in making a motion to change the time to 3:00 p.m. Justin McCarthy suggested continuing this item to the next scheduled meeting to allow Mr. Kelly to present his interest or concerns. Rec: By Minute Motion: With all members of the Commission in concurrence this item was continued to the next scheduled Housing Commission meeting for further review; the next meeting will remain at its regularly scheduled time of 3:30 p.m. until further action. B. CARLOS ORTEGA VILLAS — AWARD OF CONTRACT Cathy Walker, Senior Management Analyst reviewed the staff report and stated that the Housing ADHOC Subcommittee as well as City and Agency staff interviewed four firms that were on the list of Request For Proposals (RFP) responses. Interactive Design was selected and therefore staff is requesting a recommendation to allow negotiations and finalize the professional service agreement for Carlos Ortega Villas. 4 Housing Commission Minutes APRIL 7, 2010 As previously mentioned at the last meeting, the first architect selected had an issue with the indemnification clause. The four firms invited to interview were required to sign an affirmation that states that their proposal submitted during the RFP process would stay substantially as to form and that they understood all the provisions, conditions and terms stated in the agreement. All four firms signed the affirmation and Interactive Design indicated that they had no issues with the provisions in the agreement. Wade Tucker asked if this item was put out for bid. Ms. Walker stated that because this request is for professional services a bid process (lowest to highest) is not required; however a request for proposal (RFP) process was instead prepared. As part of the RFP, staff requested that a cost be included in the proposal. The proposal was then evaluated in a point value system based on a criteria list; a matrix was developed in excel to track the points. Upon question, Ms. Walker stated that Interactive Design's cost is in line with the median cost of all 31 proposals received and in fact was lower than KTGY's cost. Justin McCarthy stated that originally the Agency had a proposal for approximately 1.4 million to do this project but by going through the RFP process the proposals received from the 31 firms ranged from $700,000 to $900,000. Gene Colombini inquired as to the persons/professionals that checked the RFP to make sure it was all inclusive. Ms. Walker stated that staff worked closely with the City Attorney, Best Best and Krieger (BBK), and developed an RFP with close recommendations by them. Mr. Colombini stated that the attorney will take care of the legal aspect and asked who checked the RFP from the professional end of it. Ms. Walker stated that a preliminary design was provided by a contracted firm during Phase I of the project. From that preliminary design staff was able to develop a comprehensive RFP which was utilized to move forward to the next phase. Mr. McCarthy stated that legal participation was not just reviewing from the legal aspect. BB&K is staffed with a former construction manager with a degree in structural engineering who manages these types of specific contracts throughout Southern California. He noted that staff had a great deal of technical expertise involved in the preparation of the RFP. In 5 Housing Commission Minutes APRIL 7, 2010 addition, he noted that Agency staff has former construction managers. He further noted that the agreement has a more stringent liability and indemnification language than a lot of other agreements and therefore required the subsequent interviewees to attest that that language was acceptable. Ms. Walker stated that the RFP was compared with the American Institute of Architects (AIA) contracts to ensure the Agency is in compliance as well as the architect. Mr. Colombini inquired on the point system with regard to a Palm Springs firm versus an Irvine firm. Ms. Walker stated that the excel spreadsheet was very comprehensive and one of the many items for the point system included local. Jane Turner questioned the contents listed on the staff report and asked if those items are only for City Council's review. Ms. Walker stated that the proposal and affirmation were cumbersome and therefore were not attached to the Commission's agenda packet. She noted that she would be more than happy to bring those items back to the Commission. Rec: By Minute Motion: Motion was made by Commissioner Turner and seconded by Commissioner Lewis to forward the recommendation to the Housing Authority to authorize to negotiate and finalize a Professional Services Agreement with Interactive Design Inc. for architectural services for Carlos Ortega Villas. As previously requested at the last meeting a list of the 31 firms who responded to the RFP were provided to the Commission for review. VII. CONTINUED BUSINESS VIII. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS A. HOUSING PRODUCTION BY CATEGORY As previously requested at the last meeting, a summary of the Housing Production by Category was provided to the Commission for review. 6 Housing Commission Minutes APRIL 7, 2010 Upon question, Jessica Gonzales stated that the P's and A's shown to the left of several rental properties represent approved but not yet produced properties. Jane Turner asked on the covenant years for the density bonus properties. Mrs. Gonzales replied that most rental properties are required a 55 year covenant with the City. Justin McCarthy stated that some of the properties listed under the Projects with Other Low /Mod Assistance category were developed many years ago and may have shorter periods of affordability. Sevilla Apartments was believed to have 5 years left on their affordability. He noted that staff had discussions with Sevilla with regard to a negotiation of an extension with an understanding of some level of compensation to continue their affordability covenant for a longer period of time. Mrs. Gonzales mentioned that there are smaller properties whose covenants expired. Ms. Turner inquired on a property located at Portola Palms Mobilehome Park (PPMHP) and asked if the Agency still owned that property. Mrs. Gonzales replied that the Agency still owns that property located in PPMHP. She noted that the summary shows those properties that have been covenant with individual homeowners such as Desert Rose and Falcon Crest. Although some of the PPMHP homeowners have paid off their loans, they are required to maintain their property as an affordable home. AGENCY HOME IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM UPDATE An update on the Home Improvement Program (HIP) was provided to the Commission for review. James Conway summarized the report; stating that 10 are in the application stage, 4 are nearing completion, and 3 are in the construction phase. Wade Tucker asked on the maximum number of projects allowed. Mr. Conway stated that in the past the goal was 24 projects which were not always achieved. However, the program now very well exceeds that number mainly due to the economy. Mr. Tucker asked if the Agency was making money from this program or breaking even. 7 Housing Commission Minutes APRIL 7, 2010 Justin McCarthy stated that the Agency makes no money on these programs; these are either financed grants or forgivable loans or deferred loans. The program is exclusively for homeowners that are moderate income or below. C. TAOS PALMS RENOVATION UPDATE James Conway reported that Taos Palms Phase II is now complete. As previewed during the tour, staff is very pleased with the contractor and the final product. At this time, Natalie Russo reported on Mr. Wade Tucker's TV appearance that aired Sunday night. A copy of KESQ related story was provided to the Commission as informational. Mr. Tucker provided a brief explanation of the incident stating that a woman fell in her unit at Las Serenas due to the earthquake that struck on Sunday afternoon; Mr. Tucker was able to provide assistance to the resident. Mrs. Russo commented that it clearly shows in these communities how much of a team and a family watch over each other. Mrs. Russo reported that a letter of resignation was received from Mrs. Verna Smith. A copy of the letter was provided to the Commission. Ms. Russo asked the Commission if they know of someone interested in applying to this Commission to please let them know the City's information. Mrs. Smith's letter will be forwarded to the Housing Authority for acceptance. IX. NEXT MEETING DATE — May 12, 2010 ADJOURNMENT Natalie Russo, Housing Commission Chair, adjourned the Housing Commission meeting at 3:40 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., May 12, 2010. PattyLeon, ecordingSecretary 8